Eek – I’m a writer and I just quit Facebook!
Career suicide? Possibly. But then again, I’m probably not much of a writer if I spend all my time on Facebook. This page will log some of my reasons for nixing Facebook, in addition to random thoughts and personal research on the subject. Thanks for dropping by!
Overall Experience Since De-activating my FB Account (updated 8/16/2011): Since quitting Facebook I feel more attentive and available to my family and close friends. I am also less stressed and more balanced in how I spend my time and mental energy (not just because of quitting Facebook, but this is one of the reasons). So while I’ve lost some social connectivity and communication, leaving Facebook has caused my life to become more in line with my priorities and values.
My Personal Reasons for Quitting Facebook:
Facebook brings out the worst in me. The truth is: I don’t really use Facebook to share the Kingdom or meaningfully connect with others. For me, Facebook brings up my own (personal) red flags. That’s my biggest reason for quitting Facebook.
Facebook makes it more difficult for me to pay attention to the people and tasks in my immediate surroundings. Paying attention is hard for me even under the best of circumstances. I have a constant chatter of thoughts in my head, many of which get incorporated into my writing (when I make myself sit down long enough to somehow write something cohesive). Facebook doesn’t help.
I am accountable to my children for my social media choices. The Internet and social networking sites like Facebook are changing our social structure in ways we don’t fully understand. Our young kids today will feel these effects more than anyone else before them.
What I’ve Noticed Since Quitting Facebook:
The Good: I am more engaged in the realtime conversations around me (read more about this is my post: Quitting Facebook, One Month Later). I have more time for writing, personal reflection, and observing what happens in my actual day-to-day life. I can focus on the concerns in my own household (and believe me, there are plenty!) instead of knowing that some distant acquaintance developed heartburn from too many tacos with extra spicy sauce.
The Bad: I miss reading my friends’ posts, especially those friends that are usually uplifting or inspiring in some way. I am sometimes out-of-the-loop when social planning happens via Facebook. I’m a little nervous about eventually missing something really important, almost as if I moved to another continent and forgot to leave my forwarding address. I sometimes worry that my friends think I don’t care about them, since I no longer follow their lives through Facebook.
More to come…
