Shut the Book of the Face.

Recently, I did what almost every teenager would absolutely dread.

I deleted the Facebook app off of my phone. Horrifying right? How am I ever going to be able to keep up with my friends and their photos of puppies and politcal views?

My reasoning is exactly that. I don't want to be consumed by the everyday updates of acquaintances that I haven't talked to in 3 years. I don't want to be scrolling through my feed in the morning sitting in bed, getting increasingly angry at how people act on social media. I don't want to be barraged by political viewpoints that are presented with no respect for mine. I found out that I was getting more stressed out by things people say than I was about events in my personal life.

Another reason is that it develops narcissism. "How?" you may ask. Well I will give you an example.

One day, you are walking around the town, and you suddenly have a brilliant idea for a great joke or a fabulous pun. You immediately pull up your smartphone (let's be honest, who doesn't have one?) and open up Facebook. After a few minutes agonizing over how to present the joke to optimize the most humor, you post that status. a few minutes later, your phone buzzes. Your friend comments "Lol that is hilarious!!!" And you feel great. 15 minutes later you look at the post again. It's up to 17 likes and 3 more comments. You feel great. You've put a smile on 17 people's faces. What's the problem with this?

You start to get absorbed by this phenomenon. This post makes you feel powerful. The next day, you go to post another genius joke. You sit back and wait for the likes to roll in. 15 minutes later, it's still at 1 like. 2 hours later, it has reached 5 likes. It starts to have a bit of an effect on your self esteem, sometimes to the point of doubting self worth. I've also found that selfies are often an unconscious need for self approval. The more response on the social media, the more favorable oneself's view of themself is.

I know that is a very basic/drastic example, but I know it's a real issue. I've experienced it myself from time to time. It's a real issue in our culture today. Many people look for self reassurance through social media. I can tell you one thing,

They aren't going to find fulfillment there.

One last reason that I deleted Facebook off of my phone, was because it takes up far too much of my time. I was reading online that people spend an average of (at least) three hours a day on social media.

3 hours.

Let's do the math. that's 21 hours a week. 84 hours a month. 1,008 hours a year. 42 days.

We lose 42 DAYS to social media a year. That's 42 days of watching cat videos. Arguing about political views that only leaves people angry. I don't know about you, but I don't want to lose 42 days every year to any of that.

I'd rather spend that time being with my girlfriend, Taking pictures. Maybe having a discussion with a friend in person. I'd much rather do that than be looking at a screen.

Nothing permanent will ever become of a scroll down your Facebook feed.

When I deleted it off of my phone, I admit, I was a bit bored and antsy at first.I had nothing to do. but it grew easier every day. I started to become less stressed, less angry, and more observant of the world around me. It was the first step to eliminating my smartphone addiction.

Will you join me in shutting the Book of the Face? I highly recommend it.