I fired Facebook

I’m not sure how long ago this year I threw in the towel and cancelled my Facebook account but it’s among my better accomplishments for 2013.

I’m also not sure when I joined because all evidence accessible to me about my account is gone.  I’m sure Facebook knows and good for them.

My Facebook time definitely gave me several memorable tit for tat exchanges with a small cadre of “friends” as Facebook calls them.  Actually, they were selected clients, some cousins, some real friends and others best described as cyberspace acquaintances or pals.

Looking back and reflecting on my Facebook time, I fondly recall three distinguishable and memorable periods.      

One was time leading up to a large family reunion on my mother’s side of the family.  Facebook was a good communication tool we distant cousins used when sharing planning tidbits about the reunion.

It was fun participating in these exchanges and they gave me anticipatory excitement about seeing aunts, uncles and cousins, some of whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Another period was participating in discussions with others who had memories of growing up in Sacramento long ago.  I became an active participant and contributed much because I had many native memories to share.  This Facebook time was a fun trip down memory lane of Sacramento in my good old days.

The last memorable period was sharing about my father when he was dying.  I posted photos of him and me and shared several private thoughts and feelings about what I was experiencing during this dark period of my life.  The outpouring of empathy and condolences I received from my Facebook friends truly touched my heart. 

But beyond that is my honest admission of wasting too much time and getting caught up in the details of too many dog and pony shows of my Facebook friends.  It reminded me of elementary school show and tell when the teacher gave us time to be the center of attention by sharing something with other students.

Truth be told, I did my fair share of Facebook show and tell but didn’t realize what a time waster it was until OD’ing on my Facebook friends’ show and tell time “stories.”
 

Then there were those Facebook friends – names I dare not share - who were the consummate drama queens and cyberspace models walking down an economic prosperity or fashion ramp.   They posted photo after photo of their smiling faces in the company of other smiling faces at fun places that were sometimes so very far from home.

All their photos could bear the same caption of:  “Hey look at me looking so fine and having fun at this far away place that costs big money to be here.”

I must honestly admit that I too walked down that ramp a time or two too many!

Yup, I wasted too much time on Facebook as I’m sure so many other people have but now no more because I fired Facebook.

Pax Domini sit semper vobiscum