Why I Left Facebook...What I Learned...And Why I'm Coming Back
Why I Left
In December of 2019 I decided to take year-long sabbatical from Facebook.
I made this decision for two primary reasons: Excess and Envy.
Excess
I realized that I was spending a large amount of time on Facebook. Between checking my profile and making posts I could tell that I was way too immersed. The excess time that I was spending trying to craft the perfect post and ensuring that I was posting regularly was taking time – lots of it.
Envy
While excess time was certainly an issue, the thing that I noticed that was most concerning was envy. After a long session of scrolling through posts, I would walk away feeling envious and jealous of others for their accomplishments, vacations, friendships, etc. I did not like the person I was becoming. It felt like my soul was going down a wrong path.
Something needed to change and I felt that a sabbatical was the best option.
A sabbatical for a full year…
Cold turkey…
No posting…
No scrolling…
No messenger…
NOTHING for one full year.
I made the decision in December of 2019, and on January 1st, 2020 my Facebook account went completely dark.
What I Learned
Fast forward to February 2023.
My one-year sabbatical turned into an almost three-year sabbatical.
I was completely off of Facebook for all of 2020, 2021, and most of 2022.
As it turned out, I don’t know if there could have been any BETTER years in history to have been off social media. (For this, I can only thank the providence of God. He knew what was going to happen in our world starting in 2020 and knew that me being off social media during this time was only for the best).
There are two big things that I have learned in my almost three-year hiatus.
Time away from Facebook (or any social media) is cleansing for the soul
Time away from Facebook allowed me to address the sin issues of jealousy and envy in my life. Not being on Facebook made me realize even more starkly about how often I was falling into these patterns. To say that the struggle with jealousy and envy is completely cured would not be true, but to say that God has used the time away from social media to work on this in me is definitely true. I still struggle…but I struggle far less.
I did not miss out on anything
You would think that after being off of Facebook for almost three years that I would have been uninformed and clueless as to the condition of the world, social trends, or the happenings of the people around me. But I wasn’t. Truth be told…I did not miss out on anything. The stuff in life that was important to know I knew, the stuff in people’s lives that was important to know I knew, and I realized that most stuff on Facebook is entertaining…but not important to know.
Why I Am Coming Back
There are seasons for everything. The season of being off social media was a good one. But I feel as though I am in a place where I can engage again in a healthy way. Social media has the powerful quality of allowing people to communicate and share the message of their life. I have seen the message of people’s lives on social media inspire and encourage. I hope to do the same. Whether it be a picture, a thought, a quote, or a blog post, I hope that the message of my life will glorify God and be an encouragement and inspiration for those who come across it.
A lot has happened in three years and a lot is happening now.
Looking forward to sharing in the months and years to come.
