Why I left Facebook (and why I'm now back)

Why I left Facebook...
This decision was a couple months in the making. I had stopped posting much of anything on the site but still logged on nearly every day, just to see what was going on. My aversion to those who posted every mundane detail of their life led me to think, "I'm better because I'm not posting anything". A conversation with a buddy from grad school in June helped me to realize that I was still taking information from people (photos, funny updates, etc) but not giving anything in return.

So, I decided to deactivate my account for the time being and see how my life changed. And lo and behold, it really didn't. I soon stopped going right onto Facebook after checking my email (Twitter got moved up to number 2!). I didn't suddenly lose contact with a ton of people or have a bunch of new free time.

What I did find was that I was much more intentional about communicating with people. If a song I heard during the day reminded me of someone, I had to call or text them. If it was someone's birthday, I had better put a card in the mail in time or call them on their big day or that was it. I had to ask a friend to see his pictures when he lead a group of students on a service trip to Africa over winter break (remember asking to see friend's pictures/sharing pictures with others? What a seemingly-outdated concept now).

This Facebook deactivation also happened during my birthday. My biggest surprise? The people I still cared about (and who still cared about me) contacted me and wished that I had a good day. I still had a perfectly fine day even without a lot of folks writing on my wall.

So not much changed, but what little changes were positive.


...And Why I'm Back
Truth be told, I am mostly back on Facebook for work-related reasons (developing and managing the FB page for our department). I am trying to be more proactive with my use on there now; if I am spending an inordinate amount of time scrolling down my newsfeed, I either post something or get the hell out of dodge.

I find myself despising the site sometimes still. Apparently it's ok to post your opinion online about anything, regardless of your stance, eduaction on the matter, or likelihood of offending someone (I realize the irony of posting this sentiment online). But I am trying to get over that. And who knows, maybe I'll be off there again the future.