Why I Left Facebook

I believe it has been a year and a half since I left the Facebook world. When I tell people that I don't have Facebook anymore, they can't quite understand why I would voluntarily opt out of it.

In our culture, most people view twentysomethings without Facebook as abnormal and odd. It is very unusual to find a student on any campus nowadays without a Facebook. When I tell people that I don't have Facebook, they stop and stare at me with amazement and then these words follow, "Dude, you should get a Facebook." I feel like there is a stigma attached with not having a Facebook in our generation today. It seems like one must have it in order to fit in with everyone else in our society.

Why I Decided to Quit Facebook
I left Facebook because there were more negatives than there were positives at that time. I want to address some of the issues that I saw with Facebook back when I had it. All of these issues that I had with Facebook slowly led me to abandon it altogether.

Too much unneeded information
The main reason why I decided to quit Facebook was the excess amount of unneeded information that I was exposed to every single day. There was a variety of topics that 'friends' would write posts about. Although there was some useful and relevant information that was posted by my 'friends', it almost seemed like hard labor, trying to find something meaningful in a massive pile of useless photos, videos, memes, selfies, and all the rest. I felt like I was obligated to go through the heap of information that was left for me at the end of each day.

Consumes the mind with irrelevant thoughts
I didn't mind going through the news feed everyday, even though it did seem exhaustive at times. However, I noticed something very peculiar. I noticed that the useless information began to fill up my mind. Even though I was trying hard not to pay much attention to those posts, they were still often in the foreground of my mind throughout the day.

Inaccurate self representation
All people are unique and different. Facebook and other social networks puts people into groups and categories. When I had a Facebook, I remember people would look at me as if I was this extreme guy who was all about the outdoors. I think that is a part of who I am but that doesn't define me entirely. There is so much more in each one of us that cannot be reflected through our profile page.

Eats up time
Using Facebook does take time. After being Facebook-free for more than a year, I can say that I have had much more time on my hands. I kid you not! While others were scrolling through their news feed, I was reading books. While my 'friends' were commenting back and forth to each other about a bizarre topic, I was having real, face-to-face conversations with people. Not having a Facebook allowed me to focus on other important things in my life. It freed my mind to think about what was important in my daily life.

Why I am returning to Facebook
There are many other things that could be said about Facebook. But I will stop there. After thinking through these issues I realized something very compelling. I realized that the real issue is not with Facebook. It isn't Facebook's fault that people spend so much time on it, its our fault. Facebook is just a tool that needs to be learned to be used correctly. 

After being Facebook-free for a year and a half I am getting back to it. I realize the power that lies behind this social networking tool and I want to use it for the benefit of myself and others. I feel like its time for me to have a digital presence. I have a powerful message and a story to share with people and I want to do that through whatever means possible, even through a limited and misused tool such as Facebook. I want to set an example of how to use this tool for the glory of God.