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Facebook Cleanse

I deleted the Facebook app on my iPhone and iPad.

It was the day after Ash’s birthday. I posted about his birthday, and I didn’t get as many likes as I used to. It was a combination of taking it as “rejection” and wondering if it’s even necessary to do the greeting every year which then led me to question the point of posting as often as I do.

What is it for? Why do I post so much? Would people think I’ve died if I don’t post for three months? Or would they think my life is miserable because I don’t have enough things going on worthy of posting? Why do I care so much about what other people think?

These are just some of the questions I’ve been asking about “maintaining a Facebook profile.” They are questions which also got me to re-assess what I value in life and what I’ve been missing out on because of the amount of time I spend on Facebook.

It used to be the first app I check in the morning. What if I start my day by checking in on me, how I feel and what I want to do to fill my day, instead of checking how others feel and what they are or have been doing.

The past two weeks, I’ve found myself doing more lessons on Duolingo and focusing better when I’m reading or playing the piano.

Instead of stalking my friends, I’ve been chatting them instead and actually asking what they’ve been up to. I have somehow convinced myself that liking/reacting to my friends’ posts can replace real conversations. 

It’s been great — hearing myself think in the morning; replacing mindless scrolling with mindful, self-improving activities; and maintaining two-way connections with my friends. I don’t know where this “experiment“ will take me but I intend to document it here. I’ll try not to be too preachy about it though as we all sometimes get when we find something good for ourselves. 


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