“No, I didn’t see that…”
“Oh yeah? Jamie? From third grade? Engaged? No, I didn’t see that…”
“I must’ve missed that post about the insurrection trials…”
“No, I didn’t see Maria’s vacation pics.”
“Not sure I saw that viral video…”
I’m missing a lot more these days, but I wouldn’t exactly say I’m MISSING any of it. By January’s hellscape of Omicron surge, the breakdown of infrastructure just about everywhere around us, and the politically charged commotion that accompanies each and every day we live in now, something in my corner of the world needed to go, so I could simply block out some of the noise. It was time to again say, “Buh-bye, Facebook!”
And I’m likely never looking back.
Is there irony here? Yes. After all, you found this post on Facebook, more than likely, through a quality forum of women and moms I do adore. But there is life outside of the blue box news feed, gang! I did keep Instagram but comparing the demographic of each in those networks, Facebook, for me, was a 1,000 “friend” network of people I mostly added in the first ten years of the app. People I don’t really interact with much anymore. At the same time, Insta, on the other hand, at least for me, is a very intentional collective of followers who I have had more proximal, quality time spent with in more recent years. Instagram’s age as an app alone weeds out many of the, “Who is that with the new cabin?? Is that a guy who used to date my college roommate, and we are still friends on Facebook??” Moments I would have on Facebook constantly as I have aged don’t happen as frequently on a less-elderly app like the Gram. At one point in recent years, I remember peeking at my FB blocked list, and there were even some people I’d placed on it – what? 15 years ago?? I couldn’t recall who they were or why on God’s green earth I’d blocked them! That’s telling of the times.
This isn’t my first rodeo leaving the FB platform, but it’s been the most joyous and most productive sabbatical in my entire time of its existence. In other times of hiatus from Facebook, I left because of the same political noise, need for a break from my screen, and intent to focus on things like finalizing wedding plans or personal projects, but this time it just feels different. It feels final. It feels like the platform itself has met an end. The app and those who use it consistently are aging. Putting it bluntly, your greatest social media concept is a has-been, Zuck! Haven’t we spent enough time seeing any and everything the internet and our first-grade neighbor have to offer via that blue banner feed? Trust me, try it. Less is more.
One trend I have noted recently is how blissful my friends are who don’t “do social media” at all. Perhaps I’ll become one of those folks, but for now, I’m relishing living in the real world. Yes, news flash, social media is NOT REAL LIFE. It’s bizarre to step back and think about how curated every aspect of social media has become. Yet, each time the veil is pulled back on a fraudulent influencer, or a phony motherhood Youtuber, we as a collective keep letting the snake bite us again and again. Time to tend to the bite marks, America. Time to tend to our own grass and not even be aware if other moms are “doing it better” than us. It’s certainly time not to be one bit aware of how many kids our second-grade bully has crammed in her backyard BBQ selfie. Time to not give two hoots if that one sorority sister whose maiden name you couldn’t recall to save your life, has earned the freaking Monat Cadillac or not (NO ONE HAS BEEN ASKING HER ABOUT HER SHINY HAIR RECENTLY).
Log off the socials, even just a bit, and log into real life!
It’s time to say goodbye to Facebook, my friends.