(The Infamous) Facebook Break

This is me!

I took a break from Facebook for a month.  (I know this is an annoying thing to do, and an even more annoying thing to make a big deal about - #sorrynotsorry.)  Now I'm back on, but for those who are curious what it's like to take a short break from Facebook (and who haven't burned out from reading the thousands of articles available about others who have done the same), here's what it was like for me.

Why i took a break:  I had been thinking about taking a break from Facebook in the fall so that I could focus on Advent and Christmas without so much distraction and irritation clogging my brain all the time.  I never intended to stay off Facebook for more than a few weeks - there are too many things I value about it to stay away forever.  I just wanted to see what it would do for my thoughts, feelings, and attention span to stay away for a month.  I also just wanted to see if I could do it - like any good addict, i thought that I could quit Facebook at any time, but the proof is in the pudding.  So I temporarily "quit" Facebook  for 4 weeks from mid-November to mid-December.

What i missed:  

• I've read some articles where people quit Facebook and loved it.  That's not how it was for me at all.  I missed pretty much everything that was posted related to individual people:  learning about my friends' happy events where i can celebrate with you (births, moves, etc.) or hard events where i can pray for you (hospital stays, death of a loved one).  I missed seeing the small personal moments too (I love the days when my newsfeed is filled with kids' Halloween costume pics, for example).  
• Being able to connect with my special needs friends for practical questions and emotional support.  
• Funny statuses, memes, and hashtags.

What i didn't miss:

• Buzzfeed 
• Aggressively / argumentatively stated political opinions, even those i agree with.  
• The silly outrage of the day (ie the Starbucks red cups) - knowing what it was, forming and sometimes stating an opinion about it, knowing everyone else's opinion about it.
• For serious current events - getting so involved in how people were responding to the event that you start to care more about how people respond than the event itself.  
• Anything that is factually incorrect and can be verified or falsified by a 30 second Google search.  
• How Facebook can make your place in the world feel disproportionately big: like it's really important that everyone knows what you think about everything all the time, like you're really important if you get enough likes, like it's extremely important that you don't miss liking other people's posts.
• How Facebook can make your world feel disproportionately small: whatever it is that you feel like you're missing in your life (that perfect relationship / career promotion / exotic vacation / dream house / a child / a busy and fulfilling social life), you can find someone on Facebook who seems to have that thing in spades, and it can make you focus on that and forget about all the good things you have in your life.  
• I didn't miss my brain defaulting to checking Facebook everytime there was a free moment (it took a week for this impulse to diminish - it never completely went away).  I certainly didn't spend every moment that used to be spent on Facebook doing something really worthwhile or pondering really deep thoughts - but I did feel like my mind was a little less distracted, like there were less metaphorical browser windows open in my brain - so when things did come up where I wanted to be present / pay attention, i was able to do so more easily without having to step aside from so much distraction in my brain.  It was only a marginal difference, but in our culture, where there is so much distraction around you all the time, even a marginal difference has an impact.

What changes I will make:

• Regular, short breaks of 1-4 weeks everytime Facebook starts to feel agitating or like it's taking too much time in my day or space in my head.  
• Ruthless blocking / hiding / unfollowing of sites regularly posting things that are worthless, or antagonistic / polarizing / negative without some kind of redeeming value.

In conclusion:
For me, a Facebook break is kind of like camping:  it's nice to take some time away - it's refreshing and it clears your head - but by the end you can't wait to get back.

Adult coloring: like Minesweeper, but no computer needed.

P.S.  If you decide to take a Facebook break and are looking for a different way to take short mental breaks that can be interrupted at a moment's notice, may I suggest adult coloring books.  Seriously.

P.P.S.  In the absence of Facebook, I spent a little more time on two other social media sites - Instagram and Pinterest.  Instagram was great - it has most of the good of Facebook and none of the bad - but 90% of my Facebook friends don't do Instagram, so ultimately it's not a good substitute.  Pinterest is a different kind of site than Facebook, and while it's helpful when searching for a particular thing, it's a terrible place to spend time browsing (unless you enjoy dwelling on your lack of six pack abs, daily craft projects for the kids, and perfectly decorated /spotless/ DIY-project-laden house).  (This is the best Pinterest take down ever.)