Doing the unthinkable

[ 9 ] September 10, 2011 AD |

Last week as I made my short commute to work, I thought about doing the unthinkable – deleting my facebook account.  I re-evaluated that thought this past Thursday and after over 6 years of daily use of facebook, I chose to give it up.  I feel like an addict who just gave up her drug cold turkey and now I am excited yet scared about what’s ahead.  I thought about it for a while (all of two hours) and evaluated the time that I spend on the internet outside of work and classes; and decided that it would be the best thing to do.  Already I am spending less and less time on Phatmass which is kind of hard to do but I realize that unless you have a balance, something good can become something bad.

During Wednesday’s youth group meeting one of the young kids asked about whether or not there is internet in the convent and in the process of answering that question I realized the wisdom in limiting young sisters’ access to things such as Facebook and twitter; and how freeing it can be to not have all of these to worry about.  I am seriously looking forward to when I don’t have to worry about my email, my voicemail, my facebook wall and all these extras.  The decision to drop from the facebook world made me re-evaluate the reason I joined in the first place and the reason for my continued use.

Over the last couple of years I tried to set myself apart from other facebook users by saying that I only use it for keeping up with family, evangelization and promoting my website, well that’s not what the story on wall says.  The truth of it is about 90% of my time on facebook  has been spent “stalking” others, socializng and aimlessly “seeking”; it was time to say goodbye.  Though I am trying to figure out how to promote my website without facebook, I am excited that I no longer have to worry about checking my wall and my notifications.  There was always a sense of guilt that came with not following up on someone’s comment on my wall or choosing not to respond to a friend invite.  Well now I can chalk it up to not being on facebook.

My goal this year is to truly prepare myself for this life of poverty and detachment from the things of this world.  I am realizing that I do not have to wait until I am behind convent walls to start living my life as one completely and wholly dedicated to Christ.  I can do so now by choosing carefully how I use my time and and live my life.

This is not to say that those who choose to remain on facebook are not making good use of their time.  In my case, I found that I had a very hard time managing my time properly with facebook thrown in and I pretty much lost sight what was important to me.  Perhaps over the years I may become disciplined enough to know how to handle things like facebook, twitter and whatever new major social media with great balance.  However for now I am finding that the best way to handle it and still maintain a balanced prayer life is by removing facebook.

I ask for your continue prayers as I navigate this new road to balance and true freedom…

Tags:

Category: New Media

About the Author ()

  • http://thecornerwithaview.blogspot.com Julie Robison

    Absolutely you have my prayers! Thanks for the dose of inspiration and literal detachment.

  • http://www.gadel.info/ Godwin Delali Adadzie

    Thanks Dyna for this wonderful post. One thing I’ve learnt from you today is, “I realize that unless you have a balance, something good can become something bad.”

    God bless you always. Amen.

  • Jennifer

    Awesome, Dyna. I quit Facebook for (hopefully) the last time back in June. It’s a great feeling to not be stuck on there all the time, merely “waiting” for something interesting to happen. I have to be honest and say I still sneak peeks at my husband’s account for pictures of the latest wedding or new baby, but that’s a once-a-week thing and not daily! :)

  • http://www.almostnotcatholic.com Brent

    My wife and I have been off of Facebook for a few years now. Doing just fine…

  • http://lettersfromchristine.wordpress.com Christine

    Wow! This is so admirable to read about! Facebook is great for keeping up distance friendships and channelization, but it also brings with it too much time-wasting and drama! God bless you in this great step towards detachment from the Internet. :-)

  • http://www.catholicdyingtolive.wordpress.com Nadi

    Wow! You really just hit the nail on the head for reasons why I recently decided to delete my Facebook page. Although it is a good way to keep in touch with people that you don’t see regularly, you do start to lose sight of that once you get caught up in the “maintenance” of having a Facebook. Sometimes it also seems to do more harm than good, especially for young people in today’s society. I will definitely keep you in my prayers as you prepare to take this journey of a lifetime! God bless! :)

  • enness

    I also have mixed feelings about Facebook. I thought about giving it up after I saw people continue to post the obligatory “happy birthday” on the page of someone I knew had passed away several months prior, which should have been apparent from some of the more “tribute-style” remarks below if they had taken the time to read. It seemed to open up new ways of rubbing salt in a wound. I decided not to because I knew there were people I simply would not keep in touch with otherwise, and felt it was better to have a shallow connection than none at all. I think it can be useful for someone who has a tendency toward introversion and has trouble starting a conversation out of the blue.

  • richard

    Social networking takes up a lot of time which I need for reading print media and other activities.

  • http://megan-journeyinfaith.blogspot.com Megan

    Absolutely agreed. I waste soooo much time on Facebook. I also agree with the fact that it may help those who have a harder time talking to others to reach out. Even sitting here thinking about deactivating gives me anxiety…which may be a problem itself. Now I’ve got some serious thinking to do.

    Thank you for this post!

«
»