Wake Me Up When Lent Season Ends

It was something that needed to be done. I was constantly on Facebook on all hours of the day. Like an addict I was always making sure I had read everything off my feed and had cleared off all the notifications. And with increased frequency Facebook had became the first thing I reach for in the morning and the last thing I look at before passing out in bed.

Facebook wasn’t a part of my life as much as my life had became specifically planned around it. I had to cut the cord somewhere, so for Lent this year I decided to give up Facebook and social media altogether.

It should sound easy, and in fact I did just that back in 2008. All you have to do is lay off the Facebook and Twitter. If you need to reach someone, just pick up the phone! That’s what people always say, right?

And for the most part it went over pretty smoothly. My urge to constantly check in decimated within the first day or two and my life got sorted over the past couple months. Facebook and Twitter were no where to be found on my phone as they were mentally placed at the furthest of the back burner. I was in a good place.

But as days went by I started debating what constitute Social Media? Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, sure. But what about YouTube? What about Reddit where you can communicate and share content just as easily? What about Fitbit where you can compare your fitness score with your friends? What about CNN, hell even IGN? The entire Internet is built on Social Media these days.

There’s also world of difference between 2008 and 2014. What used to be a place to check out your friend’s vacation (or ugh, baby) photos like Facebook and Twitter are now a crucial place to discover and confirm breaking news. I was still living in Los Angeles in the beginning of Lent season where there had been quite a series earthquakes and without Twitter I didn’t know where else to confirm that-very-second if these earthquakes were real or how big they were.

And when I was finally able to officially announce my move back to San Francisco, I couldn’t just go on Facebook and just tell people about it. Eventually I decide to dance on the fine line and write the announcement post on my blog and then sharing the link onto Facebook and Twitter directly from WordPress.

Despite the inconvenience at times, it was still a great experience. I’ve never slept better, and by stepping away from the social noise I was able to refocus on my life even if it did fortify the importance of Social Media.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a few months worth of cat photos to Like and RT.