Things I learned from my two weeks without Facebook on my phone:
1. I have friends that I rarely see but who I missed not “seeing” every day on Facebook. This is an odd reality of 21st-century life. So, to those of you who I don’t physically see often or ever… Thank you for being my friend anyway. You are important to me too. And I have loved being part of your life.
2. I get so much more done in the evenings and I sleep better too. I have even taken to leaving my phone in the laundry room on weekends when I don’t need an alarm. I may even invest in an old-fashioned alarm clock again.
3. I worry much less about my health when I am not seeing constant adds about what new ailment or underlying condition that I might have symptoms of. Of course, for some of you, this probably isn’t even an issue. The curse of being a person who worries too much I guess…
4. I am ashamed to say it, but I spend way more time playing on the floor with my son. He seems happier too. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t care at all about Facebook….but he does care about me playing with him without distraction.
5. I talk with my husband more… especially in the evenings. He seems to have enjoyed being the one to catch me up on what is going on in Facebook world. Interestingly enough, I think he has even spent less time on his phone too. Happy to say that our romance is alive and well. It turns out I would rather talk with him at night anyway!
6. Though the world is still a dark and often sad place, I have been able to find more joy in the ordinary. When bad things have happened I have found myself less consumed with the darkness and more consumed with creating light and beauty inside my little world.
7. I started reading magazines again. And I love them! I had forgotten how wonderful it is to crack open a new periodical and read it from cover to cover. I started reading more in general.
8. I found that I don’t miss Facebook nearly as much as I thought I would. I kind of like unplugging from the world and focusing on tasks that make me feel productive and alive.
9. My house is cleaner and I am more physically active. It’s become a daily ritual to dance with the baby to Mother Goose on Netflix every day after school. I seriously wouldn’t trade that 30 minutes with him for anything.
10. Most importantly, I learned that my life was a little out of balance. I learned that there was much I was missing about life by thumbing through my feed every time I had a few minutes of downtime. I don’t think I will go back. I may check in more regularly…but I think I like this new reality better. But goodness…I do still love all of you!
I think it’/a awesome, Rachel. I’ve been considering the same thing. Remember when we would find down time even sitting somewhere and would have our heads up instead of down? Think of all the people right in front of us that we are missing out on because our eyes are on our phones. Hmmm I miss going out to dinner with my husband and/friends/family and just talking-no phones at all-they weren’t even a thought in our minds. Thank you for sharing this experience! Love you so much!!!
Love you too!