The one that sent me over the edge was about GMOs in Halloween candy. There was/is an infographic floating around letting the general public know which candy is "safe" for handing out at Halloween and which candy will cause you to look like you don't give a shit about the welfare of our CHILDREN!!! Seriously, if you are caught giving out Hershey's kisses, or Skittles or anything else other than what is sold at Trader Joe's or Whole Foods - SHAME. ON. YOU! (For the record, I don't believe this. I'm simply regurgitating the infographic.)
After reading that entry, I had some seriously unpleasant thoughts toward the original poster, who is not a friend of mine. The poster is not someone I know. I only saw the post because a friend "liked" the post. Facebook thought it was important that I know what my friend "likes". I don't like the way it made me think about my friend. In all honesty, I wouldn't have known my friend felt this way if s/he and I weren't friends on Facebook. We don't see each other in real life other than at very infrequent high school reunions. The likelihood that GMOs would have come up in a conversation around a beer keg is quite low, right?
I have those same sorts of thoughts about political posts. Recently, the US government went into shut down mode. The last time this happened, I was a sophomore at Randolph-Macon Woman's College. One of my roommates' had a father who was (maybe still is) a Federal Judge. Not a Supreme Court Judge (that would be WAY cool and scary all at once), but I think he sat/sits on a Federal Appeals Bench in Arkansas. Anyway - the last time the government shut down, she wasn't sure she would be able to stay at RMWC due to the fact that her father wasn't getting paid because he wasn't working. Because RMWC was so close to DC, I'm quite certain that she wasn't the only one who was worried about this issue that year. The point is, all I knew about the government shut down then was that it directly affected a good friend of mine in a potentially life-altering way. However, it didn't come up in every day conversation with other folks, and she didn't really let it filter into her life beyond our circle of friends. Facebook has changed how large that circle of friends is.
I have friends on Facebook who are terribly opinionated about this shut down from all sides. Reading all of their posts got my head spinning. The military families will suffer (I have several friends who are either IN the military or are married to the military), those who are being "forced" to go on Obamacare will suffer, those who are thrilled to take advantage of the Affordable Care Act are celebrating its promise, and the list goes on and on.
And then there are the pray-ers. Oh for the love of the pray-ers! And the Crossfitt-ers. And the runners. And the bakers. And the crafters. And the list goes on and on about ways Facebook was making me feel insufficient.
You know what I've done in the last two days since I quit Facebook? I read an entire book from front to back in a few sittings. (Yes, I realize that's a luxury that I'm afforded because I'm a stay-at-home-mom with a child in morning preschool.) I also worked on making favors for Bennett's birthday party next weekend. I planned menus for the week. Bennett and I went for a bike ride. I worked on cleaning our house. I exercised more than once. I watched the season premier of Grey's Anatomy a week late. I watched my son enjoy gymnastics class.
And not once did I doubt my choices as a mother, as a wife, as a homemaker, as a person. I really don't think I'll miss Facebook.
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