Mouse Pooh Love Facebook

I've decided to put away Facebook for a while. Why? I'm not completely sure, but I've noticed that it's become a habit to check my account several times a day, and when I do, I don't feel that good about it.

At first, I thought it was about update frequency. I'm one of those people who prefers to "reserve" information so when I see someone in person, I feel I have something to add to the  conversation. Others prefer to keep their friends in the loop on a more regular basis. But, what is a valuable update and what is just "filling cyber space"? Unlike your friends who give you moment-by-moment updates of their cat's recovery from a bad case of diarrhea, your updates are obviously much more interesting and awe-inspiring, right? I, too wonder if what I'm sharing is actually interesting to others. Is discrepancy in frequency and quality of content, the reason why I'm cutting myself off? Not entirely, it could also be about the false sense of connection I feel when I log on.

Mike, a "friend" I knew 20 years ago and haven't seen since updates from the ferry he captains on False Creek saying "Quiet morning on the water. This time of year we often don't see any passengers for the first few hours. Consequently my singing voice gets pretty strong." I picture him floating there and it takes me away from the boredom of being stuck at home while the kid naps. But we're not really friends...

Maybe it's about "mouse pooh love", a term my friend Meggie and I coined over the phone one night. You know that little jolt of excitement you get when you get a message, comment or a "like"? Each of those act like a positive shot to our ego; someone thinks we're clever, funny, informative, observant, or important. Someone "likes" us. It's not the same big feeling we get from a heart-felt hug and an "I love you"; it's a mouse pooh sized bit of love. And like watery coffee, you just never feel quite satisfied and you need more coffee throughout the day. Ah, addiction!

When I told my husband I was going cold turkey off Facebook for a while, he offered an interesting perspective; Facebook is a collection of advertisements about people you know. Like watching television and only seeing ads. I laughed. Advertisements and most of all television advertisements drive me completely bonkers, so maybe that's why I've been feeling "annoyed". 

Am I never going back? Probably not, but I am making an effort to break the habit. I do appreciate that I can use it to check in with friends, especially those who live far away in a different time zone but I plan on picking up the phone more and to continue with my snail mail. For a while at least. Keep in touch!

Is this photo Facebook worthy? Not sure....