Late last year, I took a month off from Facebook. I was spending too much of my free time on the platform and found myself in the same conversations over and over again. I needed a break; I needed to use my free time for other things.
The first day without Facebook was hard, only because I kept forgetting I wasn’t using it. I ended up commenting on a couple of things before I remembered, and put my phone away. After that, it was easy to stay away from Facebook.
I also learned a few things during my near-hiatus from Facebook, (Near? You ask – well, I’ll explain that a little later), and wanted to share.
Life without Facebook
- I had more free time than I thought. And I reached for my phone a lot more than I thought, too. My son still naps frequently and I caught myself reaching for my phone during his naps. My month off was spent focusing on what I could be doing instead of scrolling when I had a few moments of downtime. During my downtime (AKA: nap time) writing, reading and yes, catching up on Outlander definitely got a front row seat the month I spent away from Facebook.
- I spent more time texting, emailing, and making phone calls to catch up with friends. In the process, I learned a lot about what was going on in their lives that didn’t make it onto social media, and felt more connected to them than I do just through the social platform.
- I visited more websites directly, with intention, than I did by clicking links from my phone. This was kind of a big deal for me because so much of my web reading in the past came from clicking links shared by friends. Visiting sites on my own time gave me the ability to focus on what the author was saying, and also let me see what sites I love and which ones I read because they often appear in my feed. I found myself reading websites that bring me joy, and also was able to narrow narrow down my choice of news sources—a big deal in our always-connected society!
- It’s hard to break completely free from Facebook. My son and I participate in a lot of activities, and midway through my second week not using Facebook, I realized those activities have Facebook groups for their primary means of communication. My hiatus became a near-hiatus when I began to check the social app once or twice a day to ensure I wasn’t missing a critical piece of information, like where or when a playdate was happening. And even then, it was hard to avoid commenting on a friend’s post here and there. I worked hard when I did open the app to only navigate to the groups I needed, and to close the app when I was done. That definitely helped cut back on the random scrolling I’d catch myself in otherwise.
Since my hiatus ended, I am still using Facebook minimally. I’m putting my spare time toward other endeavors, through I still check the app about once a day. I pared down my groups and visits to only what’s necessary and find that when I do use Facebook, I spend less time than I ever did before. I don’t think I could ever go without it, though; I have too many friends I’d lose touch with!
Would you ever consider a Facebook hiatus?
