Sunday, January 26, 2014

Facebook, Five More Days, Woops!

I thought'd I'd give you all an update on my FB fast.  First, it has been very freeing and cleansing.  Its always good to break a dependency, at least it is for me.

And having FB constantly send me emails letting me know how many messages I've missed or updates or photos I've been tagged in has strengthened my resolve to not bend to their will.

I am pleased to announce that I no longer take photos with the idea of posting them and hearing what others think.  I now take photos to document moments for my children and myself.  I've almost stopped thinking in status updates, almost.

I've reached out more, called more, had more real conversations.  I initiated two spontaneous invites with friends to go out to eat, something we've always referenced when we see them, "Oh, we should really get together."  But no one ever follows through on these threats.  Well, I finally did.  I think it was my desire for fellowship, which FB has a deceptive way of fooling you into thinking you are getting through efficiency and the comfort of your handheld device.

And, the biggest lie that kept me FB addicted was that I might miss out on something really important.  Well, two important happenings occurred this last month (my friend's son broke his arm and another friend had a medical emergency) and I found out about both of them quickly and timely via a real person letting me know.  Take that FB!

However, I will return. I will return in moderation. I will not put it back on my phone, at least not for a long time...maybe just on a trip.  (Yep, I'm doomed, go ahead and say it.)  I like to keep it quarantined and not so entangled in my breathing.  But, there have been inconveniences.  I wanted to organized a gift basket for a friend and gave up knowing that most of my contact info was via FB.  I also wanted to let a few friends know about a soccer opportunity, and it would be so much easier if I just logged on and sent them a group message.

Then there are those friends who live far away and without Facebook we have little to no contact. I  don't want to let these friendships die.  Some would say, "Let them."  But that's not like me.

And I must confess, seconds ago I accidentally logged in and saw that someone requested to be my friend. I was horrified thinking that they've been waiting for my reply and might feel my silence was a direct form of rejection when it was not.  I quickly confirmed and logged off, especially when I saw that my friend Eric was online and would rip me to shreds if he saw me on FB during my fast.  Eric, did you notice?  Yes, it was an accident.  See the body remembers. I was meaning to log on to my blog, but my fingers took over and typed in the other search and password...see I was thinking in my head, "Write Facebook update," and I pretty much did.

So, in five short days I will enter back into that world of surface connections that bug and annoy and humor me and keep me connected.  Plus, then I can get my blog following back up when I cut and past this link in my status update, and lots of affirmation when I post a pic of my cute kids or one of their witty statements that pretty much makes me look good.




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