One Wednesday evening a few weeks ago, I was having dinner with Mr. Lang. We were having a very pointed discussion about the state of the world we live in. When did the world become so outspoken (and not in a good way), opinionated, and offended? When did we all become so irratable and completely annoyed? He couldn't seem to put his finger on it, but I gave it my best shot. The Internet (
Thanks, Al Gore)
. Social Media. Twitter. Facebook. I instantly thought back to the onset of the once popular AOL Instant Messenger [yes, I realize I just dated myself]. Oh, high school. Those were the days of "AOL IM will help me say things online that I wouldn't dare say to your face!" It was a nice, unhealthy dose of virtual liquid courage. Fast forward to 2015, we're no longer taking sips of that virtual liquid courage... we're swimming in the vat.
After that conversation, we both agreed to remove the Facebook apps from our phones. We weren't going to "deactivate" completely, rather just rid ourselves of the distraction since we Facebook (
yes, it's now a verb) from our phones, not our computers. Truthfully, I wasn't 100% sure I could make it. I mean, I
Facebooked like 8,487,458,498 times per day. No, really. Nonetheless, we both agreed to take a two week hiatus from Facebook entirely. No apps. No computer surfing. No Facebook. Surprisingly, it has been an absolute piece of cake. The outcome we predicted was fairly accurate, but we've learned so much in just a few weeks. Our original title for his little experiment was the "Contentment Project" - a real effort to stop being bogged down by bad news, bad attitudes, and constant comparison. Now, we've dubbed it "The Enlightenment Project" because our eyes have been opened to a world outside of Facebook!
Here's what we've learned:
1. Contrary to popular belief, we (and you!) can function without Facebook. We wondered how we would manage without our "beloved" Facebook/drama box.
Newsflash: we did not start convulsing, sweating, and uncontrollably wailing. In fact, we just went on living. We didn't reach for our phones out of boredom, nor did we feel like the world was moving on without us.
2. We don’t have as many friends as we thought (and neither do you!) And guess what? That’s totally okay! You know that “Facebook Friend” who likes all of your hilarious posts and the pictures of your cute kid and awesome dog? Yep, that’s the one, the one who walks right past you in the grocery store as if you’re a complete stranger. That’s not your friend, folks – that’s just someone who wants to be
in your business. You see, our friends are the people who exist in our lives outside of Facebook. They text, call, and email us. We go out to eat and we spend time together face-to-face. They engage us
in real life, and we value our relationships with them. Those are the people we want to “share our business with”.
3. We actually do have hobbies and free time! Who knew?! For a long time, We’ve made comments about how we “don’t have time” for hobbies. Well, that’s just simply not true. What time we did have was spent nose deep in our cell phones trolling Facebook. Without that time-suck/distraction, we’ve found time for so many things! I’ve read a book –it took me 9 days to finish it. Prior to removing the Facebook app, I read 20 pages in a month. Yea. I’ve created this new (major work in progress) blog space, finished craft projects that have been on my
to-do list for months, watched some of my favorite tv shows, finally mastered my Silhouette Cameo, taught Junior how to tie his shoes (better late than never, or so I hear). Mr. Lang took a nice golf trip, accomplished some things around the house, enjoyed a few distraction free movies – should I continue? We’ve quickly learned there are far more hours in the day than we ever realized. We were
choosing to waste them. Oh yea, our house is super clean, too!
4. Mr. Lang and Junior Lang are really fabulous company! Our phones have become an increasing problem at home. We seem to set up shop on a couch, bury our nose in our phone doing some social media searching [Facebook, I’m lookin’ at you!], and forget that we actually do really like each other and talking to each other is entertaining. During our hiatus, our dinner conversations have been overflowing with conversation and laughter. Our evenings are filled with the same. We didn’t have to tell Junior Lang to “hold on” while we trolled Facebook a little longer. We were able to bask in the awesomeness of his imagination and his latest Lego creation. If he wanted to play a game, we played. If he wanted to watch cartoons, we watched. We were 100% checked in and engaged…. Which leads me to #5.
5. Pillow talk is much more fun and enjoyable without the ambient glow from the cell phone screen. For the first time in a while, we were able to put our heads on our pillows, talk about our day, decompress, discuss life and the day ahead, say “I love you” and “Goodnight”. Mr. Lang said to me that it was nice to see my face before he closed his eyes, rather than my teal Otter Box. Honestly, it’s a hard reality knowing we’ve spent more time with our‘cellular devices’ than engaging each other!
6. Our irritation level has gone from sky-high to non-existant. Y’all. I had no idea it was even possible. I’ve realized that, in our lives, Facebook is a facilitator of annoyance and irritation.
True Story: In a far off land, many ,many years ago, people with varying opinions, viewpoints, political, religious, and social agendas were able to coexist, to discuss, and to embrace without being complete and total jerkoffs. Seems impossible these days. Couple that with the constant need to “compare” our life to the nice cars, vacations, luxuries, etc – it really becomes overwhelming. [Yes, we realize most people only put the best parts of their lives on Facebook.] Comparison is the thief of joy (at least that’s what T. Jefferson said) – and without the comparison, we are at peace.
I feel like that’s a lot to learn in such a seemingly short period of time. This little experiment has proven to be just what we needed.
Where do we go from here? Well, Mr. Lang and I have decided we will not be adding the Facebook app back to our phones. We will grant ourselves a short amount of time to “Facebook” from our home computer should we choose to want to‘check in’. Other than that, we fully intend to let our lives reign supreme and Facebook take the backseat. We’ve been happier, healthier, more active, more engaged, and just all around better people. I encourage everyone to delete the app or deactivate, your choice, and re-engage in your own life. You won’t regret it. If anything, I think you’ll see just how much valuable time is wasted on Facebook.
You can thank us later. :)
Much Love,
The Lang Crew
