The So-called Social Network

For the past 3+ years I have been spending far too much time on Facebook. It had reached a point to where I was plugged in most of my waking hours. I'd check in before work, I'd check in while at work and I'd check in again the second I came home from work. Weekends had become a morning, noon and late night Facebook marathon. For the most part, I'd post nonsense or share far too much information. The rest of the time I would sit like a hungry spider waiting for someone to drop a juicy morsel on my sticky web so I can grasp on and spin the unintended victim into a dizzy spell of wit and silliness.

If that wasn't time consuming enough I got suckered in to the games. For a while there I had the coolest spread on Yo'ville, a slick hideaway on Tiki Island, topped 500K on Bejeweled Blitz, was at the top of my friends ladder on Pathwords and so on. At one point I had in excess of 400 friends. People "liked" my status updates, comments, notes and photos all the time. The social network had me feeling on top of the popularity food chain for the first time in my life so, how can it be I was left feeling so very isolated?

Being bombarded with the countless 'check in' updates from others at places where I've longed to be didn't help matters much. It sure didn't help to see these updates from people who were there with others I knew and knowing that I wasn't asked to join in. Add to that the constant relationship updates where it seems everyone else is either getting married, engaged or starting up a new relationship. Obviously, all those people had figured out a way to balance their time between the real world and that of a virtual existence. I, on the other hand, lacked the discipline and can explain why I haven't been on an actual date in over 3 years. My participation in the social network had ironically led me into an unhealthy antisocial lifestyle.

Maybe the novelty wore off or maybe I just became disgusted with my lack of drive to do anything that didn't include hiding behind a screen and profile photos cropped to hide unflattering bulges and wrinkles. Or, it could be I'm rebelling against how technology has all but killed our social interactions. Text messaging, emails, status updates are fine but I miss the one on one exchanges. I never even met most of the people I had been interacting with on Facebook and that left me feeling uneasy. Who are we, really? Would any of us recognize one another on the street?

Something needed to be done so this past week I made a decision to deactivate my account. It's part of a plan I have for getting myself back on track to doing the things I've been neglecting like maintaining this dusty old blog. I need to reacquaint myself with abandoned passions and interests, I need to get back into the frame of mind that there is a world out there to explore even if it's in my own backyard. I'm hoping that by my opting out of Facebook that others will follow or at least reassess their participation in the site. I'd like to think I did the right thing and so far I feel really good about leaving that crutch behind. It's a miracle, I can talk the talk and walk the walk.