Leo Babauta: Life Without Facebook

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lifehacker's editor, Slava Baransky, more than half a year ago wrote an article "Why I stopped actively using social networks", which caused a very violent and controversial reaction. The Twitter Quit article “Adam Bralt, Creator of & Yet:“What I Learned When I Quit Twitter for a Month”was also quite popular.

The topic of completely abandoning or restricting access to social networks is gaining momentum. And yet another person decided to give up Facebook. In his article, Leo Babauta shares his impressions after 17 months without this network.

I left Facebook because I wanted to live consciously.

Seventeen months ago, I deleted my Facebook account. He did not just deactivate it, but completely removed it and felt great relief.

You no longer need to check for updates, deal with requests for friendship (will I be interested in this person's thoughts? And do I want him to read my feed?), Write about everything that happens in my life, grimace from inappropriate posts, listen those who want to promote their business or personal interests, see someone playing at Farmville, read about who dined with what or what party is going to, view funny pictures and worry about how many people will like my photo or my new one post … And so on ad infinitum.

It doesn't detract from what others are doing, but it makes you wonder about all the noise that builds up during our total immersion on social media.

Saving

Living in a world without Facebook is a very interesting experience. Of course, I'm not the only one. Some also completely left there, and some have never been there and never will.

I am no longer in constant contact with relatives who are half the world away from me. I receive all important news by e-mail or by phone. Yes, some small interesting details will be lost, but along with them I will be spared from details that I am not at all interested in. And in my experience, the noise from Facebook drowns out these small details of interest to me in about a ratio of 10 to 1.

Now my day is calmer. I focus on more thoughtful things. I still use Twitter and Google+ to publish my posts, but I do so occasionally and don't check them out more than once a day. Instead, I write. I read long articles or novels. I walk and play sports. I play with my children and spend time with my wife. I am learning new things.

I still have the ability to share my life without the help of Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest or Whatsapp (I never used the last three). I express my thoughts through this blog, through random articles on my home site, which I created and hosted myself. Hosting your own website is not that difficult and for those who find it difficult to delve into all these technical complexities, there are many simple and free platforms for hosting blogs and expressing their thoughts there.

I can still collaborate with others. I have several colleagues whom I correspond with and consult via email, and with whom I work on an ongoing basis (we are used to using collaboration tools like Google Docs). I chat with people one-on-one via Skype or Google+ hangouts. I am not alone without heavy use of social media. I just use various tools to work with others and to express myself.

Privacy

We are social creatures, so it’s not surprising that we are looking for online communication. But this is a very superficial communication, with comments "here" and "here", likes and maybe a few messages to those with whom we are close. This communication lacks the richness of a tea party, or a workout, or a walk in the park.

We are talking. But are we afraid of loneliness?

Is there something scary about an empty mailbox? Are we bored to death without checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr and other social sites?

Can we disconnect and find ourselves alone with the fear of being alone with ourselves, without distraction, without anything other than the things we want to create?

Try to live without it for at least one day. Try not to visit Facebook and other social sites that you visit on a regular basis for one day. A day without email or messages. Disconnect and just create, contemplate, take notes, sketches, think, walk, sit alone and meditate, read a book.

This seclusion can be intimidating, but over time, you will learn to be your own companions, realizing that there is no better company. This is a valuable lesson.

Output

When we ditch Facebook, we miss out on social connections, news that happens to our friends, family, and colleagues. We are no longer on the same page with the rest of the world. This means that we are focused on marching to the rhythm of our own drums, in order to match it to our step, or to come up with the rhythm and reason for our lives ourselves.

This is a difficult task. It is much easier to be the antelope that follows the herd. Move when everyone else is moving, instead of insisting on your own, find your own path and be afraid of being eaten by a lion. And just like antelope, spend some time in solitude and see what happens. Silence aims to tell you that the noise was unnecessary. And that other antelopes also don't know what they are doing. They all run in one mindlessly led herd that carries us with it, without deliberation or conscious direction.

It is very useful to learn to insist on your own. The realization that you can do this gives strength. In the knowledge that you can cut ties with others even for a day or two, and find your own voice, choose your own path, listen to your ideas and your own advisor, and still be in perfect order, not feel any discomfort - this is the real power.

The song "Cheers" says that following our own path in our world takes everything from us today. It might be too difficult and you would rather go back to the familiar and comfortable social media checkout. But the result is worth giving away all there is and building your own path. The path you take on your own is worth selling your soul. You feel the ground with your feet, the fresh air of virgin land around you, and your own voice as company. It is worth everything you have.