Everything’s getting posted on Facebook these days.
What you ate?
Where you ate?
How long were you there?
And so on.
And since everybody is doing the same they’re all asking you to check out what they’re doing. It isn’t the easiest thing to avoid social media. These tech companies do know a lot about you.
Almost 25% of the world’s population is now on Facebook. In the US nearly 80% of all internet users use Facebook. Social networks feed off interactions. Collectively it becomes a giant voice.
Back in 2010-2011, Facebook had already dethroned MySpace and Orkut and was the biggest sensation to arrive. Everyone wanted a profile on it.
And who wouldn’t want to jump in? For me, being able to communicate with near and dear ones easily and for free was the biggest highlight. I could see what they were doing with their life and post my reaction on it.
It was awesome.
It was primarily sold as a way to communicate quickly. That trick worked. Before anyone knew Facebook had hundreds of thousands of eager users who were inviting more.
I would browse for 10 mins a day, which changed to over an hour, 2 hours, 3 and so on. Little did I know that the smartest engineers in the world were working day and night to lure people in and keep them there. Facebook was the house made of candy, the witch built. Except the witch had more sinister plans.
All I wanted to do was stay abreast of what my online friends were doing, many of who I didn’t even know. I had 10 friends offline. On Facebook? 650.
The irony? Some of those friends were living nearby. Yet, instead of meeting them and talking to them face to face I took the all too convenient route of posting an update.
The conversations lost the depth and richness of real-world conversations since everything was public. Also, how much can you type away to chat?
I lost meanings in relationships. They were superficial at best.
It’s difficult to get out of complacency when everything is alright. It’s difficult to challenge yourself then. Only when you have an overwhelming desire to change things for the better can you turn things around.
That’s the first step. Social media is robbing you of valuable time and killing relationships.
I was successfully able to quit Facebook using the steps outlined below. You can use the same guidelines to quit any social media channel you wish to.
Why do you feel jealous of the picture-perfect life of other people?
Why compete against others?
Why compare their ups with your ups and their downs with yours?
This ceaseless competition is on 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
I learned blogging. I also learned coding. It was difficult. But if I had to throw out my Facebook addiction, I knew I had to discover that “something” to replace it with.
Otherwise, social media looks for the nook and cranny it can enter. It actively seeks the hollow in your life to start filling it up.
Being a creator is a tectonic shift from mindlessly consuming something which is what social does to your brain. An endless scroll of pictures, memes, and videos to whet your appetite ON every minute of every day.
By learning skills, I could compartmentalize social media, phones and the digital world that took a lot of my time giving nothing in return.
I am not saying you should never use social media. But, attach limits to whatever you’re doing on it.
I am now more mindful than ever of my time. I also realize that I will die one day. I am probably whisking that off “Fight Club”. But so much the movie says is gospel truth.
If you want to change your life, know that you’re are the one in the driver’s seat and you can change it.