To help raise awareness for a pretty terrible bill being snuck through under our noses (CISPA - look it up if you haven't!), I voluntarily took a 24+ hour hiatus from Facebook. At first, it was difficult. I didn't realize how intrinsically my finger pressed that little Facebook icon on the home screen of my phone or how much time of the day was taken up with social networking. Then, after a few hours, it became a little easier (although I did notice at least 4 different times Facebook started to pull up before I even realized I had pressed that stinkin' thing!).
The most surprising side effect of my hiatus was that, toward the end of the day, I started noticing that I felt more at peace. Calmer. I realized that a lot of my self esteem - having people validate how funny I was or how cute the self-portrait/picture of my girlfriend/kid/pets/etc was - was derived from that artificial "social" website. It also reminded me how little human interaction I have with a lot of the people on my friend's list and how much of a recluse I've become since retiring from derby.
It's weird that something that has become so prevalent in our society can be so insidious. We start off trying to find a way to connect, to make new friends and end up letting it overtake our lives. I know, personally, I'm trying to cut down a lot of my daily checking... it's become such an omnipresent thing in my life and I don't like how it makes me feel.
So, tonight, I'm going to go out to Flat Top with my family. I'm going to leave my phone in my purse and truly enjoy my time with those closest to me... and I hope to spend real life time with all of you soon too! Hit me up... you know my number! ;)
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