As an update to my last post, I did decide to take a trial break from Facebook to see how it would affect my daily life. (It’s funny how Facebook only entered my life a couple years ago, but I already couldn’t remember what my world was like without it.) It’s been less than a week, and so far it has actually been less painful than I’d imagined, and more liberating than I’d expected!
Day 1 was the worst. I felt it the minute I woke up. I rolled over in bed, reached for my phone, checked my email, and then felt the absence of the Facebook app from my phone. I suffered from withdrawal throughout the day, but at the same time, each twinge of loss was mixed with the satisfaction of victory over ‘the force.’
Each day the withdrawal subsided, and I found myself enjoying my Facebook-free life. I felt more focused, spent less time playing around on my phone, and thought of alternate ways to build my friendships. I’m even considering sending handwritten letters via mail (not E-mail, but good old snail mail), something I used to do pretty often with old friends.
So for now, I’ll continue with this experiment, even if it means having to spend 44 cents to ‘poke’ a friend.
*On a side note, I came across this interesting video the other day. Just to be clear, I don’t want to condemn Facebook after a 3-day break – there are definitely some benefits to social networking. But I will say that it made me think about how my daily behavior, whether online or offline, affects my relationships with friends and even my spouse. I pray that I’ll be cultivating healthy habits in my daily life that will honor my husband, family and friends.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_mid#/video/bestoftv/2012/01/02/erin-facebook-divorce.cnn