January 1, 2013, I updated my Facebook status for the last time and said goodbye to all of my Facebook friends, many of whom I didn’t really know.  I had made a New Year’s resolution to get off Facebook entirely and see how my life would change and whether I would really miss it all that much.  Fast forward 10 months and I have to say it was the best New Year’s resolution I ever made.  Sure,  there are times I feel like I’m missing out on photos of my family and friends and wonder if, perhaps, I am a bit more out of the loop because I don’t keep up on status updates of my nearest and dearest.  Ultimately, however, I snap back to reality and tell myself the truth: Facebook was really just a waste of precious time that I could put into doing something else. I realize that saying something like this may hit a nerve with some that find Facebook to be an added value to their daily lives and an efficient and convenient way of staying connected.  In truth, you really are wasting more time than you think.

Reports in various blogs and news articles have reported that “people check their smart-phones every six-and-a-half minutes and part of the reason why is that we’re always refreshing our Facebook pages.”  Even further, Mashable reports that it is estimated that checking Facebook is “costing the U.S. economy $650 billion per year — or $4,452 per company.  A social media interruption occurs every 10.5 minutes on average, and people waste 41% of that time on Facebook.”  I have heard that some people designate only a certain day or time of day to check Facebook and, to those people, I say, “Bravo.” But, they are the exception, not the norm.  I for one can admit that Facebook took up more time in my life than it should and that I was not as productive of a person, not just in work, but in life.

Since being off Facebook, I find that I reach out to my friends and family more and I do it the old fashion way:   write, call or email (isn’t it funny to think of email as the ‘old-fashioned’ way?)  Now, I do not shun social media all-together for I do feel that you can benefit from allowing yourself to be part of a network of some kind.  In fact, I would never have my current position at Saratech if it wasn’t for the CEO finding me on Linkedin and offering me a job opportunity.  Ultimately, the lesson that I feel one should glean from all of this is, as best said in the Byrd’s song ‘Turn! Turn! Turn!’ “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.”  And it may well be that others are thinking the same thing as Facebook are losing members in droves in recent months.  Perhaps the season is changing for Facebook.  I just hope that this is not seen as an opening for some new media craze to take its place!