Recently, I had a four-week "soul sabbatical" during which time I was able to focus on the restoration of my soul, renewing my passion for ministry to students and their families, and reminding myself of who I am in Christ. During that time, I decided to de-activate my Facebook account, and I have to tell you that was a VERY good decision. Now, I'm not a Facebook "hater." In fact, I find it a wonderful way to keep in touch with family and friends who are far away. However...(you knew that was coming, right?) :-)I have been on Facebook for over seven years now, and I have "survived" the myriad changes that it has gone through from its earliest days until now. A very quick Google search will give you loads of headlines about the social experiments that Facebook has been conducting and the massive amounts of data they're collecting on their users. And the crazy thing? We users are very quick to tell the Facebook universe every detail of our lives...where we've been, where we'll be, what we'll be doing, who we'll be hanging out with, and what we look like while doing all of that. Can you say narcissism?
So, my Facebook was de-activated for four weeks...that's 28 days...just enough time to form a new habit. And I have! You know what I discovered while being away from Facebook? My life (and your life, and my friends' lives) all went on! You know what else I discovered? No one was pining away because I wasn't there. When I did return, there was no ticker tape parade welcoming me back. Facebook, it seems, has the ability to warp our view of the world around us. "Likes" are how we can start to judge ourselves. More "likes" means I'm liked more. Ummm, not really. We can also tend to put our "life's best" on Facebook. Whoever has seen selfies of what you look like when you wake up in the morning? Or while you're dealing with a bout of the flu? Someone once said that Facebook was like a "highlights reel" of people's lives...not the "behind the scenes" or "bloopers reel."
I'm now back on Facebook, but my usage is MUCH less than it used to be. I'm using it primarily during the daytime hours for work-related communications and for keeping up with those closest to me. And it's feeling good!
What about you? How does Facebook effect your life? What about your kids?
