For a month I stayed off of Facebook. Then I decided since I had sufficiently weaned myself off of the social network, I could start using it again sparingly. And I did a pretty good job of that for a while.
But then little by little I started to use Facebook more and more. Before I knew it, I was back to spending too much time on Facebook.I'm not sure the exact date I joined Facebook, but judging by my first profile picture, it was on or around March 8th 2007. I was 13. As a point of reference for all you Facebook users, I joined about four major Facebook redesigns ago. That was back before old people could join and when you had to either have a school email address or be confirmed by a high school classmate.
To date myself in Facebook "years" that was before non-Facebook apps. I've lived through the rise and fall of Warbook and Jetman. I've seen Farmville go from nothing to the point where Farmville gift cards are sold in Walgreens.
Over the the last 53 months that I've been on Facebook I've posted what I'm sure are thousands of comments, sent hundreds - maybe thousands - of messages, engaged in hours of chat conversations, looked at countless pictures, and connected with all sorts of people in various ways.
I mainly used Facebook as a personal communication hub. Since so many of my friends were on Facebook, Facebook messages soon took the place of email. I used the website to foster discussion, often about pretty serious issues. I also leveraged the Facebook platform to disseminate my blogs and personal views. And yes, I found time to look at posts as life-changing as pictures of Jason's trip to North Dakota and to comment about things as important as the eating habits of Laura's pet gerbil, Hank.
At the end of my time on Facebook, I can look back at these 53 months and see very little that I gained from it. Sure, I was able to use Facebook occasionally for a great ministry opportunity or as a helpful communication tool, but on the whole, most of those comments I posted or messages I sent won't have any lasting difference.
If, however, I had taken all that time I spent on Facebook and devoted it towards working on real-life relationships, volunteering with some ministry, writing more, or praying, I would have done something substantial over these last four plus years.
Facebook is a great tool, but it's probably an even greater distraction and time-waster. Inevitably when I post something like this, many people will offer anecdotal evidence about their lost classmate from high school that they reconnected with on Facebook. I get that. I too have used Facebook to foster some new friendships.
But the fact remains that we spend way too much time on Facebook. To put it in perspective, Facebook users spend 700 billion minutes on Facebook every single month. Now I know that just sounds like a big number, but to put it in a frame of reference for you, 700 billion minutes ago was the year 1,329,800 B.C.! That's a lot of time.
Think of all the social woes that could be alleviated if Facebook users had volunteered that time. Think of all the face-to-face relationships that could be established and cultivated using those 700 billion minutes every month. Just imagine what a better place this world would be, if people had invested all of that time in real-life relationships and problems, instead of frittering away the time equivalent of more than 1.3 million years every single month.
Over the years I thought about quitting Facebook, but always I rationalized the existence of my presence on social networking. "It's a ministry opportunity." "It's the only way to keep up with old friends." "It's the easiest way to get in touch with people."
I don't know exactly what it was over these past few weeks, but the vague notions I've had recently about ending my Facebook profile finally coalesced into a decision to quit Facebook.
Without a Facebook I probably won't know be able to see what my 752 "friends" did with their weekends, and I won't be able to "like" any of their witty quotes.
But I will have more time to spend in the real life, more time to do things that will make a difference. And that's a trade I'm ready to make.
UPDATE:
The dirty deed is done. I just deleted my Facebook. Of course, Facebook leaves a way out for any Facebook addict who suddenly has a craving that can't be resisted. Once you delete your Facebook, it will deactivated for 14 days before it's deleted. If you log in during that time, you can save your technological life from the ash heap.
I'm not planning on doing that, though.
UPDATE:
The dirty deed is done. I just deleted my Facebook. Of course, Facebook leaves a way out for any Facebook addict who suddenly has a craving that can't be resisted. Once you delete your Facebook, it will deactivated for 14 days before it's deleted. If you log in during that time, you can save your technological life from the ash heap.
I'm not planning on doing that, though.
Dude, you have about got me convinced to do the same. You make a really good point about weighing things out and deciding what's really important and worthwhile. I have been grappling with these same thoughts about a bunch of stuff lately, and though I haven't made up my mind like you have, I'm hoping to get off the fence soon. Hope it goes well for you.
As far as I know, your Facebook can never be deleted. You can always log back in and start it up again, exactly where you left off.
Maybe you know something I don't know, but that was my experience.
I was on Facebook for about 9 months, quit for about 2 years, then came back on for another 9 months, then quit for good.
When I restarted everything I had written or posted on my profile was still there. My password and username were all the same, unchanged.
Take care to delete everything you can off your profile before deactivating, so they don't have a bunch of personal information stockpiled forever--your privacy is important.
Such a great information and I've been looking for this..
I appreciate the write and the real insight of the writer on the subject. well done