I’ve decided to quit using Facebook for at least 30 days. In other words, I’m on a Facebook fast.
I had actually started my fast on Monday, March 25th, 2013. …That was over 3 weeks ago already!
I logged in only once that day to announce my Facebook fast and message a few people to let them know to contact me via email or twitter if they wanted to keep in touch during the fast. Then I logged out, and haven’t logged back in to my Facebook account since.
My Facebook usage history has gone up and down in waves. Some days or weeks, I found that I wasn’t spending very much time on the site at all, while other times, I came to realize that I was spending a ridiculous amount of time on the social media networking site… mainly as a source or entertainment, socializing, and as a frequent method of procrastination. More often than not, my Facebook usage has tended to be on the high side.
The main reason I’ve decided to give up Facebook and go on a Facebook fast is to free up energy and attention that I’d otherwise spend on some pretty mundane Facebook updates and interactions. …Seriously, I know you love cats and all (I think they’re cute too), but even so, I don’t need to see and like or share a dozen cat pics a day! 😉
I don’t watch cable TV (it’s an extremely rare occurrence for me), and as such, I rely on the Internet for much of my amusement and entertainment. (Hello Netflix! Although Netflix Canada doesn’t have the same offerings as Netflix US, it will at times have titles that its US counterpart is missing.) … And Facebook, you could say, is sort of akin to a form of reality entertainment. Big Brother, anyone? Or Jerry Springer, perhaps? I’m not quite sure what the best analogy would be. It would depend on the quality of one’s friends on Facebook and what they tend to post. In the case of my Facebook feed, it’s probably some kind of hybrid between Oprah, The Food Network, and some kind of animal lovers and parenting network. This certainly isn’t a bad mix, and I appreciate my friends. But too much TV, even if it’s a really good TV, isn’t necessarily a good thing.
After having been off Facebook for over three weeks already, I honestly can’t say I miss it. My life seems to feel simpler because of it, and I see this as a good thing. I’m not a big fan of unnecessary drama, and I’m sure anyone who’s a frequent user of Facebook (or any other social networking site, for that matter) is familiar with the frequent drama that seems to go with the territory. I also have more time to read, write, meditate, exercise, go for walks, watch films, etc.
That said, I do wonder how my friends are doing. Only a few friends have kept in touch outside of Facebook. When you think about it, it’s kind of crazy how much we rely on a 3rd party internet social networking service to stay in touch, instead of good ol’ fashioned email or phone calls.
After the 30 days of my Facebook fast are up, I imagine I’ll log back on to see if I have any private messages, and I’ll likely contact a few people that I’m only able to contact via Facebook due to not having their direct email address on file. But aside from that, I don’t intend to use it every day as I would in the past prior to my Facebook fast. I’m guessing I’ll only check it two or three times a week once the fast is done, or I may even decide to give it up entirely and close my account. We shall see!
The next time I check my Facebook after my fast is over, I’ll be logging on from Berlin, Germany! 😀
If you’re a Facebook user, how much time do you tend to spend on Facebook each day? …A week? A month?? Just think of how much time we waste on Facebook a year!
If you find you spend an hour or more on Facebook each day, I’d strongly recommend going on a Facebook fast. It’s possible the quality of your life will dramatically improve as a result.
Yay! I’ve been waiting for your next blog post! Facebook is such an easy way for me to get in contact with various people, compared to collecting hundreds of phone numbers and email addresses. The value of me browsing the news feed of everyone’s statuses, updating my own status, and getting involved in group discussions is questionable though. Sometimes I honestly leave the site feeling noticeably more jealous, inadequate, and disconnected than when I logged in. Occasionally I come across a wonderful event or opportunity that I wouldn’t have otherwise known about, which keeps me on the fence about whether to check Facebook. This place is highly addictive, so useful in some ways yet draining and frustrating in others. I went on a break a while ago, and almost as soon as I got sucked back into it I felt like I needed another break! Maybe I could try checking the Facebook walls of a select few friends on a weekly or monthly schedule, and make a policy of almost never checking the collective feed. And I’d better keep that sidebar hidden! Taking in so many random thoughts, emotions, and opinions at once can detract from my level of mental clarity. So in conclusion, I’m glad that your blog post reminded me to be the master of Facebook and use it to my advantage without letting it eat up too much of my time or energy. Please make more blog posts!
Hey Rachelle, found your blog through Steve. 🙂 I’ve found that Facebook was mostly unproductive time as well and I deleted mine more than a year ago. I’ve felt no regrets since.
I don’t feel twitter’s as much of a time waster as Facebook because I can choose who I follow instead of feeling obligated to accept everyone’s friend requests.
Ultimately I think as long as you’re consciously evaluating how you spend your time you’ll make the right decision for you.
I gave it up all together. I cannot say that I myself miss it that much either, it has given me time to focus more on my interest and goals and to help me establish better personal relationships,with people. It has served its purpose with me. I got tired of comparing myself to other people who I thought were doing better than I was, it made me miserable! There are so many things that I want to do but haven’t started on yet, but now seem to be getting there slowly but surely.
This has been long journey, but getting rid of Facebook has freed me from more problems than anything.
Spending waaaaay too much time on Facebook myself. Maybe I will upload my Twitter so it posts for me and not log on for a few days at least! I can free up my energies as you say it has / had for you. Just the day before yesterday Matt Monarch mentioned surfing on FB as a possible way to avoid just focusing on one’s own healing process. He was saying that he can’t believe that people don’t heal if they are really doing the green juice, colon cleanse and they must be closet eaters or just not really doing a fast if they aren’t healing. I thought it really resonated and I knew just what he meant because I’ve done that, but also I’ve seen clients doing that. They are actually sneaking donuts or whatnot and saying they had tried fasting. Anyways, thank you for this post. How are you doing now after the fast? Are you spending less time on it? I have a lot of work I WANT to do but I tend to get bogged down w/ FB so here goes!!! 🙂
Hey Cici!
For about a month after my FB fast ended, I was not on Facebook much at all. But now that I’m back from my trip to Europe, I’ve been finding myself on it more than I’d like. I think this is because, in part, I haven’t seen many friends in a while and so I’ve been writing messages back and forth, and checking out their walls to see what’s up with them, etc. So, I think my recent spike in FB activity is just temporary, but I guess we’ll have to see!
Making updates in twitter and having it auto-post to FB really does help, though. 🙂