Sunday morning, my main squeeze, Shane came up with a brilliant idea while we were traveling (or lack there of) down Interstate 75 through Dallas. He suggested a "fast" or break from social networking. The argument was pretty much that if we aren't distracted by that, we can concentrate on the things that are more important to us (reading, writing, art, exercise, kids, and such). While I felt nervous about the idea, I could see it's benefits. Right then and there, Shane and I deleted the Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest apps off of our phones. My nerves got crazy because,"What if I miss something?"
Since Sunday, I have been staying off of social network sites. Sunday and Monday were very difficult to get through. I struggled through Sunday because I had a friend in the hospital with a really bad break in her arm and I felt I was missing updates. Monday was difficult because my sister-in-law and brother-in-law live in Oklahoma and I was extremely worried about them being in the mix of the storms. I took some amazing sunset pictures that I couldn't post on Instagram..."Whaaaaahhhh!" And to top it all off...what is a girl to do when she doesn't know what Person A is eating for dinner, how crappy Person F feels that day, or what Person V's daily schedule consisted of?! I was FORCED to call and text people to check on them and ended up enjoying it.You see.....I use Facebook and Instagram as a crutch. I don't have to talk to anyone on the phone, yet I can feel like I have been involved with people if I "like" their stuff. It has the added bonus of curing my feeling of boredom- I check it in the morning before I get out of bed, I check it while waiting to get into the bathroom to put on my makeup, then when I get to work, then once an hour at work(maybe more if I see notifications), while waiting in line at the grocery store, while my kids are telling me about their day, while sitting outside with my husband spending "quality time" together, while cooking, while waiting for my shower water to heat up, while laying in bed at night.....ALL THE FREAKIN' TIME. To be frank, it is MORE than ridiculous how often I check FB and Instagram during the day.It has pretty much caused me to have A.D.D.
After itching through the first 2 days, clarity finally hit me on Tuesday.
I started feeling really good about this decision. My husband and kids are and will continue to get more of me because I am not splitting my attention. My friends and family will get more personalized attention. My tasks at work will be done more quickly. I will know what is going on around me. I will shorten my to-do list at home. I started thinking of things I will have time for that I didn't think I had. I was also feeling really good about my husband being less distracted. It was exciting. We were going to be crazy productive and will have the chance to perfect our hobbies.
Then, late morning on Tuesday, I got a text from my husband, "I'm about to fall off the FB wagon..."
He did it. He caved. He is a man and we know men are weak and all......so.... I guess I should have expected it.
-I love you, Babe. I am half kidding there.-
So we texted back and forth about our thoughts on the use of FB.
He had some good points about it. He encouraged me to try to just use it in moderation instead of completely cutting it out, which a great idea in theory.
But....
I can't. Not now. I, at this point, do not understand moderation when it comes to spending time on FB.
I explained to him that Facebook was evil in some ways because it messes up relationships. While it is made to encourage relationships by easily being able to keep up with people. It has become this thing that keeps us just close enough to say we know the person but not close enough to keep a real personal relationship. Reading my friends' status updates every day doesn't mean that I KNOW what is going on in their lives or CARE how they feel. I realized that the people who I consider my closest friends and family were finding stuff out about my life ONLY through FB- which means it is only a small portion of the story. Then there is the fact that I am a jealous girl sometimes.....so FB has caused spats between me and my husband. It is not what it could be in my life. I could be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, cousin, and friend. I could be a better me. I can do things that I once loved but haven't felt I have time for. I can enrich my mind, body, and soul with things better than status updates.
I am going to do this. I am going to see how long I can do without. I decided to get on for today and let my loved ones know that I will not be on Facebook to answer them or respond to their life events. Instead, I will be an email, text, letter, or phone call away.
With love-
C
No comments:
Post a Comment