2 Days w/out FB

I don't know about you, but I tend to check FB fairly frequently. Whenever I get back on my computer and check my email or do some work, I go to FB and do a quick browse, and without fail I come away from it with a poor POV of humanity. There is a huge entertainment component to FB, not unlike channel surfing on a TV - you're just looking for something to capture your attention, and in all fairness, there is plenty. Like TV or smart phones (which I don't own), it can be addicting and can easily suck you in. I've found, however, that I have a limited amount of patience for FB, and don't spend long periods on it. I check it fairly frequently, but only in short bursts, maybe 10-15 minutes at the most. Even in that short time, however, I find plenty of annoying stuff.

There are a couple of things, however, that I find distasteful. One of them is the constant showcasing of people's lives, or should I say bragging? And it almost always involves how awesome their kids are. In all fairness, some of their kids are pretty awesome, but I won't get into that. People are often shameless when it comes to even the smallest things in their kid's life, and like all social media shortcomings, showcasing the highlights ignores the other 99% of their lives that aren't so glamorous. Not even close.

The other thing that I really find hard to stomach are the news stories and highly opinionated posts that people dump onto you. This became glaringly apparent during the presidential run, but it doesn't take an election to get the extremist, close minded, and even lunatic fringe to plaster their opinions on the airwaves. I find myself reading it and just scratching my head wondering what planet do these people live on?

While I read the posts on FB, I rarely write or post stuff anymore, save for the occasional birthday greeting, or if my daughter or wife wants me to promote something. I generally just read and stew.

Which got me to thinking, why do I bother? If I find FB stuff so offensive, why do I keep coming back for more then whine about it? Maybe for the same reason I work at jobs surrounded by people I can't stand or develop acquaintances with toxic people. It doesn't make sense, it just happens.

Well, I decided that rather than gripe and moan about it, I'm just going to go without. Today is currently day 2 without looking at FB. This may not seem like a lot, but if you're a FB junkie, it is. And I'm not even that much of a FB junkie. For the record, I know plenty of people who say they hate FB and yet post stuff all the time, so their actions speak louder than their words.

I'm going to try to let my actions speak for themselves, or should I say, my un-actions?

We'll see how long this lasts. Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Mariana Moyses for the pic.