My Experiment with FB and a Challenge For You

In realizing how busy the month of November was going to be for me, including teaching my first Reiki class, I decided to take a break from the biggest toxins in my life- Facebook and alcohol. Not drinking wasn’t an issue, but I wondered how hard it would be to stay off the social media for 30 days. I did decide to allow myself a glass of wine here and there when we would go out, but I wouldn’t buy anything to have at home and would not be inclined at all to drink hard cider (my bev of choice) because of the high sugar content.

My agenda was fairly heavy for the month and I had the deep desire to do a well-rounded detox for a much-needed physical cleanse as well as just giving me more space to be productive, as it was donning the season of crafting, which I always partake in.

The first couple of days I was a bit restless. I was used to opening up my FB app on my phone and checking to see if I had any notifications every chance I had. It was a fill of a void as boredom hit- waking up, between massage sessions, leaving work, sitting at home, waiting in line at the store, and going to bed, all to discover I really wasn’t missing anything and many posts were negative or just plain pointless….ya, it was getting silly. I never cared to share the food I ate or negative rants, or even bragging experiences for that matter. Sure, my academic and/or business achievements, as it was a way to let people know “Hey, I offer this now!”. I would merely still use FB through the Pages app to promote my business.

The 2nd day of my hiatus, I happened to go to a bar with my sig other to watch the Sounders soccer match and I had a glass of wine. I wanted to keep looking at my phone. I came up with a brilliant idea and replaced the spot where the FB app was with my journal app. In case I had the desire to express anything, I could do it there.

My first entry was: “Observation/realization: It is a lot easier for me to not drink than it is to not be on FB. Sad. I am having a glass of wine to get me through it.” :p

My 2nd entry shortly thereafter: “I’m not on FB right now. That means that if the zombie apocalypse were to go down, I’d be doing something about it while everyone else is posting about it. Survival points for me.”

After that, I just tossed in random things into my journal as far as how my day went, dreams I had, and pics of my craft projects. I ended up on Pinterest a lot too, posting my projects as well as finding new ones. After about a week, I was really more productive, my creative rays shined, and I didn’t have troubles leaving my phone alone.

By the end of my 30 days, my perspective had completely changed about Facebook. Taking a step back helped me see the toxicity and addiction that it is. Once I hopped back on, I didn’t even re-download the app. And my postings have still been sporadic, very minimal, and only positive-conversation-provoking. I only go on there maybe twice a day, read through some posts and call it good. I think I’ve only posted not even a handful of times since I got back on, which has now been ten days. It doesn’t appeal to me. I also really realized how many stinkin’ videos are posted now! It’s like every other post is a video and if you stop on one, it would start playing. Aaaaak! Oh, and as for the hard cider- I had some again and it doesn’t appeal to me as much. I’d rather drink wine. 

Here is the bottom line: Facebook IS an addiction. Maybe not like meth or cigarrettes, but you may go through withdrawals. Once you get past the detox stage (a few days is all it should take for a normal human being), then you should start to see how ridiculously time-consuming and numbing FB can be. Taking a break will give you a new outlook and maybe even change the way you interact on there. Just like anything you cut yourself from, you really won’t miss it after a while. I quit smoking a while back and I also quit drinking soda. I do not crave those things at all!

I honestly do not give a rat’s ass what someone had for dinner, where they are at any given moment, that they or their loved one is sick, that they hurt, that their car broke down, that they hate their job, that they finally trimmed their nails, changed their hair, or got a new pair of jeans.

I do not want to hear about their world views, their political standpoints, their religious justifications and the whining behind it that seems to make it justified for them, their trip they are currently on (which is risky, btw), or their dog dying.

Much of that are personal things. Sure, we are now trying to reclaim our right of the constitution, but it is seriously getting out of hand. So much that it causes more separation and no solutions. We are angry at society or politicians, yet we just sit on our asses and complain about it. That is the country we are. We should all know that the media is a brainwashing mechanism, that the government is corrupt, and that our country is heading nowhere fast. But to sit and rant about it only makes matters worse! And to focus on materialistic things is just the cherry on top. It’s exactly what the elite wants- for us to be so firmly attached to the internet, to our electronics, to material things- so that when shit hits the fan, we will be completely vulnerable.
Don’t you get it???? Don’t be blind and misled!

With my sig other and son, I am learning more of weaponry, survival tactics, and self-sustainability through growing our own food, re-purposing, and spending time together. The way things used to be years ago before all of this. Sure, I still use the internet, but for helpful and beneficial purposes. It can be a necessary evil, especially when I am trying to promote my business. Even at that, I am striving to be more involved face-to-face in the community- it’s much more personable. I’d rather see you than text you or correspond on a social media site. I want to spend time with you. We need that human interaction. We are losing that, and that’s what is leading to so many physical and psychological issues.

I challenge you. Take 30 days away from social media. Go back to your hobbies or find a new one. Exercise. Read. Visit friends and family. Interact in the physical world. You will realize what you’ve become. The fact that you have made yourself an open book to the world, yet you may be complaining of the FB privacy policy. Loosen your reigns on social media in however way you need to. I seriously dare you, encourage you, and support you in this. Tell people to get a hold of you another way. There are plenty of other ways. You won’t regret it. You won’t miss ANYTHING.