May 21st or 23rd was my last day on Facebook. I honestly do not remember the exact date, as it was unplanned.
I have had one heck of 2018. Multiple friends have passed away, business has been on-fire = overwhelming at times, and personal life, while not “bad” in the traditional sense, it has been very exhausting. Throw in some SAD for an extra punch to the gut and then no downtime planned…I just could not see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.
I was approaching my 44th birthday on June 1st and decided it was time to start removing things in my life that were causing unnecessary pressure. YES, I am stating social media felt like pressure. Why? I honestly can not answer that question, but it did feel that way. One thing that I noticed was months ago, sometime in the last quarter of 2017 I removed Facebook from my iPhone, then around January, I removed Facebook Messenger (again) from my phone. Can we just pause and let it soak in how much I loathe Facebook Messenger? This concept apparently makes people ANGRY! Yes, you heard me right. If I didn’t respond to a comment…real frustrating would brew in some people and then let the private messages begin…AND then get sooooo upset when I didn’t reply to their message in .02 seconds of them sending it…HOLY FREAKING COW! Now keep in mind NOTHING you send over a private message is an emergency…or is that just me? An emergency warrants a pick-up-the-phone and call me…doesn't it? Or am I just that ol’ fashioned? Regardless it was a MAJOR source of frustration. I then (again, months ago) uninstalled Facebook Messenger (yes, you can do this), BUT…apparently people can send you messages, they just sit there and rot as unread messages on the sender’s end…which then they end up sending even MORE messages! I posted NUMEROUS times on my wall that I DO NOT USE MESSENGER, PLEASE DO NOT MESSAGE ME THERE. The messages will not be read…email, text, or call me. Clearly no one reads my posts, or they choose not to absorb what I write, or they do not think it applies to their messages. I assume no one really reads what I share. Womp, womp, womp…
That was a very long explanation on why I woke up one day and decided not to log into Facebook and then I woke up the next day and the next day. As of today, it has been 36 or 38 days since I have even had a sneak peek on to the ol’ Facebook. The hardest week was when I would talk to people (yes, I still verbally communicate with others) about a photo my son posted where he looked apparently really handsome (perhaps good genes, hee hee). I wanted sooooooo freaking bad to see what they were talking about, but I didn’t give in. And I still haven’t. The boy needs Instagram, just sayin’.
With all of that, I survived. I am still here. My life continues. Nothing bad to report.
Will I ever go back to Facebook? Of course. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next year…I have no idea. Do I miss seeing the photos others post of their dogs, cats, and children – yep. Do I miss the art community that only shares on FB – yep. Do I hope everyone welcomes me back when I pop in and say “heyyyyy!” – I sure hope so. I do genuinely miss you guys. I love seeing the POSITIVE things people share. We are all so busy or live far away and it is a great way to “keep in touch”. I really do enjoy the Facebook community and have made many genuine friends that I would never have met in real life.
All in all, if you need a social media break, just do it. It will all be there when you are ready to come back.
I love all y’all and I really do hope you read this with my full sense of humor and seriousness at the same time. Sometimes I am the sarcasm Queen and other times I can’t crack a giggle if my life depended on it. I blame it on being a Gemini.
Until next time.
