Facebook is dangerous... for me.

I haven't been on Facebook is many, many moons. I can't.

I. Just. Can't.

I can't look at peoples' photos of babies, toddlers, pregnancy announcements, birth announcements, postpartum body announcements, baby showers, etc.

I. Just. Can't.

I truly believe Facebook has become dangerous ground for all of society: for the teenagers who are prey for the sex predators, for the kids who get bullied, for the senior citizens who get scammed, for the jobs lost, friendships destroyed, marriages dissolved.

What good comes from passively looking in on someone else's life? Nothing. Nothing good can come from it. Do you know what does result from stalking others on Facebook?

Jealousy.

Envy.

Strife.

Lies.

Brokenness.

Superficiality.

Hearts broken, homes destroyed, families ruined.

Oh, you may be saying to yourself, "Whoa there, Nelly. It's isn't all that bad! Why just last week I saw photos of my cousin's graduation from high school!"

That's all well and good. I suppose. But when did we as a society become so obsessed with everyone else around us? Sure, we as humans have always felt the need to compete with each other; we feel the need to show how "good" our lives are to impress others, to gain admiration, to get praise, to be envied.

In the end, what good has looking at someone's life done for your life?

So, it was my choice to delete my Facebook account that I had had for 8 years. My husband soon followed suit after our miscarriage and my health scare. He was tired of our superficial friends who seemed to care more about posting photos of their kids online than actually "parenting" those same kids or making memories with their kids. (Side rant: What the eff good do you think putting photos of your kids online is POSSIBLY going to do for them in the future?)

I'm not saying that everyone should delete Facebook. There are still some worthwhile activities that can be done on the site. However, when those good activities begin to diminish in number and are replaced with feelings of inadequacy, jealousy, envy, anger, strife, etc., it may be time to shut that website down.

No one but our immediate family and friends know how our infertility and miscarriage. No one else needs to know. Just like no one else will need to know if I do get pregnant and carry to full term. NO one is going to care if I posted a monthly "belly pic" as a pregnancy progressed. If they did... well, they probably aren't my friend anyways.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that by focusing so much on watching other peoples' lives online, we as a society have become even more dangerously obsessed with our own online appearance. How much time a day do you spend on Facebook? How much time a day do you spend THINKING about Facebook: what you will post, what photo collage you can make from Instagram, etc. How much of your time is devoted to a website? Seriously. Think about it. Unless you are Mark Zuckerberg or one of his employees, you probably are spending too much time on Facebook and letting yourself be consumed by it.

I know my opinion is not going to be well received by most; even some of my very best friends who are those same friends who shove their kids down your NewsFeed in 17 minutes increments.

I don't care. Maybe get off the computer for 10 minutes and take some time in reality. Judge for yourself. Question for yourself. Think for yourself. Try not looking around for an intangible object for your fulfillment, approval, excitement, memories, etc. I guarantee you that you will be pleasantly surprised.

Facebook is dangerous... for me. Maybe for all of us.