Facebook Fatigue ...

"Is it just me?" 

Normally this question is answered with a resounding, "Yes, it's just you, you weirdo."

But this time, I'm not sure.

Is it just me or has anyone else fallen out of love with Facebook?

I'm just not that ... into it anymore.

Ever since I joined Facebook eons ago, back when a college email was required to join ... and College One was assuring me how much easier a Facebook account would make my courses ... I have been, if not obsessed, then enthralled with Facebook.   I genuinely loved seeing everyone's updates ... even the most banal, "Look at this grilled cheese I made!" was met with instant thumbs up.   I loved seeing everyone's photos ... oh my God, their baby has gotten so big ... oh my God, look at their new puppy!   It was just this odd voyeuristic window into everyone's lives.   I loved looking through that window and I equally loved putting life's little moments out there to share.

To be fair, I'm fairly old so no ... I'm not an Instagram person who loves taking photos of every dinner I eat and taking selfies in my car with aviator sunglasses and a smoothie.   I've watched Nosedive and I don't think I've ever been that concerned with how many "likes" I've gotten or how many "friends" I have.   However, I will take a moment to be brutally honest and admit that I do adjust things and re-take pictures to get that "perfect look."  I've also threatened people (hello, girls ... hello, Stoney) with, "If you post that photo, I swear to God, ..." 

So yes, I'm vain ... but I'm old enough and fat enough to have a healthy dose of "Go fuck yourself" to go with that vanity.

But now ... more and more, I'm just over it.  I'm assuming ... hoping ... it's just a phase.  At some point, I'll feel like dialing back into the opinions of everyone I know ... but for the moment, I don't care.  It's like a switch flipped at some point recently and I just cannot see another sunset.  Yes, I'm talking to you ... stop it.  We've told you that your photos are beautiful literally dozens of times ... it's a sunset.  Almost identical to every other sunset photo that you've posted.  Just. Stop. It. 

(Note:  The above person does not read my blog ... is not aware of my blog ... and were they aware of my blog, would not be self aware enough to realize that this is a reference to them.  They are too busy taking unlimited photos of the sunset and tagging those photos with a terribly unfortunate business name.)

I noticed this new aversion to Facebook this weekend.  Sometime on Saturday, my brother in law saw some adorable cookie cutters online and tagged me in them.  They were adorable and I commented on his post with a lighthearted joke suggesting I bring cookies to Thanksgiving this year.  Fast forward to sometime yesterday afternoon and I got an email telling me I had a comment waiting for me.  Facebook only sends you emails when you are lazy and don't check Facebook often enough.   The email alerted me that my mother-in-law had written something nice about the cookie cutters as well.   And that's when it hit me ... I hadn't read Facebook all day.   Hadn't opened it.   Hadn't liked anything.  Hadn't cared.

So I opened the app and read her comments and then took a minute to browse.  More baby pictures.  More sunsets.  Ugh ...

I'm sure this too will pass and I will once again want to share everything.   But for right now, I just don't.  I think maybe Jason Isbell is right ... when you're happy, you don't want to write.  You just want to keep doing what makes you happy.

All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm

Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence