Why I Broke Up With Facebook

It's not me, it's you! Recently I made the decision to end my long term relationship with Facebook. It wasn't an easy decision but I think it's going to be one of the best decisions I've made in a while. I know some of you reading this may be thinking how in the world could someone quit something so important. Well it's just that...it's not that important.



Now before you decide to stop reading right now because you think I'm obviously insane please just continue on. Allow me to explain myself. I am actually a social media marketer. I get paid to use social media sites like Facebook. I'm not just knocking the world's most popular social media site. I think it is a great tool to reach numerous people and make an impact. I also believe it can become an addiction worse than drinking or smoking. My days have become so involved with this site. I wake up and check my FB. I check it sporadically throughout the day. I then spend hours, yes I said HOURS, on it in the evenings. I've always used the excuse that I am "working" or what not to explain my psychotic investment of time on there. One day I clocked more than 8 hours on FB and didn't even blink an eye about that. Truth be told....Facebook became my addiction.

The first moment I realized I needed to break up with my beloved was when I noticed I had been replacing phone calls, face to face conversations and genuine connections. Liking a picture and posting on my friends walls had become my only way to show some love. In our day and age I think it's vital to still maintain relationships on a truly personal level. With Facebook in my life I simply suck at this!

Another big factor is how much negativity is on that dang thing. Every time I would scroll through my newsfeed I was bombarded with horror stories of mothers killing their children or something about Westboro Baptist Church, yuck! I am prone to anxiety and paranoia so anytime I would see these articles I would get all panicked. No matter how much I tried to not let it bother me it would. Then of course I'm sure we've all had those friends on our feeds that are always complaining that life sucks, nobody loves them and that they are going to die alone. Seriously, these friends need to suck it up and look at the brighter side. Life sucks because you keep on dwelling on the negative.

Perhaps the biggest reason to quit for me is how much I would compare my life to others. Little did I know I was filling myself with self doubt and decreasing my confidence level by doing this. I have those particular friends who seem to be living the perfect life. They are gorgeous, successful, have beautiful families and are always doing Pinterest worthy activities. I'd sit in my recliner wearing the same pajamas I'd had on for 3 days thinking how bad I suck at life. I have a hard time getting dressed some days just being a stay at home mom to one kid. Then I see these stay at home moms with 5 kids who look like a total 10. Those women are obviously freaks of nature. Okay not really...see this is why I NEED to divorce Facebook. I actually start to build a jealous hatred towards some of these women who I actually adore and would do anything for. Facebook doesn't realize it but it pins people against each other more often than it should. Every day I would compare myself, my family, my lifestyle and basically every aspect with all these people and by the time I logged off I felt miserable. No bueno for me. My son, London, just turned one in March and I kept finding myself comparing him to my friend's kiddos who are his age. Babies don't need any kind of pressure on them. Pssh it's just weird that we would ever pin one baby against another one in a race to hit developmental milestones first. Bad mommy moment right there.



Facebook stalking is yet another good reason to walk away. I found myself going to the same few people's pages and watching their every move. I was fascinated with what they were going to do next. Does it really matter that Susie Q is going to be hosting a massive bridal party? Is my life going to be affected if Chatty Kathy does or does not go to the pumpkin patch this Fall? Absolutely not! Have you ever been out with some friends and acquaintances and noticed you know more about them than they have actually told you in person? Odds are you saw something on their wall and stored it in your cranium for future reference. Stalking isn't cool for anyone. It's not cool to be the one being stalked. It's not cool to do the stalking. It's extremely unhealthy. This obsessive behavior can take hold of so many facets of your life without you ever noticing. You will begin basing your own decisions on if it's something Susie Q would do. No offense to Susie Q but she is no better than you, me or anyone else. We all have something wonderful to celebrate and when we are too busy looking at someone else's blessings we forget to notice how many we actually have.

The saddest realization is when you aren't sure who really is one of your friends. At one point my friends list had over 1400 people on it. Realistically I knew half. I moved around a lot and used to be very very VERY social. Those were my pre-Facebook days. I honestly have a handful of great friends. Thanks to Facebook I have a bajillion people I barely know anything about who I've claimed were my friends for a while now. I don't know about you but I'd much rather have REAL friends that I legitimately know.

Craving approval is also something twisted that Facebook has put into my life. I used to be one of those women who was blunt, kooky and didn't care what people though of me at all. Now I find myself analyzing every small detail. What would people say on Facebook if I wore this outfit? Who cares? FB is not the place to do this. The only approval needed is from yourself. I know this sounds corny but it's soooooo true. I'm content with acting crazy, speaking sarcastically, not being a size 2 and not having the most impressive career. I couldn't be happier with where my life is. I've been letting Facebook cloud my vision recently in this area. I found myself in that memory making moment and thinking nobody on Facebook would even "LIKE" this. That is disgusting to think like that. My activities may not be ones that would get thousands of likes but I enjoy them immensely.

I'm also an oversharer. I posted every photo I ever took from my phone. You never had to question what meal I was eating. Oh an God forbid I actually go to the gym. In that case be prepared to see a pic of me working out on every piece of equipment. In my defense I don't work out so it was proof that sometimes I get down and dirty. Sharing isn't necessarily bad when done in moderation.

I still utilize Facebook to keep our friends and family updated on our family blog facebook page. I also still do the social media for my job. I just don't have a personal account that I use all day long. For me this was the right decision. For weeks I've been going back and forth on this. Finally it hit me. Facebook is causing me to not be, well, ME. I want to get back to my true self and live in the moment with my sweet little family. I want to feel free again. I want to break out into song whenever I please. I want to let my crazy style out of the closet. I want to drink wine while eating a burger. I want to break into random dance moves whenever I feel like it. I want to be ME again!