Thursday, May 26, 2011

Facebreak

I have (/had) a Facebook obsession.

I didn't mean to...and I know I'm not alone.

If I'm really honest with myself, I was spending hours--multiple HOURS on this social media site every day.

And it started to affect other areas of my life. I felt disconnected if I didn't check it every few hours. I woke up and scrolled through posts before even getting out of bed.
I started to feel discontent about my life compared to people I barely knew--Whhhhy do those people I met twice get to go on tropical vacation? buy a house? have a better marriage? have a fulfilling job and brag about it?

I've tried several times to just limit my time and involvement on Facebook, but it never worked. I manage the social media for my workplace and so I had an "excuse" to be on it all day long. And I mean All. Day. Long.

This is almost embarrassing to admit. But finally came to a point where I needed a break. I think Monica's post helped to convince me. I was getting mentally sucked in to the lives of people I didn't even know.

So earlier this week I wrapped up my work presence on Facebook, created a private, generic account for my work, and shut down my Facebook account.

I'm so relieved. I think I can probably add 25% productivity to my job. I can spend less time staring at the computer/phone screen, and most of all I can be present...and hopefully more content.
I'm not sure how long this will last, but for now it's needed.

6 comments:

melinda said...

We all need a break sometimes. I recently read this article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-ward/in-the-long-run-jim-axelrod-_b_864646.html) by an old friend and it rang true to me - being present is much more relaxing and relational than constantly refreshing social media. (PS - love the little twitter bird with the latte on your side bar!)

Anonymous said...

Good for you!! I think that would be great for me, but I don't think I could do it. I need to learn some self-control though so I don't waste as much time at work sitting on FB...

Cathleya said...

I was just talking about how I don't understand Facebook, like maybe I haven't figured out how to unlock the "fun" parts :) But I do think that even though I use it rarely, I find myself being frustrated by it more than finding joy in it, and I think that's kind of an unnecessary toxic thing to have in my life.

I wouldn't mind deactivating my account but I don't use it that much...and I always tell myself that I have a 100% free pass to not respond to anyone that contacts me via that site...if it's important, they should've emailed me :)

Will love to hear your follow up on when/if you eventually return!

steph c said...

More and more of my friends/relatives seem to be doing this lately. It seriously is a time suck. I've gotten a bit better about it , but seriously? I despise Facebook sometimes for how much it interferes with, you know, REAL life, lol!

Amanda said...

I never really got all that addicted to Facebook, thankfully. I only spend a few minutes on it each day! But, there are definitely some other things that I could (and probably should) take a break from on the internet, with how much time I spend on my computer!

Layla said...

I had to take a hiatus from the FB for a while, only it was because of all of the drama llama's. I finally got wise, deleted those I don't like (even if it hurt their feelings!!) and I'm much happier. But I missed the FB addiction boat...and got straight up hooked on Twitter. :P

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