About a month ago I deactivated Facebook AND Facebook Messenger for the foreseeable future. I am a huge social media person, always have been, I think those of us who are creative people always will be.. however, Facebook, in particular Facebook Messenger, has always been a struggle for me.
Reasons I deleted:
- To put it plainly, I was jealous of those people who could have Facebook and just not feel the need to post anything and to sit back and be an observer. I could not have Facebook and not feel the need to post. Feeling like I had to post a picture with a huge caption was something that began to consume me. Not for any reason.. I just love to share, but I needed to realise that sometimes sharing is what gets me into trouble. I tried to tell myself 'don't post for a month' but I would have the app, it was like an itch I needed to scratch.
- I was starting to realise that my friends from the UK, High School, or old friends were starting to drift away. I was getting upset that I was no longer as close to people as I used to be and that people move on.. particularly because I am on the other side of the World. I would message people, tag them and get no reply. Not because they're mean or anything was wrong, but because people get busy and I was finding it hard to accept that.
- Personal dramas - I hated having messenger in particular as it added to personal dramas and I always felt the need to voice my upset.. with Facebook Messenger, it was far too easy to open the app and let loose. As an adult, I realised I needed to phone and talk in person with friends and family, or sit down with them and talk face to face.. no matter how scary it may still seem.
- Deleting messenger, I was hoping to have more people approach me in real life.
- I just needed to do it for my mental health!
Sound a bit like you? Here are the 10 things I have learnt since deactivating both Facebook and Facebook Messenger a month ago. SHOULD YOU DETOX TOO?
- Your closest friends and family will notice and will make an effort to contact you via phonecall, text, email, in person etc.
- You realise very soon that literally nobody will notice you missing from Facebook because it is not a big deal.
- Maaaan you will have SO much more time for activities - less mindless scrolling has been amazing, I mean look, instead of scrolling memes, I started my blog again.
- I have kept many of my opinions to myself and sometimes that's a good thing, I don't need to read a billion articles that make my blood boil and then feel the NEED to voice my opinion online to strangers.
- I have hoped deleting Facebook/Messenger would mean more people would approach me in real life to chat, that's still an ongoing experiment.
- I miss memes.. but luckily my bestie sometimes sends me screenshots through text.
- I have had to ACTUALLY get people's numbers! Shocker.
- People look at me funny when I say 'sorry I didn't see, I don't have Facebook'.
- More people have been asking me about my life and having conversations - they aren't seeing it all on Facebook, so they aren't as privy to my private life. People are wanting to talk and know more. I have been WAY more social with a variety of people and not just my closest friends. After unplugging from Facebook, I was able to develop new friendships.
- I have been 1000+ more productive and more creative.
