Salam folks! I am back on Facebook for the time-being. Some of you have inquired as to where my Facebook page disappeared or why, while others have not even noticed. Honestly, it is the healthiest that some of you may not care about my Facebook presence (if you can call it that), hahaha. Facebook presence is a fake presence and my intentional 4o day experiment only confirmed that.

 

How the Decision to Take a Break from Facebook Came About

In late 2016, I watched a you-tube talk by Simon Sinek (Millenials in the Work Place) that resonated with me on many levels. I have posted the link below for your reference. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hER0Qp6QJNU

I basically wanted to explore some of the points Sinek made that resonated the most. For your information,  I have been an avid facebook user, so this experiment may or may not change that. After reflection, the truths that hit me like a ton of bricks were:

a) how addictive social  media and constant virtual noise can be

b) how it is has rapidly changed our society and the way we humans connect or appear to connect  (failing to connect) and

c) how distracting it is from real life (the reality in front of our eyes). In addition , we have  all experienced (at least occasionally) the high (instant gratification) from receiving likes/shares/comments on content we have identified ourselves with and the low from lack of.

Even though I am not part of that generation of Millennials, I definitely got myself addicted to Facebook, the social media platform I enjoy the most out of the lot.  What do you think of the virtual world? Is on-line connection healthy? It does have numerous advantages. Do you feel the advantages are worth it? Do you need to put some limits on its access for yourself? your kids? Your partner? Your peace of mind? or is unlimited access working well for you?

Life has been teaching me, when a positive thing spins out of control and the negatives begin out-weighing the positives, it usually means it is time to to put some boundaries in place. Therefore, my 2017 boundary (I prefer that word over resolution-as resolutions have failed in the past so am trying the boundary system:)) was the following:

For 40 days, to simply deactivate my Facebook account (from January 2nd to February 12th). Simple right? Do-able? Definitely. Sustainable? Not so sure.

Little did I know, that the main theme of the whole month and ten days would turn out to be all about boundaries! Including using my power and taking it back from the external world where I willingly gave it away. When things go out of balance in your life, it could mean that you are giving up a part of your power to outside influences. What are some outer-influences you have given over your power to? It can be literally anything! An idea, a thought, a job, an emotion, all forms of addiction, a person, a boss, a group, a philosophy, a belief system, etc…

I skyped with my friend Aude about this matter shortly before making my decision . Being a more disciplined type, Aude said to me , “Rawan, it is not very clever what you are doing (spending a lot of time) on Facebook.”  Lol:)

Right on!! Merci beaucoup Aude!  Still, I do not think I can cut it out cold turkey yet, or ever, and am not making promises I can’t keep.

I do hope that the series of posts: 40 Days without Facebook at least gets you thinking about your own experiences with social media, your personal power, and the choices you make everyday as you log on-line and log off your life.

Keep checking this space for more updates on my Facebook-less experiences! 🙂

Rawan