<img src="http://socialnewsdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/facebook-humor.jpg" alt="Image result for leaving facebook"/>


Today marked one week without Facebook, and I can honestly say I don't miss it. I gave up the Zuckerberg social media platform for a variety of reasons, and the result has left me feeling more clear-headed and saner.
### **1. It has served as an unproductive time waster.**

The last few years, my facebook experience has largely consisted of the endless Facebook news feed scroll. I check in on what my friends and family are up to, I watch a few random videos, I might read an article or two if it strikes my interest. 

And that's it. Over and over. 

The constant stream of videos, memes, status updates, and photo's can be hypnotic. I've often logged on and scrolled endlessly for nearly an hour before realizing how much time I've wasted. 

Without direction or intention, facebook can make a person's experience of the internet very aimless and wasteful. It feeds unproductive behavior, as a fit of newsfeed frenzy can leave a person wondering why they picked up their phone or computer to begin with. It's like going to another part of your house, only to forget why you walked there to begin with.

By skipping out on the feed, I have noticed my attention span start to improve. It's subtle improvements, but progress none the less. The past week, I have become slightly more intentional about my online activity, and want to continue to remove negative and unproductive activities from my sphere.

### **2. The experience is largely inauthentic.**

It can present a skewed perspective of another person's life. Most people don't want their lives to be perceived as less than perfectly fulfilling and entertaining. What we receive from all those distant relatives, casual acquaintances, and even close friends is a fractional and distorted version of what their life is actually like. We get a lot of the good, very little of the bad.

And I understand why. When the audience is practically everyone you know, there's going to be a degree of self-censoring and editing to keep up with appearances.

 Additionally, using Facebook to air out potentially inflammatory political statements can be tiring, as it drags a person into endless debates with others who will likely never agree with them. I am also sensitive to how certain beliefs or views I have about the world may alienate me from others who view such things as crazy. I spent more than my fair share doing this in the past, and at this point, I see it as an unproductive activity. 

My Facebook sobriety has increased my sense of self-worth, as I no longer find myself comparing my situation to the plastic versions presented to me through this platform. I often struggle with mild bouts of depression, and I've come to realize that my mental health suffers when I use Zuck's digital version of 'keeping up with the Jones's'. 
### **3. I'm Supporting a Company I Vehemently Disagree with.**

<img src="http://www.freewoodpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/facebookCIA.jpg" alt="Image result for cia facebook"/>

I know I don't have to tell anyone that Facebook doesn't have an individual's best interest in mind. I bet if you asked people if they like or support Facebook, most would say no. Yet, they persist in using the service out of convenience. 

I certainly am not perfect in this regard, as I do the same thing when it comes to my google accounts. I don't trust Google with my information anymore than Facebook, and would like to eventually get rid of using their services as well. But hey, one deep state funded corporation at a time, I suppose. 

<img src="https://s32.postimg.org/d8ykte4cl/steemit_intro_steemitad.png" alt="Image result for steemit"/>

Replacing facebook with sites like Steemit reduce my cognitive dissonance, as I am supporting a platform that actually gives back to its users, and is not funded by deep state actors. Anything that reduces a person's cognitive dissonace  is positive, and cutting out the lowercase f has helped reduce mine. 

I think I'm going to push this experiment another week, and possibly the entire month. I may use Facebook for various promotional purposes in the future, but I firmly believe my days of endless mindless scroll-sessions are a thing of the past.