- Store photos
- Find old school mates, neighbors, friends
- Keep up with out-of-state family
- Show off our cute kids (let's face it, we're all biased)
- Read the headlines from people's lives
- Receive important news (engagements, pregnancies, graduations, etc)
- Be a witness for Christ with godly words
- Encourage those who are hurting
- Track events
- See a "journal" of your life, like a type of diary
- and more!
With all of these good reasons to have Facebook, why did I choose to close mine down? Let's see if I can explain...
Too Much Wasted Time I do not have self-control when it comes to FB, so limiting my time has never worked well for me. And when I would scroll through FB while watching TV, or get on while I was with people I knew the situation was becoming ridiculous! I should be fully engaged in conversation when I'm with people, and it just seems uber-geeky like an addiction to be watching TV and playing on FB! My solution- something I have been putting off for a while actually- is to close it down completely to take away the temptation.
On a related note... I find that I am most frustrated with my kids when they interrupt me. There is a balance here, there are times when they should wait patiently for me to finish a task before requesting my help. I am not talking about those times. When I am on FB, I often get annoyed when pulled away to do something or help my children. Total honesty here (embarrassingly so!), this is not how a godly woman should respond! My #3 primary role in life is to be with my kids (#1 is God, #2 is my husband). Getting rid of FB gets rid of another thing that keeps me distracted from being a godly mother. Now my time is spent teaching, training, and playing with my children.
Too Much Filth All media has content that I, as a Bible-following Christian, do not approve. In some way, media will include advertisements, statements, pictures, content, etc that I do not wish to see. There is really no way to avoid this in a public, cost free, platform. And, I say this gently, some times the things people post are not glorifying to God or edifying to God's people. And don't get me started on anti-Christian articles or political things! My mood can easily be affected by the content I read on posts, or see in advertisements. The only way I can control what my mind takes in is to keep my mind away from those things, i.e. closing down FB.
Too Hard to Filter So many times I want to post a statement that is not appropriate of a woman of God. This might be a complaint against someone or something, a rant against an issue, a TMI post that would not be modest, something that I should not find humorous, venting, and so on. As a Christian I need to filter all my words and actions to make sure that I do not sully the name of Jesus Christ (which I have done before, unfortunately). This is hard work; by getting off FB I remove another "job" from my long list of To-Do's. Now I don't have to think about what I will say on FB, because I don't have it.
These three reasons are the main ones for getting off FB, even though I could name other little ones (annoying game requests, fear of my information/pictures getting into the wrong hands, etc). I thought it would be hard to be off FB. I wondered what I would do with all my time? I was afraid I would lose touch with people I wanted to connect with. I have family in another state, and friends from college scattered all over the globe! HOW WILL I SURVIVE?!
I "quit" FB on Tuesday, and today is Friday. Let me list what I have accomplished during all of those pockets of time I used to be on FB.
- I've been less inclined towards electronics at all, like TV
- I've read Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon
- I de-clogged the bathroom sink
- Organized [most] of The Pile from the hall stairs
- Done an extra load of laundry
- Read more books to my kids
- Took my kids outside (despite 45 degree weather- hey, it was sunny)
- Sent many texts (which are more conversation oriented than reading a post on FB)
- Had time to converse with a friend when she called
All this in two full days and one partial day! And these are only the "extra" things I did with my day, they do not include the things I would have normally gotten done (diapers, breakfast, diapers, dissolved child arguments, diapers, lunch, diapers, general chores, diapers...). I'd say this list makes ending FB worthwhile!
I figure I'll have FB withdrawal at some point. And someday I may choose to get back on with many more limitations than I had previously. But, with texting, phone calls, and email, I will have no problem keeping up with people. Our conversations will probably be fuller and more encouraging than a statement here or there on FB anyway. In the end, I think this is the right decision for me at this time in my life. I may be nuts, but I think I can live with that.
Proverbs 31 comes to mind. Wise decision.
ReplyDeleteNot nuts. At all. I would ashamedly say I'm addicted as well. If it wasn't for being a hello mornings facebook group leader I think I'd quit as well. I'm praying about how to put facebook to rest as much as I can. I hope we stay in touch. I've loved hearing from you, reading your posts, and have loved getting to know you more. Proud of you, cousin! :)
ReplyDeleteI find this so encouraging as I have spent the last 5 years on fb and I have four kids. I feel so guilty of the time I have waisted! I can't believe I took so long to see the reality of the waisted days with them. It's not been health for me at all.
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