They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, so here goes..."My name is Cassie, and I'm addicted to social media." Whew, that takes a load off my shoulders. I didn't realize I even HAD a problem until recently when my husband asked, "Hypothetically, what would you do if you didn't have Facebook?" Then and only then--when my heart stopped for an ever so brief second--did I realize that perhaps I should give credence to his accusations that Facebook is taking over my life.
It all started as a way to keep in touch with classmates from my past and family who lives over 1,000 miles away--a "like" here, a comment there. Over the years, however, it's morphed into an obsession (okay maybe "obsession" is too strong a word---or is it?) where I find myself constantly taking part in quizzes to discover my spirit animal, what type of candy I am, my strongest personality trait or which famous actress should play me in a movie version of my life. Can you say, time waster?
What was originally intended to keep me informed about the comings and goings of friends and family now has me feeling as though I've constantly got to let the world know what I'm eating for dinner or what I'm doing (or not doing) on a rainy Saturday night. I've also heard it said that "Comparison is the thief of joy." Well, how hard is it to look at picture after picture of gorgeous families in their perfect homes, enjoying the company of their just-as-perfect friends? I'll answer that one for you--it's very hard. But I'm not so naive as to think it's all a bowl of cherries, 24/7. After all, no one ever posts the bad stuff on Facebook. No one posts pictures of hangovers or their new Christmas pajamas after their sick child has projectile vomited on them. No one posts about the gut-wrenching heartache they're going through as a result of yet another negative pregnancy test or a pending divorce. No siree--it's all rainbows, unicorns and giant multicolored lollipops here in Facebookland.
I don't typically make New Years resolutions as there's no quicker way to set yourself up for failure and the disappointment that follows shortly thereafter; however, I am going to try to limit my exposure time to Facebook. With that being said, if you don't see me documenting my day in 2-hour increments in the coming months, just know that I haven't died. I'm simply working on kicking my so-called addiction. I plan to live real life and not fall victim to the pressures and unrealistic expectations Facebook projects upon me to live a picture-perfect existence because, let's face it, life is messy. Now if only there was a like button for that resolve in a social-media-free life.
