Member-only story
I Deleted Facebook from My Phone
And that was only the beginning of my journey…
It was an interior argument I had waged many times before. Yes, I compulsively check Facebook. Yes, I’m often angered by what I find there. Yes, I spend too much time on the app every day. But I also connect with friends, publish my own content, and stay informed. The argument always ended with me reassuring myself that, while I should monitor my usage, I shouldn’t completely delete Facebook from my phone. That would be too rash a decision and would greatly affect my routine.
Until one day I just did it.
That’s not really all that hyperbolic of a way to frame it. One day I just decided to delete the Facebook app from my phone, along with a host of other apps. The decision had come after I posted a politically-charged status. While it was mostly met with support, there were also the detractors. I tend to enjoy getting into these discussions, but I can’t deny that they take an emotional toll. Finally I just decided to take a break for a while.
I’m still currently on that break.
I still access Facebook on my computer, but that is much, much less frequent than I did when I had the app on my phone. What I’ve realized about my phone is that it is a nearly-unfiltered access point. The apps I have on my phone are the ones that I willingly give access to my time. If I’m not careful with that, I’ve realized that I can quickly let my routines get out of whack.
Now, let me be clear about something — I am *not* telling anyone that they should or should not delete social media from their phone or delete their profiles entirely. This post is not meant to be prescriptive. This is simply the process I’m going through, and I’m sharing what has happened. I hope that my journey can be helpful. That doesn’t mean that what I’ve done will work for you, and I’m not making the claim that I have the market cornered on how to engage with social media. It’s a…
