Day 15 - Social Media Sabbath

A while back Dan said to me "Hey, do you think you could stay off Facebook today?"

It was shortly after we  moved to Nebraska. I didn't know anyone here yet so I was looking to Facebook to fill the social void in my life. I was spending any extra moment during the day either talking to my mom, who's also an avid Facebook fan like I am, or with a group of women in a private Facebook group.

I touched on this a few days ago in my post Quality Kid Time when I talked about how I devote one hour a day to Max, completely technology free (with the exception of the car to get to the park!). But I wanted to share with you more about why social media-free Sundays mean something to me and my family.

I make no secret of my love for Facebook. As a stay-at-home mom and before that, a telecommuter, and with my chronic back problems and family not living nearby, Facebook has given me the freedom to interact with my friends and family more than I would have been able to otherwise. It's definitely been a huge blessing for me (I bet you'd never thought you'd hear someone call Facebook a blessing, eh?). But, sometimes in the midst of connecting with friends and family around the world, the people I have right here can get ignored, and if I am devoting my time to maintaining long distance friendships, when will I have time to make friendships right here?

So I took Dan's idea and ran with it. He asked me for one day free from Facebook, not one day a week.

So why did I choose to observe every Sunday? Sunday, as a Christian, is my day of rest. It's the day I devote to God and to my family, so it felt natural to me to spend the day social media-free. It is liberating to me to close my iPad and not worry about what's going on with Facebook or Twitter (or Instagram...) and just be with my family. 

And this thinking has permeated other aspects of my life - I started my technology-free time with Max at the park after starting my Social Media Sabbath, and though an incredibly difficult decision to make, I left the group of women on Facebook after eight years. It was very hard, but that decision gave me more time and freedom to focus on the relationships right here in front of me.

I'm not perfect at taking my Social Media Sabbath. Sometimes I forget or sometimes I need to make sure to pass along something in a private message, but I'm trying, and really, I think that's the important thing.

Have you tried taking a Social Media Sabbath? Do you observe one regularly? How do you fill your time? I urge you all to give it a try this coming week, whether for a day or just a few hours! Come share your results with me.