Day 125 - Take A Week Off From Facebook

I need to take a week off from facebook. Why? Because it makes me crazy to see how political it has become. People who are friends are fighting over things in the safety of the internet. You can tell someone off and it seems like your not because it is not face to face. Respect for loved ones and friends seems to be lost when out on the internet.

I also find that it becomes a time waster. I am a pretty busy person, so I am not out there a lot. But, when I am out there, I am having this internal dialogue with myself to find something more productive to do. In the end, that dialogue wins, but it takes a few minutes.

I am also tired of being invited to help people with their farms, mafias or pets. I don't care who needs help building their virtual barn. Plus, I have my own, real pets to take care of. A virtual pet on facebook will never take priority in my day.

Let us not forget the person who likes to give a status update about everything their kid has done during the day. I love to hear about first steps, funny things or occasional anecdotes about someone's child. I am guilty of doing that myself. But, sometimes, 5- 10 posts a day about one child can be too much. Or how about the person who likes to update us on every errand that they will be running. My favorite, 5 status updates in 1 hour about the 4 kids going to the dentist. It had me at the edge of my seat. So much so that I decided to permanently hide that friend from my wall.

Don't get me wrong. Facebook has it's many advantages. I have reconnected with a lot of old friends. That alone has been invaluable. I also like to play Scrabble with an old high school friend that I hadn't seen in years. It is fun to play a "board game" with a friend who lives a 100 miles. I also like to be able to put pictures of my kids out there for my family and friends who we don't see a lot. I also like seeing pictures of their kids. Those are all reasons why I stay on and check a couple times a day.

But, in the last few months, things are getting pretty hot in the world of politics. So much so that people are starting to say things that I personally find offensive. I don't want to be offended by friends, especially when they don't intentionally mean to offend anyone. So, I will take a week off and see what happens. Maybe when I get back on, people will have calmed down.