Facebook Anonymous

This year, I gave up Facebook for Lent. The first week was really hard, but by the end of Lent, I would have been fine giving it up permanently, had it not been for this one group I was in, that had been a huge source of comfort and support for me during the last year or so, and had acted as a kind of family for me, which I so desperately want and need right now.

Well, recently, a woman I felt almost sisterly towards in that group got pretty nasty towards me over something I posted (on my own wall) about the Girl Scouts, and how my girls will never be involved in that organization. Not the first time I've lost friends over the Girl Scouts, and it probably wouldn't have bothered me as much, except for what happened next. I privately messaged a dear friend about it, the one who has acted as a very sweet, supportive mother to me this last year. I knew she was also very motherly and close to this other person, so I thought she might have an idea of how to diffuse the situation, or at least be able to get her to back off a little. She couldn't find the post in question, so I tagged her. It spiralled out of control after that, and she ended up not only unfriending me, but blocking me! I messaged my motherly friend, and she said that several of our mutual friends had unfriended her solely because she's still friends with this other person. I was still reeling from all that, when the next morning, I saw a post from another mutual friend of ours, that was blatantly attacking me about the same issue! All of these people involved were a big part of that one group that I saw as a family. That was the final straw. I posted a note about how I was leaving Facebook, made sure the people I care about knew how to contact me, and turned it off. I don't have the time or energy for the drama and added stress. My mother is actively dying, I just found out we have no chance of getting Chocolate Chip back, and I still think of sweet Charlotte often.
For now, I just temporarily disconnected it, until I can get a chance to get all my pictures and videos (HOW do you get videos copied off of Facebook?!?!) downloaded to a computer. Once that's done, I'm pretty sure I'll click it over from temporary disconnect to permanent. Even without the drama, Facebook for me, was a major time-suck, at times depressing, and at times, just royally ticked me off. Who needs that? Not me. I'm done. The people who really know me, know how to contact me, and those who don't probably won't miss me anyway.

Without Facebook, I've found more peace, more time to read, and definitely less stress and anxiety. I think everyone should at least take a short break from Facebook now and then. It really put it in perspective for me.

God Bless!