I have a problem.
I work on Facebook, but I am about to the point where I want to quit Facebook.
On Facebook I am always sharing stuff from my work page, and it’s 99% positive, encouraging, or funny. I share it because if I don’t, pretty much no one sees it due to the way Facebook distributes statuses from brand pages now. But that is really neither here nor there.
This may make me sound terrible. I know life is not all about fun. But I miss when Facebook was fun! When I went there to be a goof and find out what my friends are up to.
But now there is just so much negativity hitting me every time I scroll through my feed. And I am not talking about just news stories, because hello – I realize there is a lot of not-fun stuff going on in our world that we can’t ignore.
I’m talking about the “eat this, not that, feed your kids this, not that, homebirth, don’t homebirth, bento box lunches, Splenda will kill you, breastfeed, formula, vaccinate, vote for this, politicians are the devil, you are the devil, everyone’s an idiot STUFF.”
I am sure I’ve been guilty of some of this in the past. I know my memory is probably flawed. But boy I don’t want to do that again.
It’s exhausting. I’m doing my best. Like, for real. I am really doing my best to be a good mom and a good friend and a good human being and not shorten anyone’s life.
I guess I need to start doing my best to just not look anymore. I know I have to take the good with the bad, but man, I need a break. It’s just exhausting.
AND SO MUCH PRESSURE.
I really don’t need anymore pressure because Jenny, Party of One pretty much has that handled.
I am in total agreement with this. I miss when people “SHARED” their own posts, instead of an article they just read, or a postcard that was funny. I don’t necessarily call what Facebook was as “interaction”, but whatever it was, it’s better than it is now.
Whomp whomp.
I “went off” of facebook (except for an administrative account for a museum I work with) about two years ago and I could not be happier. It was as though a great weight lifted off of me. And I quit for exactly the reasons –it’s so negative. I LOVE instagram still, though — it’s where the happy went to.
I have never had a Facebook account. And everyone has always given me a hard time about it. This recon firms why I don’t have one. But I agree, Instagram is my happy place! Hopefully it stays that way.
I have ruined FB for myself by joining and liking too many group pages. I don’t see enough of my friends posts. It’s either that or my friends aren’t posting. Twitter and Instagram are snoozes
for me.
Oh, and I logged into Pinterest – once. End of story.
Use the “I don’t want to see this” button liberally. It is the only way I’ve been able to maintain relationships with several people in my life.
I also think it’s important to end this sentence: “On Facebook I am always sharing stuff from my work page, and it’s 99% positive, encouraging, or funny” with “to me” and remember to do the same with others – because most people are sharing things that are positive, encouraging, or funny (or important or meaningful or whatever) to *them*.