Noise

Recently I decided to take a "facation" from Facebook.  I had done it once before and was jonesing for it during every dull minute of my day; sitting at red lights I would pick up my phone to swipe a refresh only to remember that I no longer had a facebook.  I was curious, I missed knowing what everyone was up to, I missed pictures, I fell behind in the news.  It only took about two weeks before I just couldn't take it any longer and had to sign back in and reactivate my account.

Well, about a month ago a friend and I decided that it was time again.  We were having a long talk over coffee about how ridiculous facebook is because people try to portray their lives as perfect.  I'll admit that sometimes seeing that so and so is going on their 14th vacation for the year can become a little obnoxious, among other things (and I fully admit that my song lyric posts can be equally annoying to many).  In an act of solidarity my friend and I de-activated our accounts right there and then!  And I can honestly say that this go around was completely different than before.  I didn't even miss it!  I welcomed the stillness that comes when not filling every minute of the day with extra noise.  I'll use an online physics definition of the word noise to better clarify what I mean:  "A disturbance, especially a random and persistent disturbance, that obscures or reduces the clarity of a signal."  This may seem strange to some, but facebook is a noise that persistently disturbs and reduces the clarity of my signal.  I find when I use it I'm like an addict, I'm frazzled, disjointed, and completely out of tune with what is best for me. 

On my most recent "facation" I learned that the price of keeping up with every person I've ever known and having access to every picture of the past few years of my life is not worth the cost and the irreparable harm I'm causing for myself in the long run.  A very wise person told me to let go of facebook because it could stunt my growth, and I never realized quite how true this was until I did the unthinkable and after my month of bliss I logged back in and reactivated (Will I ever learn)????  Between the facebook, text messaging, personal email, and work email my phone was buzzing every 5 seconds (dramatization)!!!  In a little over 24 hours, I deactivated once more (yes, I am now that person) and I can honestly say that I don't imagine I will ever go back again.

In this crazy day and age when everyone is so "connected", I think it is nice to take a step back, focus on myself, learn to be comfortable in the moments of silence, clear my mind, and learn who I am and what I want when I'm not constantly being bombarded and distracted with noise.  To quote Adele, "I can't keep up with your turning tables, under your thumb, I can't breathe!"  So with that said... good bye facebook, and hello good old fashioned fresh air!