An Update, and Some Facebook Withdrawal

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll have noticed by now that I haven't posted to it in, oh, about four months.  But since there aren't any regular readers of this blog (including me), you likely haven't noticed, and have just stumbled back here coincidentally.

Welcome.

Why no posting for such an extended period of time.  Most of the reason can be summed up in this word: summer.  Another word that describes the absence is: work.  In truth, there are several reasons why I haven't posted for a while, even though I had good intentions to do so for some time.  Oh well.  What's that they say about good intentions?

But a recent development in my life is affording me the opportunity to post more.  What's that development?  As of yesterday, I'm done with Facebook.  Done.  If you look at the right side of this site, you'll notice that the Facebook widget is not emblazoned with an image in my likeness, but instead merely reads "Facebook."  That's because I've deactivated my account.

Why did I do away with Facebook?  Quite a few reasons, actually, most of which are related.  Here are a few:

1. It had become apparent to me that I spent a lot of time on Facebook.  I never really posted much, but I ended up spending a significant amount of time reading the posts of others.  Over the past few months, I have felt more and more like reading posts from people I neither had regular contact with, nor would have contact with in the future, wasn't an efficient and valuable use of my time.

2. I was more convinced of this after reading this convicting article by Tim Challies that Facebook wasn't likely to be in my future much longer.  I tend to think that when I write my own "Things I Don't Regret Doing With My Kids" post, it won't include a bullet point talking about how much I don't regret spending time on Facebook.

3. I'm sick of overshares.  Let's face it, there are far too many people who share far too much information about themselves on Facebook.  It's stuff I don't need to know.  I know that I could just block them in my newsfeed, but if I do that, then what's the point?  I didn't see one.

4. The forth reason is like the third, and is potentially the most significant reason.  Facebook was affecting the way I relate to people in face to face contact, in what I think was a negative way.  The more I learn about people on Facebook, the less I feel the need to relate to them personally.  Additionally, the more "dirt" I get on people via Facebook, either intentionally or unintentionally, the more that influences the way I relate to them personally.  This has not been a positive trend in my life and ministry.  So it was time to cut it out.

The withdrawal symptoms have been more significant than I was expecting.  A couple times today I caught myself, seemingly subconsciously, moving my fingers to type facebook.com into my browser.  I resisted though, convincing myself that it was simply force of habit.

So as to not completely remove myself from the social media world, I've opened a Twitter account for myself.  I have no intention to tweet, or twit, or whatever it is.  I merely want to stay in touch with the media organizations I frequent in order to get continual updates to content - mostly theological.  I'm not saying I'll never go back to Facebook, but I plan to take a long break.

So here's to more blogging and no Facebook.  I guess I'll see where it takes me.