1) Facebook steals time from my life. Without question, some of the time spent on Facebook is edifying and life-giving. It is possible to keep up with someones courageous struggle with a disease or donate to charity/cause through Facebook. It is possible to witness/evangelize on Facebook (as of this date). But most of the time spent on Facebook is gone with no value added. How many hours are wasted posting pictures, comments, likes and viewing page after page? The more friends we accumulate the more we have to keep up with. Minutes turn into hours turn into days. I wonder how much time we actually lose of our precious lives every year.
2) Facebook friends aren't really friends. Well, some are, but the majority of them aren't. Do you really think you have 256 close friends? We see how many friends we can accumulate in order to make ourselves feel good. The sad part is while we are on Facebook trying to convince ourselves we have lots of relationships, we are ignoring relationships that are physically in the same room or house. Maybe that Facebook time would be better spend with a spouse, child, sibling or parent.
3) Facebook brings out the worst in people. How easy it is to respond angrily or critically then revel in how many "likes" we get over it. Tempers flare over politics, religion and social causes. We say things on Facebook that we might never say in person. How easy it is to "hit and run," offending others and walking away. After all, if you don't have to see them face-to-face ever, who cares! We run the risk of being misunderstood, too. It's hard to tell the real meaning when you can't hear voice inflections or see facial expression.
4) Facebook creates monsters. Do people REALLY care what we ate for lunch today? Or that we went to the beach? Do they really want to see yet another picture of our daily life? Our egos are growing at an astronomical rate with social media. News flash - maybe we should be living life in the moment and not recording every second of it to share with others. Share it with those that are actually with us! Stop the endless photos that say "It's all about ME!"
5) Facebook provides a false view of our lives. We see posts of vacations, fun times, parties, dinners out, etc. No one ever posts, "my day sucked and I didn't do anything." We feel pressure to live up to those lives we are viewing or something is wrong with us. Why do "they" have all the fun? What's wrong with me and my life? I never get to go on vacation or eat out. What is posted on Facebook is a snapshot of a moment in time that is not necessarily accurate. It's like making a movie - how many takes end up on the editing room floor? We put out there only what we want people to see in order to create an image of ourselves and our lives. Looks glamorous but rarely is that the truth.
6) Less is more. What ever happened to a simple life? Or just a simpler life? A slower life that can actually be consumed and not just tasted? Can you imagine if we Christians spent the time wasted on Facebook reading our Bibles? Praying? Calling someone who needs to hear a voice? Visiting someone who needs their hand touched? We love to say "I'm really busy" as if it's a badge of honor yet much of that "busyness" is actually spent sitting in front of a computer screen viewing what others are doing or posting what we've done. The enemy competes for our attention and some days I think he's winning that battle.
For those of you who demonstrate self-restraint and can actually limit your time on Facebook, bravo. I can't. I have to go cold turkey and completely disengage. The temptation is too great for me. This is my last post which I will leave up for a few days and then I'm done. So bye-bye Facebook! To my true friends - let's go out to lunch or dinner soon. Send me an email or text - I'm still connected to the world, just not as much ;-)
2) Facebook friends aren't really friends. Well, some are, but the majority of them aren't. Do you really think you have 256 close friends? We see how many friends we can accumulate in order to make ourselves feel good. The sad part is while we are on Facebook trying to convince ourselves we have lots of relationships, we are ignoring relationships that are physically in the same room or house. Maybe that Facebook time would be better spend with a spouse, child, sibling or parent.
3) Facebook brings out the worst in people. How easy it is to respond angrily or critically then revel in how many "likes" we get over it. Tempers flare over politics, religion and social causes. We say things on Facebook that we might never say in person. How easy it is to "hit and run," offending others and walking away. After all, if you don't have to see them face-to-face ever, who cares! We run the risk of being misunderstood, too. It's hard to tell the real meaning when you can't hear voice inflections or see facial expression.
4) Facebook creates monsters. Do people REALLY care what we ate for lunch today? Or that we went to the beach? Do they really want to see yet another picture of our daily life? Our egos are growing at an astronomical rate with social media. News flash - maybe we should be living life in the moment and not recording every second of it to share with others. Share it with those that are actually with us! Stop the endless photos that say "It's all about ME!"
5) Facebook provides a false view of our lives. We see posts of vacations, fun times, parties, dinners out, etc. No one ever posts, "my day sucked and I didn't do anything." We feel pressure to live up to those lives we are viewing or something is wrong with us. Why do "they" have all the fun? What's wrong with me and my life? I never get to go on vacation or eat out. What is posted on Facebook is a snapshot of a moment in time that is not necessarily accurate. It's like making a movie - how many takes end up on the editing room floor? We put out there only what we want people to see in order to create an image of ourselves and our lives. Looks glamorous but rarely is that the truth.
6) Less is more. What ever happened to a simple life? Or just a simpler life? A slower life that can actually be consumed and not just tasted? Can you imagine if we Christians spent the time wasted on Facebook reading our Bibles? Praying? Calling someone who needs to hear a voice? Visiting someone who needs their hand touched? We love to say "I'm really busy" as if it's a badge of honor yet much of that "busyness" is actually spent sitting in front of a computer screen viewing what others are doing or posting what we've done. The enemy competes for our attention and some days I think he's winning that battle.
For those of you who demonstrate self-restraint and can actually limit your time on Facebook, bravo. I can't. I have to go cold turkey and completely disengage. The temptation is too great for me. This is my last post which I will leave up for a few days and then I'm done. So bye-bye Facebook! To my true friends - let's go out to lunch or dinner soon. Send me an email or text - I'm still connected to the world, just not as much ;-)
