I gave up Facebook for 6 weeks…and it rocked my world!
I gave up Facebook for Lent. The denomination we attend doesn’t formally participate in Lent but I thought it was a good opportunity to exercise some self control…one of the Fruits of the Spirit that I tend to struggle with most!
Facebook is by far my favorite social media. I love connecting with friends, family, and neighbors, getting to see cute pictures of my friends’ kids and read heartfelt posts about motherhood all while simultaneously keeping up with things going on at church and my boys’ school. It is the ultimate one stop shop when it comes to relationships, news, events, and more. Unfortunately, however, I found that I was spending far too much time perusing Facebook without any real purpose. I never added up the time I was spending (even though I have an app on my phone that tells me) because honestly I don’t really even want to know. Just like the calorie count on the menu at The Cheesecake Factory…ignorance is bliss! Or is it?
I started the New Year with small changes, thinking that would help me cut down on my mindless Facebook perusing. And it did for a while. I deleted the Facebook app from my iPhone so I didn’t have it accessible every moment on the day. I blocked Facebook for certain time periods while I was working online. But I knew that to see real improvement in my time wasted, I would have to quit cold turkey. When Ash Wednesday rolled around this year, I figured it presented the perfect opportunity to practice a bit of self control. Although I kept my blog profile/page page, I completely deactivated my personal Facebook and didn’t cheat a single time in almost 6 weeks.
Here are a few things I learned through my 6-week Facebook Fast:
1. I spend way less money when I am not on Facebook.  Facebook marketing has gotten good and I found myself frequently clicking on ads for clothing and random Amazon products far too often. I didn’t buy a single piece of clothing for myself during the 6 weeks I was off Facebook because I was not constantly tempted to look.
2. I like the people in my life more when I don’t know their opinion on every little thing. Â When you have real-life relationships, most of the time you don’t where someone stands on every issue from the get-go. You get to know their personality and appreciate that person for who he/she is and the friendship you share. Slowly, as the friendship progresses, you open yourself up to discussion more “hot button” issues. When you are “friends” on Facebook, however, sometimes you see their strong opinions on hot button issues first without knowing their heart. That is a backwards way to do relationships, in my opinion. Although I don’t agree with my real-life friends on every issue (and in fact disagree quite a bit with some), I appreciate and respect who they are and see that our differences actually make us even better friends!
3. I have more time to read. I read nine books during the nearly 6 weeks I was off Facebook! That is more than a book every week! Considering the fact that I have constantly complained about “not having enough time to read” before my little experiment, I think this settles the question of what the biggest time suck in my life is! I have never read as much in my adult life as I have over the last several weeks and it has reignited my passion for reading!
4. I am more content with myself and my life. I never really thought I had a problem with jealousy or envy but every now and again, I would feel that tiny green monster rear its ugly head whenever seeing certain things on Facebook. Whether it was comparing my size/hair color/wrinkles/clothes to someone else and suddenly feeling less-than or seeing pictures from someone’s 5-star vacation, I started to become convicted that this comparison game was not good for me. Thankfully, my 6-weeks off Facebook gave me a much-needed reprieve from comparing every one else’s best versions of themselves to my very imperfect self.
5. I am more patient with my kids. Â Because I had more extra time on my hands, I did not feel like I was always scrambling around trying to get things done. Life was more peaceful and I was able to be more present with my kids — which was the ultimate goal for this little experiment!
Here is the ONE negative thing that happened in my 6-weeks off Facebook:
I missed a super awesome discount on a season pass for a zoo 30-minutes away from my house (that I will rarely go to anyway…especially since I already have a family membership to a different zoo). And I missed seeing some cute pictures of my friends’ kids!
Yep, that is it. The only negative experience of NOT being on Facebook for 6 weeks.
What now?
Now that Lent is over, you might be wondering whether I chose to stay off of Facebook permanently or not. The answer isn’t an easy one…I am currently back on mainly for the purpose of pictures. Ever since my oldest child was born, I have uploaded all of our family favorites into Facebook photo albums. It is the easiest and quickest way for me to quickly find pictures from specific dates in a pinch. The thought of having to move all of my pictures to a different storage site is really overwhelming to me.
I do, however, seem to have a much better balance now that I have broken the addiction to mindlessly scrolling my Facebook feed. I do not have the Facebook app on my phone and I try to only check my personal profile at certain times of the day. I will not hesitate to take another break, however, if I feel like it is becoming an addiction again.
How about you? Have you ever given up Facebook (for good or for a period of time)???
That is awesome to hear! I went back and forth with trying to reduce FB use for a few years, including deactivating my account a few times, with limited or temporary success. I enjoyed the benefits, like the ones you mentioned, so much that I finally decided to leave truly and permanently about 6 months ago. I have really loved it- particularly not being affected by the constant marketing (personal and commercial) and sheer volume and pace of opinions/comments. It’s only been recently that I’ve been at all tempted to get back on, which would purely be for access to local FB groups and to manage a business page, both to assist in my setting up a new business. I’m really considering foregoing FB even for that, because I made peace with giving up my blog FB page and my former business FB page when I left before.
I have really struggled with Facebook too. What has ended up working for me is to install the StayFocusd chrome app on my computer. It kicks me off Facebook after a certain amount of time and won’t let me back on until the next day. I also unfollowed everyone except for family and close friends. We live 3,000 miles from family so I don’t want to get rid of this connection completely.
I love your heart, Jenae!
My “addiction” was not FaceBook, but Spider Solitaire. When I gave it up for Lent I realized how many hours a day I was spending on the game. I would have an extra 5 minutes free while waiting for this or that and sit down to play a game. Hours later, sometimes 3-4 hours later I was still playing. I also noticed I was short-tempered with the kids and that I tend to obsess in my thoughts while playing. Giving it up was so liberating!!
I, too, find that while on FB I am often comparing myself and coming up short. I want to go to Hawaii like this friend or do I look better than that person? Not using FB really helps end those comparisons. I really enjoyed your post and wish you the best success with balance.
Our family is in the middle of a 4 week TV/social media fast. I knew I was personally spending way too much time on FB. I’m a lover of knowledge and information and found myself getting lost for hours down many rabbit holes and then neglecting my other duties and sometimes being oblivious to my children’s requests. One of my own observations about Facebook is that is allows us to all by voyeurs in one another’s lives without truly connecting with each other and I don’t like that. We should be connecting with each other in person! I also whole-heartedly agree with getting to know friends hot button areas without getting to know their hearts. i”ve seen many people unfriended on FB because of their personal views on hot button topics. On a single view! People are making these single view issues make or break deals and it’s really sad.
On a side note of the drawbacks of leaving FB. I am connected to several groups and local groups that I really depend on for support and knowledge that would otherwise be very difficult to obtain. Most people today have abandoned Yahoo groups in favor of FB and you are really left in the dark when you abandon FB as a mode of communication, you are left with virtually no options, otherwise. I would lose out on fun field trips for my homeschooler, opportunities for free curriculum I have been able to use and important meetings/events. I recenlty learned of a very fun, free, all day Saturday family event my family and I were able to attend because of an event pop up via FB. I recently learned of a fun Market Day my child will get to participate in and sell her handmade crafts along with other children and their handmade crafts at a local Market Day at the park. It was an event suggestion that popped up on FB. I have also found that people have gotten so lazy since FB that they simply won’t or don’t get around to inviting you to things when you aren’t on FB (I must not be an awesome enough person to be bothered with. lol).
I’d really love to just leave it but have resigned myself that it’s not reasonable to leave. At this point, it’s all about management of one’s time on it. I’m exploring apps that will help me in that endeavor. Thanks to the above poster about a computer app that kicks you off. My husband has threatened to do so in the past! lol
Hi,
I can’t give up Facebook. Because it helps me a lots for my business. Deeply Thanks For sharing!
I love the sentiment, but the irony always strikes me too….I wouldn’t have seen this post if not on FB! LOL
I could so easily live without FB, but I think it’s more about “what did I miss”? Usually the answer is “not much”….but like you said….it’s the best place I learn about free ebooks, homeschool tips and curriculum, buying used items like furniture, as much as I enjoy seeing others pics and whatnot, it seems most people use Instagram for that now….I’m not ready to start that….and I rarely post on my own page. I try to do my business things on FB, but have not gotten much response thanks to FB for limiting it all. But my husband gets some interaction there, so I hesitate to quit entirely….we’ll see….pros and cons, but I also hesitate to just shut it down…..sigh…..