This month I made the conscious decision to take a break from Facebook. This goes against most of what I know, with a degree in Public Relations, and a background in promotions, photography, and writing, Facebook is known as the oracle of information connecting everyone to the world, or at least that is what we have been brainwashed to believe.
When I first joined, when Facebook was still in its infancy, I knew hardly anyone there. I then started inviting everyone I knew. I had the world at my fingertips. I could see all my friend’s feeds and enjoy their daily lives. There were no ads, no data mining, and very little privacy concerns. As time marched on, Facebook began spreading like wildfire all over the world. People were interacting with people that they probably would have never interacted or known about before. It became a platform for news, political deliberations, religious discussions, skull sessions for sports, and a place to get caught up with friends and family. You could play games, take quizzes, post photos, create events, and talk about most anything on your mind. You could share music, movies, books, reviews, links, and anything your heart desired. It became a virtual playground.
All this information became very addicting, everyday wanting more, always afraid that you were going to miss out on something. Time out of our lives was just being wasted away looking into the precious oracle. The oracle would stroke your ego with “likes” on the information you posted. The oracle would bring the angels, goddesses, devils, and snakes into your life. The problem with the oracle was that there was no way of being able to verify the information being received, or the people that were being introduced into your life. It was a landmine of both good and bad information, never knowing where the next minute was going to take you. When out in public, I would overhear people talking about the latest information that they had just read on Facebook. Just recently, when Prince died, the news spread like wildfire on the oracle. I was stunned by how quickly the news made it around the world. The platform can be both a blessing and a detriment. It is a great place to get information out there quickly, but it can also be a place to be harmed. I have seen all sides of it.
Most everyone I knew has wasted precious time looking at the oracle, including myself. We are all given a destined amount of time on this beautiful earth. So much of it now is spent on electronic devices looking at social media, a definite time waster. Our world has so much beauty to offer whether it be with nature, human interaction, listening to a live concert, reading a book, painting, taking photographs, exercising, meditation, or just enriching oneself through personal growth. Limiting my time from Facebook has been a challenge. I would sign back on to see if I was missing anything, and found out that I hadn’t. I now feel calmer and less anxious. I realized that I don’t need a “like” to feel validated. Part of my reasons for disconnecting were the privacy issues and data mining, along with some other personal reasons. Please take the time to read up on the privacy and data mining issues with Facebook as there is much information out there on this topic. I also have also noticed that there are some anti Facebook movements being started. The masses are starting to feel the impact of this time waster. I probably will be back on Facebook in a limited form, in the future, but haven’t decided to how I want to handle that.
The photo I used at the top I have affectionately named as “Fire in the sky”. I woke up one morning, towards the end of last year, and caught this amazing sunrise that was so fluid, like the sky was on fire. It actually took my breath away. I spent that morning sitting outside enjoying it instead of being plugged into Facebook. What a beautiful moment I would have missed if I had been looking into the oracle known as Facebook.
amomentintimephotography 