You might be the type that wakes up, rolls over, and grabs their phone to check their feed. Or maybe you’re the type that makes sure to like everyone’s status or picture as an acknowledgment that you’ve seen it. You post a lot, but not too much. You have to share the latest pic of the kiddos, or the pups, or your morning latte. But that’s it, you don’t take Facebook too seriously.
That was me. For like a thousands years since Facebook’s creation. Back when it wasn’t a household name and literally everyone and their grandma was on it. LITERALLY. I used election time to de-friend. I used smack talk against the Texans to weed out friends. I rejoiced when they came out with the “unfollow” option. I’m normally one to let people feel the way they feel, no matter how idiotic they seem. But I never did more than a like or share. Never really putting all my thoughts on the feed because it wasn’t a big deal. I was better than those who got into long arguments with people they didn’t know. About important things, like border patrol or marriage rights. Then about even more important things like feelings about Nutella, or which way toilet paper rolls are supposed to go.
Until I wasn’t.
Y’all, I got into it with someone on a Facebook post.
And I was sitting there like “this is stupid, it’s just Facebook” — but my face was hot and my ears were red and I kept going back to the post with more comments and I wouldn’t back down and finally I typed “I’m not apologizing. Block me.”
Facebook is real life y’all! With the stupid feed changes and picture uploads and relatives’ inappropriate comments. Passive aggressive updates…you know, that “I’m not okay but I’m just going to barely post about it to get people to ask me more questions” post. Texans slander. It’s all too much.
Except you might have a birth month group you’ve connected with and have formed wonderful bonds with over the years. You have a photo group. Your neighborhood group. High school reunion group. Cross fit friends. Yard sale boards. Houston Moms Blog! It’s a necessity. With no hyperbole. I hate when I can’t tag someone in a picture because they don’t use Facebook. I’ve forgotten people existed because I’ve unfollwed them. If I miss Scandal, I can’t get onto Facebook until I’ve caught up, but then I get on anyway and scroll really quickly.
It’s a necessary evil.
While I’m not going to be outrageous and suggest something impossible like quitting Facebook, I am going to try to help us all keep our sanity. {Fun fact :: You can’t “quit” Facebook. They keep all your data, and when you cave, and everyone caves, you just log back in and poof – your stuff is back like you never left.}
- Have you burned dinner, while standing in the kitchen, because you were scrolling? More than once?
- Has your child knocked your phone out of your hand because you weren’t listening to them?
- Have you sent a text to a friend with a screenshot of a mutual acquaintances ridiculous post?
- Have you been Facebook stalking someone and accidentally liked an old picture then quickly unliked it and hoped they didn’t see?
- Have you Facebooked everyone you went to high school with?
- Do you actually get how to put your timeline in chronological order?
- If you wake up in the middle of the night to go to the restroom, do you check Facebook too?
- Do you wait until peak time to post a pic of your cute kid {see first line about dinner time} because you know that’s when you will get the most likes?
- Do you have every sticker package downloaded for Facebook messenger?
- Have you de-friended a family member for an idiotic comment on Nutella or rival teams?
- Have you demanded someone block you?
Even if you don’t have any of these symptoms {but I know you do}, odds are – you need a break every once in awhile. There are hundreds of other things you can be doing. Take a nap! Remember those? Read a book! Watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix.
When it doubt, Pinterest it out.
Pretty pictures, no drama!
How do YOU know when you need to Facebook break? Am I the only one with this hate/love/hate relationship? Had any ridiculous drama because of it? Feel free to rant in the comments below…