The Evils of Facebook

Last year and this year, just last Friday, I have decided to take a hiatus from Facebook.  Last year, it was a three week break after a devastating month last year.

In July of last year, I was dealing with the aftermath of two car accidents; one minor fender bender that yielded minimal damage to my car and the other one, which had significant damage.  A Target semi truck backed into my husband's Kia SUV not once, but twice which lead to his SUV being totaled out.  It was still drivable but he couldn't get the hood to open.  We're still dealing with the insurance company regarding that accident even a year later.  Also, my car suffered a breakdown when it overheated.  My dad changed the thermostat and later the timing chain and other things so I wasn't driving for three weeks. Numerous people needed surgeries and thankfully, they made out okay.  Also, my mother in law had three hospitalizations with bouts of pneumonia and diverticulitis.  It was difficult because my father in law suffers from Lewy Body Dementia so we had to worry about people watching him.  Another tragedy that happened was the loss of two friendships whom I thought would carry me through the rest of my life.  There is more that happened a year ago, but that's for another blog.

All the stress of it made me take a sabbatical from people.  I only spoke to people who made an effort to speak to me.  I unplugged from social media and it was probably the most peaceful time I've had while dealing with the stress of everything that was happening to me.  It helped put things into perspective, too, while discovering who my real friends were.

Now, I am taking another vacation from people, only speaking when spoken to.

Facebook has become a huge part of our lives.  It has its advantages and I'll list them here.

1. Facebook gets you back in contact with long lost friends.  You can see how they've been over the years and you can reminisce about old times.
2. You can meet like minded people who share your interests,  your fears, and your perspective on life.
3. It's a good way to keep in contact with your family.
4. You can share your life with everyone you know and most of them will support you and help you every step of the way.

However, here are the evils of Facebook.

1. You find out who your real friends are.  If they go somewhere without you, you feel left out.
2. It's heavily addicting.  You can wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom and I'm sure people bring their phones with them when they take a piss or dump and catch up on things.  The next thing that happens is they miss out on sleep.  People forget they are at work because of their addiction to Facebook and it causes frustration.
3. I believe it is responsible for the political divide in our country.  People are shutting each other out over political differences.  It is conservatives versus liberals and both sides are losing.  People are losing friends and family over politics and Facebook is a good platform.  Facebook isn't solely responsible, but it's a contributor.
4. It brings out high school mentality in people and it makes for a lot of drama.
5. It brings on depression in people because it makes them feel inadequate in their lives because they are under the illusion that others have it so much better than they do.  It brings on insecurity, self-doubt and self-loathing.
6. People have a platform to be dishonest about who they are.  They're dishonest with the pictures they post and how they interact with people in a real world setting.  They can talk tough about who they are, but when you meet them in person, they're not who they portray themselves to be.

I'm sure some of you will agree with the statements I have made in this post.  Facebook was meant to be a good thing for people, but like with everything, there is a dark side to it.

Deactivating from Facebook is therapeutic.