Facebook has always been something I love to hate. Though I’ve been a member of the social network for almost ten years, have logged in multiples times a day, and spent hours upon hours on the site, on January 22nd I made the decision to delete the app from my phone.

The Reason

The reason behind this decision is personal, so I’ll explain the best way I can: I don’t like liars, and I don’t like ignorance. For my small-town community, Facebook is where some go to tell lies, gossip, and/or post ignorant things. Sorry if this sounds blunt, but it’s the truth.

It’s even worse when those types of posts come from people you’re forced to spend time with regularly, when they twist everything they post online to portray the exact opposite kind of person than they truly are.

As some of you know, I was depressed the latter half of 2019 after the passing of a loved one. This depression, paired with the “fake news” posts from others on Facebook began to make me angry beyond belief, mostly because those posts personally offended me based on the situation I was going through (and am still working through).

How Facebook Enabled My Bad Habit

Whenever I come across a hypocrite, my first instinct is always to find a way to expose their lies. I know this is not very Christlike, especially if it’s someone I have to deal with a lot. Though I’m working on this behavior now, from November to January, whenever I saw those hypocritical posts, I jumped on my profile and posted a status or meme about fake people, lack of morals in society, attention-seekers, etc., just to rile up the other person because what they continually lied about hurt me.

I now realize that was immature behavior and that nothing good came out of countering their posts. I also felt grimy every time I did it, which relates back to the classic quote:

“Don’t wrestle with pigs. You both get dirty and the pig likes it.”

Mark Twain

All in all, that whole situation above is the main reason I deleted the app. I no longer want to give myself easy access to this person’s posts (no, I can’t block them, because they’re what you call an obligatory Facebook friend) or have the ability to fire up a counter-attack at my fingertips.

The Addiction

For a while, before all the stupidity I mentioned above, I kept having recurring thoughts about deactivating my Facebook. I dismissed the idea, telling myself that I need the account because it’s tied to my author page. So, I kept scrolling and scrolling, numbing my mind and making myself mad all the while. I would login on average at least fifteen times a day to check up on things I don’t even care about.

I was surprised that when I deleted the app, there wasn’t much of a temptation to add it back on my phone. The only times I tried to check it was when someone I knew would ask me to look up a person’s profile to find out when their birthday is, how to spell their name, etc. Which, you know, are things we should all learn without the use of social media, but that’s the society we’re living in.

As of today, I haven’t scrolled through my Facebook news feed since January 22nd, 49 days. I ended up having to download the app again to keep up with a group for an indie publishing class I’m taking, but other than that, I try not to use the app.

What’s Happened Since?

In this time, I no longer have the desire to scroll through Facebook. I’ve had a little over a month to reflect on how the app affected my mental health and time, and no longer want any part of it. As soon as I finish the indie publishing class, I’ll most likely be deleting Facebook from my phone again.

All that being said, there have been some definite changes in my life:

Positive Changes

Author Platform

While I still spend time on my phone, I’ve put all the time and energy I used to waste on Facebook and delegated it to my author Instagram account. Since, my following is growing exponentially, and I’m enjoying social media again for the first time in a while.

Bettering Myself

Not only has deleting the temptation of Facebook helped my mental health, but it has increased my productivity and made me seek out alternative ways to spend my time.

In the time I’ve spent off Facebook, I have started watching Dave Ramsey’s DVD course, Financial Peace University. I am enjoying the course and aim to go back through it and take notes the second time around. I can’t wait to apply the invaluable knowledge to prepare a better future for myself financially.

Similarly, Sarra Cannon’s Publish and Thrive course ran this past month, and I’ve had to dedicate a lot of time to watching those videos as well. But it’s been completely worth it! I have learned so much through this course and feel it will greatly benefit my author career.

Mental Health

I knew getting away from the toxic environment on my Facebook feed would help my mental health and overall outlook, but not quite to this caliber.

Yes, I still have bad days. Yes, I still have to deal with hypocritical people in real life (seriously, someone needs to invent a block button for that 😛 ). I get angry, I get upset, I hope for better things, but all those moods haven’t been as easily triggered as they were when Facebook enabled me to post about them. I’ve also found a new appreciation for the time I don’t have to spend near those people or reading their thoughts as Facebook allowed. 😀

Negative Changes

There have literally been no negative changes I can think of. The only thing I’ve missed out on are invites to MLM seller groups I want no part in and accepting friend requests the moment they come in. Other than that, I feel as if a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

Are you on Facebook, and do you enjoy using it? What steps do you take to detox yourself from social media? Let me know in the comments!

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀