24 Nov Why I Gave Up Facebook for 90 Days & What I Learned

On August 13th, I posted a photo on Facebook.  I didn’t post my next photo or media until November 13th.

90 Days without Facebook.

Now, some of the young folks (my kids and their friends) in my life would say that Facebook is “…getting lame… “. They would tell me that Instagram is the way to go, with a little Vine and Twitter mixed in.  Instead of a Facebook chat, they’d tell me to “Kik” a person instead.

But I decided to give up Facebook for these 90- Days for a few reasons.

ONE: I found myself scrolling through Facebook at work at various times.  It didn’t consume much of my time, but it did feel a little strange to have a co-worker walk up and see me looking at something stupid like a guy pretending that he’s stealing gas.  Or maybe one of those crazy videos of a Girl Twerking.  Admittedly, maybe I wasn’t looking at the Twerker, but it was passively in the timeline of my “friends”.  So, I wanted to consume less of my time looking at photos and videos that represented foolishness and phuckery.

TWO:  My goal was to rely LESS on social media updates of “friends” and instead, reach out in other ways as a friend via phone, email, or text.   Oh, and sometimes don’t you feel compelled to LIKE and/or Chat back?  That’s definitely the case on Instagram, where you feel that a reciprocal LIKE is in order.

THREE:  I wanted to decrease some “Noise” in my life.  Even though my “friends’ ” updates on Facebook are not all noise, isn’t it crazy in life today there are so many updates, technology sources, apps, social media, texts, and more?   Yesterday for instance, I logged into 3 different apps to track Fantasy Football.  (That may have to be the next challenge I give up.)

American Users Spend An Average Of 40 Minutes Per Day On Facebook.  Source:  Techcrunch

In essence, by giving up Facebook for 90 days, I was able to get the following time back:

• 3600 Minutes
• 60 Hours
• 7.5 Work Days (8 hours per day)
• 2.5 Days

Can you imagine being on a Facebook Binge for 2.5 days straight with no sleep?

[custom_headline type=”left, center, right” level=”h2″ looks_like=”h3″ accent=”true”] What I Learned During  My Facebook Hiatus [/custom_headline]

So overall, there are a few things that I believe I did learn during my 90 Day hiatus.

1. Life Goes On:  In doing a quick peek back through Facebook today, I was saddened to see at quick glance that a friend lost his mother.  Life goes on and is being posted to the web ecosystem everyday.
2. I Have A SELFIE complex:  In reflecting what I post on Facebook and/or on Instagram, I have a SELFIE etiquette complex.  Sometimes I correlate SELFIES with obsessive vanity.  I have in these 90 days done some introspection to understand that social media is another way to introduce various outlooks on your life to your friends and the world. Selfies can be good within moderation.
3. Same Stuff, Different Day:  Yep, the purpose by which people entertain themselves from a high observation, seems to be consistent.  The “inspirational motivators” are still posting quotes.  The “Braggers and boastful” are still posting pictures holding 50 hundred dollar bills.  The “pitiful” are still being sad.  The “mad & angry” are still posting vague & cryptic messages to one of their followers about hating them.  Hey, there’s nothing wrong with any of this if this is how these types of people post and use Facebook.  It is just interesting that the same behavior still exists.
4. I have Too Many “Friends”… or Do I?  My grandmother, endearingly called Big Mamma”, used to tell me that I’d only have one to three good friends in this life… and that’s it!  So when you accept a “Friend” on social media, I think it is exactly like it is and should be:  a network.  If I were to expect friends to reach out in my absence of posting and telling the world Hi, I shouldn’t have.  ONE PERSON reached out to me and said “… hey Brandon, are you and your family ok?”  Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect everyone to knock down my door.  But it is a direct reflection for me to be more observant with my personal friends network.  Checking in on someone whether they use Facebook or not, is a good thing… PERIOD.  I will work to personalize my messages to people, whether through phone calls, social networking, or otherwise.
5. I had more Anxiety about where to Upload My Photos:  I think it’s easy for us to upload to Facebook and set it and forget it as it relates to our mobile media.  But not uploading the photos during this time increased the concern I had about my phone dying or corrupting without me uploading photos.  I should find a plan B to handle my photos, regardless of social media outlet.
6. Social Networking WAY Better than No Networking:  I believe that a phone call and / or a hand written note are probably two of the best ways besides a face to face visit to check in on a friend.  But I do think that social networking allows a one to many update, where you can get a quick view on many people at one time.  I do believe that even a passive update to what’s going on in the lives of people is better than not have had the opportunity to have known at all.
7. Some People RELY on Your Posts:  Maybe it seems cocky, but it really isn’t.  Friends and relatives may be avidly looking on Facebook to keep up with your life and activities.  I know that the pain in the tail is a relative or friend who is NOT on Facebook.  Then, to share, you must email a photo or video.

Overall, maybe the 40 minutes (average) that I may have gained in giving up Facebook, may have been filled with some other activity.  Maybe I could have sat down for 2.5 days with coffee and energy drinks and figured out a business idea that would generate more cash for my family.  Maybe I could have slept more or learned a language in 3 months.

Our choices are always ours to make.  Taking  this time to reflect on my time management has allowed me to prioritize how I want to use Facebook in the future, choose how to stay in better touch with friends and family (no matter the platform), and to value the precious time I am given in my day.