Facebook Fasting

Facebook fasting is necessary… I have been wanting to do a post on Facebook for a while. The social media site has literally become everything in ten years. Whether you love it or hate it, social media is here to stay. The social networking equation is only going to get deeper. It all started with Myspace. Myspace was a new phenomenon that connected all kinds of people together worldwide. This was bigger than America Online (AOL) or anything else. Facebook’s popularity began to slowly increase at the height of Myspace’s popularity. Once Myspace  began to die off a bit, everyone else migrated  on over to Facebook and that became the top social media site of choice. Even with Twitter and Instagram coming along, Facebook seems to be the social media network with the most power.  A decade later and, Facebook is everything and not having a Facebook page is virtually unheard of. We have grown used to Facebook being there. It is hard for most of us to detach from it whether we realize it or not.

Facebook is easily accessible and is great for killing time. I think that’s how social media works best for the average Joe. When you’re bored, just think: “What’s up on my twitter-feed or Facebook timeline”? It’s so easy to whip out your phone and see what’s going on while waiting for an oil charge, grocery store check out, or fast-food line, etc. There is always a line that you will have to stand in somewhere. Social media has became excellent for killing time and making a wait in a line a breeze. We have grown dependent on Social Media for everything from making money, to business, to entertainment. What happens when you remove it and go back to life pre-social media? After tuning into my timeline throughout the day on October 9, 2014, I grew to be very disgusted. The photo of this “Zombie” was being tossed around as an actual headline. The “zombie” was allegedly an Ebola Patient in Liberia that died and came back. After watching this mis-information be shared relentlessly, I said, “enough, It’s time for facebook fasting.” I deactivated my account right then.

I’ve been guilty of getting into my feelings on social media and saying a little too much. Hey, I’m human. Sometimes it seems as if the “What’s on your mind?” question above the status box is a real person encouraging you to tell the world how you  really feel. Why do so many of us share our personal business on this social media network? I shouldn’t know who’s on welfare or who is dragging their spouse through the mud for “messing up”. I’ve seen all kinds of statuses. You can tell what kind of relationship (if applicable) someone is in by what they are writing on Facebook. You can also tell someone real net worth and self- esteem status based off of what people post on Facebook.  The classic “money shots” speaks volumes about an individual. I deactivated my account and said that I would detox from all of the negativity  brought by social media for at least 30 days.  I have compiled a list of reasons why one should detox from social media (or at least Facebook) to keep their sanity:

• Facebook has way to much power. Social media is making society as a whole more anti-social in real time.
• Too many private thoughts are shared publicly on Facebook Everyone is so “in tune” and report so much that some days it seems to be  a sensory overload. Facebook is always switching stuff up on a sneak tip and  conducting these silent “social experiments” on it’s users, often times without us even knowing it. Social Media is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Social Media never takes a break. We as human beings have grown so accustomed to having it that we rarely go without it. What is really going on? Why do we make ourselves so available? If it’s not on your computer, it’s on your phone, if it’s not on your phone, it’s on television somehow. At some point in life, we need to disconnect. We need to disconnect so that we can reconnect with real life. Just like a colon cleanse, Fasting from social media is necessary.

Phone Credits:

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