The thought of plopping on the couch, opening my tablet, and spending an hour scrolling through Facebook posts was more than I could bear! I'm weary of Facebook.
I feel guilty saying that. It sounds like I'm tired of my friends and prefer Marcia Brady and Mr. and Mrs. Howell. Adam was obliging, He found The Munsters on Netflix, a show I never, ever watched as a child. He and I had radically different family television viewing habits :)
Why am I tired of Facebook?
#1 None of my siblings or their spouses are on Facebook on any regular basis.
#2 None of my children are on Facebook on any regular basis. Anna is, a bit, but she doesn't post much.
#3 Very few of my nieces or nephews are on Facebook regularly.
#4 My parents are not on Facebook.
#5 Although I do have good current friends on Facebook and some good friends from years ago, most of the personal posts on my feed are from people I know so little that they might as well be strangers. I know nearly nothing of their lives outside of Facebook. More important, I have absolutely no contact with them, other than Facebook.
At some level, Facebook is a superficial friendship medium.
That's not to say that I don't treasure the contact (and fun personal information) I view from some friends. And I will always appreciate Facebook for bringing me back into regular contact with some friends that I thought I'd lost forever. Those are the reasons I've stayed.
But now that I know I can find those friends, I can contact them, is it a good idea to spend an hour each day with glazed eyes panning over irritating political memes and vapid, ignorant comments from people I don't know? It has the same low-grade irritation as a skin rash. Finally last night I said, "No!" And we watched The Munsters.
I told Adam I wanted a screen to look at that demanded nothing of me: no emotional reaction, no political response, no guilt tripping meme about Jesus or soldiers or cancer patients, no friend request from a total stranger, no weepy videos about tragedies afar, no passive-aggressive click-bate.
Remember the day when a few silly T.V. commercials were more than we would tolerate, and we switched to DVDs? Look how far we've descended, how many slaps in the face we'll take from a screen! Well, no more. I'm reminding myself that the screen is here to serve me, no the other way around. I'm going back to reading blogs of people I enjoy. I'll dash into Facebook when I need to see a friend there, but I won't be a slave to the newsfeed.
Tomorrow night, however, I may ask for Bonanza instead of The Munsters.
8 comments:
I'M not on Facebook but I can well understand what you mean. I think there are quite a few aspects of modern life that make me hunger for the old days. Hope you are ok.x
You're funny! I like your thoughts. I'm not on FB but I know enough about it through my kids to know that it's just not for me. I like my privacy and I wish everyone else liked their privacy more.
I love all the TV shows you've mentioned. We used to always watch MASH at noon when our kids were teenagers. We still like the occasional Andy Griffith Show or Bonanza. We watched a Beach Boys concert on Saturday that was fun!
I'm tired of Facebook, too. Argh. I like seeing photos of family and other special friends, but I've unfollowed so many people because I don't like their posts. I like blogs so much better because blog writers aim at the audience they enjoy, their readers. Facebook is such a free for all. I often wonder, "Who is that post for? I know it isn't me."
You should watch Hyacinth Bucket (Keeping Up Appearances) on Netflix. It's hilarious!
Yay, Bonanza! It was my favorite as a child. After it, I hardly watched anything so I have no favorites. But what you said about the weirdness that FB can be you expressed perfectly.
I watched the Munsters when I was a kid. So corny!!
I have a FB account but hardly ever on it.
I so much prefer blogging!!
I'm not on FB either and don't want to be. I enjoy blogging and reading blogs. Have made quite a few friends through this. FB just seems too hectic and sometimes ugly from what I hear.
Growing up we watched Bonanza, Father Knows Best, Ozzie and Harriet, Andy of Mayberry, Rin Tin Tin, Circus Boy, My Three Sons, and many more. Life was simpler, shows had morals. We liked Rawhide too and other shows I just can't think of right now.
I'm trying to wean myself from sitting in front of my computer so much. I've things that need doing. Became a chair potato and have hibernated since losing my dear husband.
Enjoy the rest of your week and your farm and the new life you are living there. I'm happy for you.
Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady
Facebook can be very superficial; I don't do a lot of posting, but my friends there are actually real friends, many from church and the rest from high school. I limit my time there. I don't respond to political or religious things. I figure that folks still have freedom of speech; my freedom to refrain from speech is a right, too. I contribute to two pages. One is "Abandoned Homes of North Carolina." Those houses and farms are a passion of mine, and I like posting my photos and seeing the photos of thers. The other is Journal 52, a year-long art prompt page. I have found that it's too easy to spend idle time on Facebook. I limit mine. We had no internet service for 2 1/2 days out here. I didn't miss FB or anything else. Enjoyed reading your post. Always do!
I waste too much time on FB too. I get sucked into taking those silly tests, or watching cat videos, etc. Most days, I try to tell myself, okay, 5 minutes, tops, just to see if someone had a baby, got engaged, or needs prayer. I need to keep that time limit. So glad I haven't gotten into Instagram.
We weren't allowed to watch much TV growing up, for which I'm now glad. But I do remember Gilligan's Island :)
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