Bye Bye Facebook (for now)

A couple of days ago, I deactivated my account on Facebook for an unspecified amount of time.

I'm hoping to make it two months. That doesn't seem like much, but I've given it up for Lent (1 month) for 2 or 3 years in a row and this time I'd like to make it two months, if not longer.
If and when I do rejoin it, I have now found a great app for the Mac that I can install that will only allow me to go on it during certain times of day. As of right now, I don't think there is an app like that for the iPhone or I would most certainly download it.

Back to Facebook-I had to walk away from it and I had to put up this hard boundary because well...I just can't look at it only a little bit.

I can't just look at it once a month
I can't just look at it once a week
I can't just look at it once a day

I took the Facebook app off of my phone during Lent and then put it back on afterwards and then promptly took it off again when I saw the amount of Facebook browsing I was doing after Lent was over.

But that only slowed me down...

I can still see Facebook through the browser on my iPhone and my laptop is on our main level in our kitchen...so there's easy access to it every time I walk through the kitchen...which is quite a lot in our home because it also leads to our garage.

Some of my friends only look at it when their kids are napping or when they are in bed for the night.
Oh, how I wish I had that self control but I do not at this time.

I have a very real need to connect with friends throughout the day and Facebook and the Internet have made that very possible and it was great...for a while.

But time on Facebook has taken away a lot of time that I could be spending with my children.

I have a theory that stay at home moms may have some of the hardest time from unwiring themselves from the internet and social media. It can get to be the same ole, same ole day after day and the internet and even more specifically, social media, can give that quick fix for connection.

I'm sure I could offer up some research and good quotes on it all but suffice it to say...I spend too much time on the Internet especially Facebook.

Facebook has also caused drama over the course of the 5 years I've been on it that I do not believe I would have experienced had I never gone on there in the first place.

Misunderstandings, jealousy, offensive comments, sarcastic comments...all that has caused drama and I need to walk away from that as well.

Boundaries have to be set up in my life to allow more time for real life and less time for drama.

When I think ahead and how my children will remember me, I don't want them to remember me always clicking away on the laptop or with my head buried in my smartphone. I want them to remember me engaging them and connecting with them...playing, creating, cooking, singing, dancing, laughing, talking, reading...doing life.

So when there's something in your life that is causing you stress and taking you away from your loved ones and it's something that you can certainly do without...it's time to take a hard look at it and see if it is worth it to continue staying on the same course.

**Recommended reading: The UnWired Mom-Choosing to Live Free in an Internet Addicted World by Sarah Mae.