Why I got rid of Facebook.

I used to go on Facebook to check in on my friends and family. My best friends live in places like California, Boston, Oklahoma... I also have family in Poland that we like to keep tabs on... my little sister lives in Chicago.... And I miss them all dearly. Facebook was the best way to keep up with their lives, see their wonderful faces, and feel connected to them.

All of a sudden- within the past year or so?- Facebook has become a place of darkness, of utter negativity.

The complainers, the haters, the shamers, the "I know better than you" opinion sharers.

The self-proclaimed "social justice warriors" battling it out with every person [they deem to be a bigot, racist, or - in reality- just] in disagreement with their idea or way of expressing it. Sorry but not sorry- when did we stop "agreeing to disagree"? When did we write people off for their political views, or their ideals, or their opinions about random shit?

The "you-wouldn't- understand"-ers, who like to shut people up, down, and out and be self righteous about their stance or their views. Who create increased divide between people by sectioning themselves off. In my eyes, "you wouldn't understand" is the ultimate mental/emotional offense toward another person- because you assume sooooo much in that one statement. You have the ability to assume right down to the core of the person.

The "YOU should be offended" persons who get mad at you for not being so easily offended by things.

The "I'm worried/afraid/scared" persons who blast unfounded insecurities and then feel and act like "if you're not with me, you're against me".

Lots of 'friends' have been lost in the last few months to a year through Facebook. Connections have been broken, bridges have been burned, families have even been torn apart. I heard some Thanksgivings and Christmas's (Or Hanukkahs, if you will) were very awkward and emotional and physical violence ensued.

Trolls come out of the woodwork on public posts made by so-called news outlets. I think the most responsible thing that Facebook did in the last year was to start to research who was publicly posting "NEWS" to their site for their viewers.  FAKE NEWS is a real thing. [Real] Reporters used to have a job, a code of ethics... now anyone can call themselves a news outlet and they can project their views on to the unsuspecting public without hesitation and without recourse. Anyone can demand a public outcry in response to their coverage of the news. Anyone can cover the news any way they'd like to- for instance, showing a video but blanking out all of the sound and putting their own subtitles in INSTEAD OF LETTING THE VIEWER ACTUALLY SEE AND HEAR HOW THINGS WENT DOWN. This is acceptable, and the "news"/media outlet is not held responsible for falsifying information or producing any hysteria.

After all of that.... after all of the strife and stress of weeding out fake info, fake friends, and fake bullies- who do things like make personal threats- I decided that I wasn't going to wait until LENT to rid myself of Facebook. Under the guidance of my depression therapist, I signed off, and made it known to people I was doing so. I made it vague, drama free- ADIOS AMIGOS seemed nicer than PEACE OUT BITCHES.

And I feel a little lighter, a little brighter. I feel less connected to and less vulnerable to the fake and yet anxiety inducing crap that's floating around out there. I feel like I helped myself by disconnecting myself. I feel like the best of life is right in front of me, and not through a screen. Let's see how this plays out.........