In 2013, I did the unthinkable. \u00a0I deleted my Facebook profile. \u00a0Gasp!<\/p>\n
Although I haven’t looked back once, the reactions I get are always so interesting. \u00a0Usually it’s one of these:<\/p>\n
“Why??” \u00a0(while looking at me like I’m crazy)<\/em><\/p>\n “Oh, I wish I could do that too…”<\/em><\/p>\n “I would but I have to stay on there to keep in touch with family.”<\/em><\/p>\n Either it’s sheer confusion and surprise that I would dare make such a bold move, a sad confession that they “wish” they had enough willpower to control their own behavior, or a temporary case of amnesia where they forget that we all still managed to communicate with one another before the dawn of Facebook. \u00a0But any way around it, I’ve clearly put myself in the minority.<\/p>\n However, my decision fits in perfectly with my recent decision to live a cleaner, simpler life. \u00a0And you know what? \u00a0I’ve realized a few things along the way…<\/p>\n 1. \u00a0I don’t miss comparing my life to other people’s lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n Admit it, we all do it. \u00a0We sit down at our computer, scroll through our news feeds for a few minutes (or a few hours) and by the end, we’re wondering if our lives measure up. \u00a0We don’t seem as happy, busy and exciting as the people whose posts or pictures we just looked at. \u00a0When the reality actually is, that they’re lives are probably just as chaotic and stressful as yours. \u00a0But a beautifully posed photo or a perfectly worded post can be enough to send you into a middle-school-like game of comparison. \u00a0And I don’t miss it.<\/p>\n 2. \u00a0I enjoy actually\u00a0having\u00a0<\/em>experiences instead of\u00a0telling people about them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n A couple years ago, I did the Color Run (if you don’t know what that is… it’s a 5K where you run through zones where people throw colored powder on you) with a friend. \u00a0We had finished the event and were enjoying the after party with a DJ, music, dancing and food & drink, when I had an epiphany. \u00a0Although I was still on Facebook at the time, I was already in my disillusioned stage by that point and not paying much attention to it. \u00a0My friend however was still in the highly-addicted phase and was obsessed with getting the “perfect profile photo.” \u00a0Instead of just being present in the moment and enjoying the event, she had me take picture after picture of her and was uploading them to her profile on the spot. \u00a0She continued to check them constantly as we migrated to the car and even for hours afterward – to see how many people had liked them or commented on them. \u00a0And I was like, WOW. \u00a0That used to be me. \u00a0And I don’t ever want to be that obsessed with something again! \u00a0I deleted my profile shortly after that and can honestly say it took a little while to “re-program” my brain. \u00a0But now that I am back to actually being present in an experience instead of being pre-occupied with telling other people about it, I wouldn’t change a thing.<\/p>\n 3. \u00a0I still manage to keep in touch with friends and family.<\/strong><\/p>\n Once upon a time, long, long, ago… we didn’t have Facebook. \u00a0Or any social networks for that matter. \u00a0When you wanted to get in touch with someone, you wrote them a letter or you picked up a telephone. \u00a0Yet somehow, a lot of people (including me for awhile) think they\u00a0have\u00a0<\/em>to stay on a social media platform to keep in touch with friends or family members. \u00a0Well if we managed to do it then, I’m sure we can do it now. \u00a0And if someone doesn’t want to make the effort to stay in touch with you via phone or email (or in person!), then maybe you don’t need to worry about staying in touch with them in the first place.<\/p>\n 4. \u00a0I have more time on my hands.<\/strong><\/p>\n I used to check my Facebook profile when I got up in the morning, when I went to bed at night, and probably a half a dozen times in between when I was bored. \u00a0I had the notifications set up on my phone like so many of us do, and would have to check right away to see what someone liked or commented on on my profile. \u00a0I’d sign on just to scroll through my news feed “real quick” and would end up realizing later that I had been on the computer for 2 hours. \u00a0But you know what happens when you don’t have that temptation beckoning to you all day long? \u00a0You have more time! \u00a0Time to cook, read, write, sleep, run, go out, whatever it is you enjoy doing. \u00a0And time is a precious commodity.<\/p>\n 5. \u00a0I can still use Facebook (and other social media) professionally.<\/strong><\/p>\n Let me just say this – Facebook is not evil. \u00a0I don’t think everyone on Facebook is addicted to it. \u00a0But I know from personal experience, that it is a slippery slope and it can be VERY addicting. \u00a0And as I have made recent strides to live a cleaner, more simple life, I want to spend my time in the\u00a0real<\/em> world, having\u00a0real\u00a0<\/em>experiences and\u00a0real\u00a0<\/em>conversations. \u00a0But I am a writer and I do want to share some of my life lessons and experiences with others, and Facebook can be a great tool for doing that. \u00a0The key for me was making sure that I deleted my personal profile\u00a0completely.<\/em> \u00a0That meant an extra step of having to create a “dummy” account to be the administrator of my professional page, but it was worth it. \u00a0I no longer am bombarded with a news feed of posts that I feel somehow compelled to read and I no longer feel compelled to share details of my personal life that, let’s face it, most of us wouldn’t share with 100’s of people otherwise.<\/p>\n I may be in the minority now and I may be late hearing about a few life events here and there, but for me… the time and the freedom that I experience in return is well worth it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In 2013, I did the unthinkable. \u00a0I deleted my Facebook profile. \u00a0Gasp! Although I haven’t looked back once, the reactions I get are always so interesting. \u00a0Usually it’s one of these: “Why??” \u00a0(while looking at me like I’m crazy) “Oh, I wish I could do that too…” “I would but I have to stay on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":589,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[159,158,7,162,152,40,160,161,141,153,154,155,156,157],"class_list":["post-64","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-addicted","tag-addiction","tag-clean-living","tag-experiences","tag-facebook","tag-freedom","tag-genuine","tag-individuality","tag-life","tag-social-media","tag-social-network","tag-social-pressure","tag-time","tag-time-management"],"yoast_head":"\n