A few days ago my husband and I decided to take a break from Facebook. We are going to spend the month of February without fb and all the things that go with it. FB can be amazing when it comes to keeping in touch with friends that we haven't seen in years, and those we recently moved away from. I love seeing the major life events of my friends and family right when they happen. I love that I can be exposed to so many different views and opinions, and frankly- I love that I can scroll over the ones I don't care for! When someone figures out how to do that in real life, please let me know!
What I don't like is the pressure to have fb etiquette, and the overwhelming sense that we are all living double lives. I know I am right now at this point in my life. No one's life is as good as they try and play it out online. However, I don't think fb is the place to air all your dirty laundry (something I unfortunately didn't grasp a few years ago) so there is a delicate balance that I'm just not interested in trying to master right now.
My personal fb feed hasn't been as truthful as my blog or as truthful as personal conversations. I think fb is better to share funny stories, pictures, to keep in touch with old friends, but not to tear down myself or to be negative so I am very careful what I post, and how I write it. I don't want to be that person on fb bringing everyone down. At the same time, everyone goes through hard times and right now that's my reality and it's best left with me, not the entire interweb.
So... I made the decision to walk away for a while so I can work on myself. Leaving fb for a month is the first step to that. Why is it so important to me to try this? Mainly to prevent that stinkin app from getting in the way of me actually accomplishing what I am trying to do: spend some time with myself and my family free of distractions. As much as I hate fb sometimes for the dumb things that people post, I am also truly addicted to it. I love that little time waster... but I am always on the path to self improvement and I think I can benefit from putting down my phone and living in the moment. Truth be told, I put far too much self worth into how many 'likes' something gets. That's just sad.
I read articles all the time in my parenting magazines about unplugging and living in the moment and I was way too dependent on technology in my daily life to practice what I was reading. For some reason, I have suddenly decided that I'm ready (isn't it insane that I have to talk myself out of using social media like people have to decide their ready to stop smoking?! How is this possible haha!) Anyway, I'm pretty excited about it! I plan to do a lot more reading- my pumping breaks at work are usually fb dominated and my kindle cue is paying the price. I want to get back into painting, I haven't even attempted to paint anything since I was pregnant. I want to spend time working on my home. This is going to be our home for at least a few years and I want it to be a place I can be proud of and feel comfortable in. I want more time to blog... I miss this outlet.
The biggest and happiest surprise in my decision was that my husband wanted to do it with me. I told him my plan to unplug and he mentioned that although he rarely posts anything, he is always checking it. He liked the idea of trying it out for a set amount of time too, so together we decided February would be the perfect month to do it (maybe because it's the shortest?) haha who knows, but I am so excited to have him experience this with me. We decided that instead of deleting our fb we are going to change each other's passwords to keep each other honest! I think it'll be fun, and it'll help me get back to feeling more like myself. I just love that he totally supports me, even in the little things. (and social media in the grand scheme of things is totally a little thing- just to convey that I do, in fact, have perspective on life haha).
Everything in moderation though, we aren't leaving the Internet all together. I still have a house to DIY and decorate, and I need my friend Google to do that. We both have a healthy love for Instagram, so we decided to keep it. If you read this blog because I post it on my fb, you might want to bookmark it and check in with us during February to see how our unplugged detox is going. As always, I will still be on Pinterest too (hey, I have a 1st birthday to plan!)
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