How I (sort of) broke my Facebook addiction

Facebook.

I really don't understand why it's so compelling to people (and I'm including myself in this group). Why do we feel we must constantly check in and share the trivial details of our lives with people we sort of know? And is it all that important for me to know that Suzie had a lovely turkey and cheese panini for lunch, or that Bob is headed home on the train?

On the other hand, it is rather convenient to have one form of media in which to share photos, announcements, and other information you want everyone to know. In the old days, you had to call or mail each person separately. And I do enjoy knowing, for instance, that my cousin's new baby, who lives in California, just said her first word.

But I realized this past semester that Facebook was taking up more of my time than it should. WAY more. Like, I would sit to nurse the baby, turn on the computer, the baby would fall asleep in my arms, and 2 hours later when she woke up, I'm still reading posts. Or I would be out somewhere and feel that compelling itch to check Facebook on my cell phone.

So I made the decision to turn Facebook off for the remaining 6 weeks of the spring semester. What freedom! I got so much more done -- housework, homeschooling, playing with my kids, you name it. I even got out more. It was lovely. The best part was that when the semester ended, I no longer felt Facebook's siren call. I could now log in, check a few things, and then log out -- without feeling I needed to scroll through every damn thing that had been posted since the previous time I'd been online. My husband also helped me set up filters so that I only saw posts from a handful of people -- my best friends, or my family members.

Now a few months have passed, and I'm doing pretty well. I do check in several times a day now, which I really don't want to do, so I'm working on it. But when I do, I check on a few things and go. I don't spend much time. However, recently I did spend enough time to get myself worked up over a bit of self-inflicted drama. I noticed that several friends posted photos from an event to which I hadn't been invited. Ouch. Now, chances are I wouldn't have attended said event anyhow, as I don't leave my kids much these days, but not being included as a courtesy hurt a bit. But it just drives the point home again to me that Facebook is not worth my time and attention, especially if it's causing me stress and hurt feelings. Lord knows I have enough stress in my life...

My goal is to cut Facebook use down to once a day (30 or fewer minutes) and not at all on weekends. We'll see how that goes.

Side note: (I'm on Google+ now, and it looks like it could be something, someday, but right now it's just really kind of.... blank.)