Long Time, No See!

Robin Janney – Author sent me a plea this past week: “Would you be willing to start posting on Broads again?” I reluctantly said I’d try. Perhaps this will be the start of us taking turns posting weekly blogs. Who knows? At any rate, here I am. I even told Robin I didn’t know what to blog about and she suggested I should start with my recent stint at detoxing from social media. Okay.

Can't we all just get along?
Photo from Google Images

Self-admittedly, I am a Facebook addict. As a stay-at-home-mom/writer(or non-writer)/photographer/volunteer, I have a lot of down time or, as reality set in, lazy time. This became vividly clear when I consulted the time monitoring tool Facebook has within your settings. During the week of January 6^th, I had averaged a little over six hours a day on Facebook. Six Hours! It was startling. With this revelation also came the realization that my time on social media wasn’t really enjoyable anymore. Don’t get me wrong. I loved keeping in touch with friends and relatives; seeing pics and having virtual visits. What I wasn’t enjoying was the arguing and ugliness that has come to a head since the 2016 political campaigns kicked into gear in 2015. Mind you, civility has been on a general decline since the inception of social media, but this past election cycle certainly made it hit a crescendo. Some of the most innocent posts could be made and someone on your friends list would snap and attack—off topic and relentless. Never mind the posts of those belonging to a polar opposite ideological nature. Some of the comments I read on friend's or relative’s posts were outright hostile—vile even. Civility is gone. No longer is polite debate used. “Your statement is dumb. You’re dumb. Everyone who thinks like you is dumb. I hope something miserable happens to you so you realize this.” Ugh. I see a person’s Facebook page as their own space for expressing themselves. It’s personal. If they post something you don’t like, scroll by. Or unfollow. Or unfriend. Hell, block them if you feel so strongly. Simple. Instead, some use this as an opportunity to attack. I was often left wondering why some of these people were even friends. Seriously. It boggles the mind. So it is simple, if you can’t be civil, be gone. Think of your Facebook wall as your personal living room, so to speak. Would you allow this same person to come into your home, sit in your living room, and speak to you in that same manner? I sincerely hope your answer is no. Likewise, I would hope you don’t make a practice of entering a friend’s or relative’s home and committing this same act. It’s uncivil. It’s nasty. It’s upsetting. Who needs the stress? Don’t get me started on public account posts like a news station or public figure. I found my blood pressure rising as I read comments. Again, FRIENDLY debate is one thing, attacking is another. I don’t need that in my life. 

Because there is always a heckler who will disagree.
Photo from Google Images

My detox began a week ago today. I researched how to save my photos and videos from my Facebook account because I really didn’t want to lose them. The social media company has a way to convert your property to an HTML file and can be uploaded to the device of your choice. The whole process, including saving to my laptop, took less than an hour. At that point, I opted to start with deactivating my Facebook account. Mind you, my Messenger app is still working. Deleting my account may come later. Right now, I don’t want to do anything permanent. As an independent author, I used social media to market my eBooks. In fact, social media SOLD my eBooks.  

With my newfound “free time”, I have been able to do many projects around the house that I have been putting off for fear of missing my social media time. I have many more projects to do. It’s amazing how much one can accomplish in a day when they aren’t wasting time scrolling. I also got back into a healthier lifestyle routine again after a three year break. I have almost gained back all of the weight I had lost from 2012 through 2015. (A lot of that from stress eating and inactivity that came after my youngest daughter’s brain lesion discovery and the numerous opinions, follow-up appointments, and general stress that comes with such a diagnosis. As of May 2018, the lesion is still stable and unchanged.) I’m counting calories, eating healthier, and resumed daily exercise through walking at a pace of 3mph. I walked 20.34 miles over six days. It is uncanny how quickly your general outlook changes just from leaving social media. My mood is more positive. I have more energy AND I’m getting shit done. I am starting to feel more optimistic about my writing projects and hope to return to a regular writing schedule. I think one more week, as the social media toxins leave my psyche, and my creative side should return.

I hope all of our Broads of a Feather readers have been well and are ready for Team Robin Janney – Author and C.P. Stringham – Author to blog with regularity once again!