+ WEEK TWO REFLECTION POST

After all the talk about Facebook in class I decided I wanted my post this week to be about my current feelings about Facebook and why I fall under the “inactive user” category.

I remember making a Facebook in 8^th/9^th grade. I remember the summer I made it, sitting on my bed with my friend changing my profile picture. I remember always changing things around and really caring about how my profile looked- from my statuses to my profile pictures. That sometimes meant deleting things that were embarrassing later on. I never posted a ton on Facebook, and when I did, it was very self-monitored (something I just learned about in my Social Psychology class, I rate a little high on the scale… :)).

In 2013 I decided that I was “done” with Facebook. I was using it to keep tabs on people and I was always comparing myself to others. It didn’t make me happy and it seemed like such a waste of time. I started by deactivating my account. Which was definitely jumping feet first. I learned that it took time and moderation to wean myself off of it. That experience showed me just how addicted I was to Facebook and technology in general. Sometimes I would cave and hop back on, but over time I had no desire to get on Facebook anymore – I didn’t miss it. I wasn’t missing out on much either, when really important things happened on Facebook, someone told me about it, and if someone was trying to get ahold of me through Facebook and couldn’t, they eventually found a way to get in touch with me.

I know that I am not the only one who sees this, but social media can be so deceiving. I think one of the biggest things that drove me away from Facebook was how often the statuses and pictures I saw posted were people just trying to post things for likes. Finding genuine social media can be hard when your friends are worried about becoming more popular on a social sphere. The more that I have distanced myself from social media, the more I have found other outlets that seem more real to me. In the Kaite Couric videos we watched (which I really really liked!) she talked about this very thing. We are able to create an entire persona online that is completely different than who we are. She encouraged us to be real on the social media outlets we use, just like Elder Bednar did last year. It is refreshing to see celebrities and people in the spotlight following that example (even though they aren't aware of it) and encouraging the world to be authentic. 

Personally, I love how unattached I am to Facebook. I love not having something that I feel tied down to; in a world where I feel like things are always grapping at me, wanting my attention and full dedication to. (And most of those things are completely useless...I have social media apps that I love and I use all the time i.e. Instagram and Pinterest...such time wasters!). I don’t know if this is fair to say, but I feel like our generation/this day in age is faced with so many things that tend to bind us down – things that we are addicted to. We are obsessed with them. We think we can’t live without them. We rely on them for everything.

Now, I haven’t deleted my Facebook all together, and even though I hardly ever look at my Facebook (for months at a time) I still don’t want to delete it. Why? I love all the connections I have on Facebook. Sure, I don’t really care to follow along on most of their lives, but I find some comfort in knowing they are there. I find comfort knowing that I have a place where all (or most) of the connections I have made with people the last view years all over the world are saved in one place. I know where to look when I want to see what is happening with someone I went to EFY with in 2011. Or someone I spent time with in Australia. Or my fourth grade teacher.

One example of this happened last year. I am friends with the missionaries that taught me five years ago on Facebook, and to be honest, those are probably my most treasured friendships. We are forever friends…and I love that I can find them on Facebook. After not using Facebook for a year, I got on to tell the Elder and the Sisters that taught me that I was going through the temple to receive my endowment. It was something I wanted to share with them – and not having their email or phone numbers, Facebook was the only option I had. I am so grateful for that ability to communicate with them and tell them something that I knew was special for everyone involved.

So, even though I act like I really dislike Facebook (which I kind of do…) it does have its pro’s. I worry about the way we use Facebook and what our intentions are when we post (on any social media platform) but that is a post for another day. I don’t feel the need to share things about my life on Facebook, hardly anywhere on the Internet. But I do love the day and age that we live in when we can connect so easily. All in all, Facebook isn’t my go to social media app, but I still find a strange sense of comfort knowing it is there.