Why I Left Facebook

I think Facebook was a wonderful idea when it first started. It was sort of an online 6-degrees of Kevin Bacon that let people who didn't live near one another still share in each other's lives. Although I was not a "first generation" user, I was an early joiner in the era when one needed a university email address to register.

As I see it now, though, this site (along with Twitter, Instagram, and plenty of other social media sites) has led to a devolution in civil conversation and conduct. People go off on rants because they can "hide" behind a digital avatar. I have been guilty of this on occasion. They respond to people they've never met (and even some they have!) with a vitriol and ferocity that they wouldn't unleash on their worst enemies in person. Even our statesmen and business executives sound off on social media because their message can reach the masses, but with little regard for the tone or veracity behind it.

Unfortunately, these tendencies have overflowed into everyday life. Rather than speak with someone who may be acting unprofessionally or in a rude manner, people whip out their cell phones to record the interaction so they can upload it to social media. Rather than seek after the truth, they wait for opportune "Gotcha!" moments that can be posted to millions of followers. And people swallow their objections in the moment so they can go online later and create a tall-tale version of what transpired. They post things that cannot be verified because it sounds true.

After the 2016 election, Facebook began to crack down on so-called "fake news". But fake news on Facebook has been present from the beginning, at an individual level. The majority of people perfectly curate their life on these social media apps to present something that one would not see in the offline world. A family portrait hides the tension and instability underneath. A selfie of ripped abdominal muscles belies a person with an eating disorder.

Of course, there has been a swing in the opposite direction to counteract all of the in-authenticity. Now the cool thing to do is overshare about one's life. The kids were acting unruly today? Here's a post of how much they drove mom crazy! Been too busy at work to clean up the apartment? Here's a picture of that messy apartment. Overwhelmed by relationship woes? Pour out your thoughts to a carefully curated group of friends who will provide the perfect amount of "You go, girl!"s and "You're beautiful!"s to provide the encouragement you need in this difficult time of life.

Ultimately, Facebook just doesn't deliver on what it promises. It sucks away time and attention and gives back facsimiles of personality, thought, and the appearance of friendship. A good friendship will challenge a person to think about their beliefs and grow or mature in the way they handle life's struggles. Facebook encourages people to do "more together" but instead it seems to drive society further apart. It creates bubbles of security from outside pressures and differing opinions. Do you think veganism is the best diet and lifestyle? There are Facebook groups for that. Want to be an anarcho-communist-libertarian? Somehow, there's a Facebook group for that contradiction. Believe that Jesus Christ was not the savior of all mankind but instead came primarily for social justice among the poor and oppressed? Sadly, there's a group for that as well.

And along the last note, I finally see Facebook for what it truly is. It is not a tool to be used for any particular good. Rather, it's a part of the corrupted world system that distracts and misleads and pulls me away from what is most important: the careful and faithful pursuit of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, the Living Water, and my Lord and Savior.

My Bushido Code

I try to do nothing I will regret and regret nothing I do. That seems pretty self-explanatory, but I will elaborate.

Sometimes I am faced with decisions that tear at my moral heartstrings. Should I glance at another test paper or not? Should I gossip about so-and-so to their roommate? Should I give some money to someone who is homeless?

My goal is to make the decision that I will regret the least, whatever it may be. I make the choice that will leave me with the least amount of guilt, if any is to be felt.

But sometimes the "right" path isn't always available to me. So that's where the second part of the code comes in to play. If I can't make the choice I won't regret, then I refuse to regret the choice that I made. Regret leads to guilt which will lead to indecision or bad decisions the next time the same scenario comes up.

So far I have managed to lead a pretty stress-free life by this honor code. If this code works for you, feel free to live by it. If its not for you, I wish you luck in finding your own way of the samurai.

Day at the Office

God forbid the free donut someone enjoys on a Friday morning not be there because someone else got to the box first. It has been said multiple times today that so-and-so is going to be very upset if there are no more jelly-filled since I grabbed one up just after I arrived. But c'est la vie in the Dean's Office where I work as a lowly student assistant.

When I'm not trying to claw my eyes out as a subtle hint to the secretary that I don't want to have a conversation with her, I have to deal with all the drama that comes from half a dozen women working in close quarters with eachother. This doesn't even include all of the people who work on our floor and frequently shuffle in and out of the dean's suite.

There's not much that can make this existence better, other than the realization that it is not permanent. It's possible that I'm the one who is at fault. But there's a huge difference between wanting to talk and wanting to talk about nothing. Unfortunately it's the world we live in, and you gotta play the game. Otherwise you're always going to get picked last.