Freedom from Facebook

I have a friend named Hillary. Although we rarely see each other or speak to each other, we have a history. Our parents grew up together and we were born two days apart from each other, so, it’s just plain and simple that we were born to be friends regardless of what happens.

The other day, Hillary challenged me with her decision to lock herself out of her facebook account. Big deal, right? Well, it is and I applaud her for it! It got me to thinking, “lucky her…she’s no longer consumed by the falsity of this social network that we think is so real”. If you stop and think about it, the whole concept and incoherent ‘value’ of facebook has really plummeted. I hated how I always have to ‘check’ and see if anyone ‘out there’ thought of ME…or thought MY post was funny. Don’t even get me started on the ‘snooping’ and ‘creeping’ aspect. Do you actually think we are building HEALTHY relationships through this socially degrading waste of time?

Now, granted, I’ve connected with old friends and far-away family that I never thought I’d be able to see again or that often BUT the awesome part there is that once we connected FACE to FACE, we continued talking and seeing each other. What a concept. The flip side is be’friend’ing someone for the sake up upping my friend count so I can creep on their page and see what they’ve been up to for the past 10 years is NOT cool. Facebook has taken my most valuable asset away from me and that is my TIME. Once it’s used up for the day, I can never get it back. Not to mention they own everything I put on there…yikes!

There is a somewhat spiritual side to it all too. I’ve been able to hide the importance of my relationship with Jesus Christ on facebook because it can appear to be uncool. Well, you know what? It IS cool and I would WAY rather spend more time with him becoming a better person then sitting here waiting, wishing and hoping that someone out there, ANYONE, would just write something on my wall, or comment on a picture to see how COOL my life is compared to theirs. Wow, that is so unbalanced to what I believe and want my life to be about. This might be a surprise to some but it’s really me and I’m pretty sure if you liked me before and didn’t realize this, you’d still want to be my friend.

Truth is, I have hurt people with facebook and I have been hurt because of facebook. The deeper reflection for me is that it’s not worth it. Life is a race, not a game and I want to live in such a way as to “find out what pleases the Lord” (Ephesians 5:10) rather than what pleases my social network.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

After a few days of contemplation, I have decided to delete my account. I don’t know the specifics of how to do it but I'm going to figure that out and it’s going to happen soon. Facebook does not and should not own me. I want to be free from the burden that I put upon myself and my concern for what others think. I want to read more. I want to see people face to face. I want to live my life! I will keep my blog, I do have email, I do have a phone and in actual fact, I have a pulse…you should check it out! Hooray! Let’s celebrate the fact that we all have a life worth living and go do it without having to boast about it for false, incorrectly spelled praise!

Think about it.