I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about how to effectively bring changes I want into my life and my habits. While I feel at peace about where I am and what I’m doing in the big life situations, there are those “little” things that we all struggle with. These little things look different for all of us, so I realize that not everyone will relate with the specific example that I’m about to share, but I challenge you to not tune out just yet. Because as sure as you’re human, you know that you have something that is your personal kryptonite.
A few weeks ago, I deleted the Facebook app off of my phone. Forever. It’s been a long time coming, and I’ve done my fair share of trial runs with “Facebook fasts,” but I’ve finally acknowledged some facts that have been eating at me for a while.
- I despise the fact that I’ve walked away from Facebook more than once feeling angry, annoyed, judged, or judgmental.
- My heart breaks when I hear one person I care about after another candidly admit that something they saw on Facebook made them feel one of the things I mentioned in the point above.
- Multiple studies have been done about the effects of Facebook on people, and the results aren’t good. Facebook-induced depression and bullying are actual problems in our society now. Here’s just one of many articles I found on the topic: Why Facebook Makes You Unhappy
- With Facebook readily available to me throughout the day, I find myself wasting time on it rather than living out my day the way I want to.
This change in my life may not sound like that big of a deal. I’m not deleting my account, and I still interact on it at least a little bit every day, but I’m blown away at the huge difference one “little” change has made in my life.
I think that most of us want to believe we are exceptions to statistics. At least I do, but I have to admit that less Facebook has made me a happier person. I really didn’t think that I was unhappy to start with, but my mood has been much more positive and I have actually enjoyed the time with my family even more than I already was.
Media of all kinds – news or social – is noisy and it never, ever stops. While small doses of both are great, they aren’t meant to permeate every spare minute of my day. Technology has wired our brains into thinking that quiet times of the day are a bad thing when that is simply not true. Being still is glorious! As much as I love seeing what’s going on in the lives of my friends and family, I don’t need to read every single thing they post to love them. In fact, stepping away from social media a bit requires me to have actual conversations with them. I can’t check with them on Facebook anytime and anywhere that I want to, so that means I should send them a text or give them a call. Those means of communication will always be more personal, and we all need that closeness in our lives.
Knowing that I’ve made the commitment to do more than just “fast” from Facebook on my phone has definitely changed my mindset. It’s requiring self-control and commitment, and accomplishing goals like that do so much for boosting my morale and determination. Now that I’m admitting it to the world in this post, I definitely can’t turn back, and I feel more happy and free with each word I write.
What about you? Has Facebook or some other form of social media taken over in your life and you’re ready to take back control? Maybe you don’t struggle with screen time, but in your heart you know there’s something else that far too easily becomes a stronghold in your life. How will you take action to take charge and change?
Stay tuned for my next post on social media coming tomorrow!
I like the idea of removing if from your phone – it’s something I’ve been thinking about doing myself. I don’t think (at this time) I could remove myself from facebook completely (on my laptop, for example). I am super dependent on it to stay “connected” with my friends from home and from other places we have lived – to keep up, I guess. I would feel sad if I couldn’t use FB anymore to do that. I DO spend waaaay too much time with it on my phone.. wasting time. I think I WILL make the jump to remove it from my phone 🙂 Maybe this post was the last little nudge I needed!!
I definitely don’t want to remove it completely from my life either. I am able to stay connected with certain people I wouldn’t otherwise be able to, and there are some aspects about it that are still good. I just had to set some limits for myself. Not having it readily available all the time on my phone makes me more mindful of how I’m spending my time throughout the day. Praying for you as you make the change. It’s so liberating!