All’s I can say is that it’s been a busy past couple of weeks.  I’ve been on the grind working both jobs and have, honestly, just been super shitty about finding the time to actually put my thoughts into words.  Additionally, I’m thinking about somewhat re-directing the focus of my blog.  More something likeeee….’yeah I’m still sippin’ my Facebook haterade, but here’s how it’s relevant to the real life shit that’s goin’ on around me.’

That being said, I have encountered some interesting things recently that I think are pretty freakin’ write-o-rific.  These episodes may or may not include a tarot card reading and me being recruited to be on a sports radio show.

I mean, yeah, no bigs.  Just the every day things going on over here, nothing to see folks, move along, please.

Stay tuned, babies.

PS – umm…guy or girl?  I’m confused, and quite frankly, slightly frightened…

There is always one better.

The upside?  That means there’s always one worse.  Funny how things work.

According to July’s article featured on Inside Facebook, “…slightly less users in the prime 18 to 44 age range that represents Facebook’s largest age demographic were active on Facebook in June compared to the previous month“.

In fact, if these numbers are correct, it looks like I’m joining the game a little late.

Uh oh, I think I just thought of a new social media game app….”Jump Ship”.  The goal?  Recruit as many people as you can to reclaim their social media sanity!  GO!

I realized my favorite part of the deactivation process was how ‘they’ [cut to large black curtain peeling back to reveal 437 people in periwinkle, logoed polos, crowded around computers] attempt to get you to stay.  It’s all pretty easy:  account, settings, deactivate.  But wait, what’s all this?  An array of strategically placed photos of me and my “friends,” (some real-life ones too) with captions like,

“[Random person you barely know] doesn’t want you to go!”

It’s like waving a bottle of scotch in an alcoholic’s face and saying, ‘oh come on, just stay for one more.’  What a clever idea, Facebook.  I actually enjoyed that.  Nevertheless, I wasn’t so moved by the pleas to stay that I was distracted from proceeding.

Next question:  “Why are you leaving Facebook?”

At first glance, I was surprised at the variety of answer choices.  Among them was the one that I chose: ‘this is temporary, I’ll be back.’  I know, I know.  You just called me a hypocrite under your breath (maybe even out loud…there might’ve even been an expletive thrown in there).  It’s just that I wasn’t, at that moment, entirely sure about how long I would fare without the social networking device I had basically grown up with, and also wasn’t sure how the whole deactivation really worked anyway.  (It turns out, that all of your information is stored in your,  ‘non’-account for whenever you would like to sign back in – kind of creepy, huh?)

I was tempted, however, to choose any other of the options, like:

I spend too much time on Facebook.

I’m over it. (Paraphrased)

Facebook sucks now. (Again…paraphrased)

Actually I’m pretty sure those last 2 choices might not even have been paraphrased options that were available.  They’re just what I was thinking should have been offered as choices.

Once I got past that point, I was home free.  I generously forwarded my ‘Your Facebook Account Has Been Deactivated’ email to several of my close friends who didn’t believe I would do it.  Of course, I got a lot of guff from people.  But after my first week (plus some) without the book in 6 years, I’ve been more productive at work, more attentive to my boyfriend, and less stressed than I have been in a long time.

The only bittersweet nostalgia I felt for Facebook that week was when I thought about  how many birthdays I’m going to forget/miss now that I’m not constantly reminded.  Oops!  (Insert ‘I’m over it’ check-box here).

Image via Wikipedia

Do you ever stop to think how much time you’ve spent on Facebook?

I mean really stop and think about it – and give yourself a true estimate of how much time you really spend on Facebook.  I know there are tons of other social media sites out there now that suck up your time and energy, but those are newer – part of a social media fad bubble that’s emerged within the past few years.  But in the midst of these fly-by-night sites that connect your grandmother to your college roommate and your current boss to your future boss, Facebook has earned the super senior status of social media.

Launched in 2004, not only has it survived six years of techie advancement and trends, it has ballooned in popularity to include more than 500 million users.

Good for Mark Zuckerburg (and the millions of people who finally caught on throughout the years).  Good for social networking.  Bad for me.

I thought about it – I mean I really thought about how much time I spent on Facebook during the past six years.  The total?  Three months.  At first glance, three months sounds like an awfully exaggerated estimate.  But, nay, my friends…Try this simple equation (and be honest with yourself) to find out how much of your life has been wasted stalking, searching, friending, de-friending, messaging, ‘liking’, status-posting, and writing on ‘walls’:

How much time you spend on the book per day (Hey! I said be honest!)
x 352 days per year
______________
This number / How many years you’ve had Facebook

*If less than a year, use the number of total days in the total number of months you’ve had it.

Chances are, even if you’ve been on the book for less than a year, you’ll still be surprised at how much time you’ve spent on it.  And yes, you guessed it right…If you were trying to figure out my total number of hours per day on the book – approximately two.  Still think that seems too high?  Try tracking your ‘booking – yea that’s right:  you’re mobile uploads, messages, ‘just have to update my status quick before I go out’ moments; they add up – quick.

Next thing you know you’re “Liking” True Blood, and you’ve finagled your way back to the News Feed where you’ve commented on 7 different posts.  (It’s funny because it’s true.)

And there you have it:  my decision to say bye-bye to the book.  But don’t worry – since I’m not a total social media recluse, you can still check my Facebook-Free progress right here.