not to us

Well, I've been telling Mike for nearly a year that I was gonna do it.  The time has finally come.  I have decided to deactivate my Facebook account.  I'm doing this for several reasons, and I think they're all valid.

For instance, I can log on to Facebook with the intent to look up someone's phone number.  Fifteen minutes later, I still haven't looked up the phone number, and I wonder where the past 15 minutes of my life have gone.  If this happens eight times a day (which is the average number of times it happens, I've kept track), then that's a total of two hours *GONE* from my day.  I've gotta be honest: I can't afford to lose that kind of time each day.  No wonder I'm behind on housework...

Another problem? I honestly think Facebook cheapens my relationships with people.  At the very least, it makes them more shallow.  Instead of taking the time to really catch up with someone, I can check out their Facebook profile and get "updated" in a few minutes.  Unfortunately, I let that substitute for *really* connecting with people.  I don't check in with the people I care about often enough.  But Facebook allows me to rationalize it away by thinking, "If something were really wrong, I'd know about it.  It'd be on Facebook."  That's obviously not necessarily true, and I don't want to lean on that crutch in my relationships.

I've also started to be more and more concerned with Facebook's privacy policies.  Their constant default is to make everything public...very, very public.  Recently, when I've gone to the CNN.com website, I'll see updates from my Facebook friends on the sidebar, telling me what news stories they're reading and sharing.  That means that other people are seeing what I'm reading.  I don't have anything to hide, but if they can see what news stories I'm reading, then what else can they see?

Anyway, I really want to be intentional: in my life and *especially* in my relationships.  Facebook is a huge hindrance in my pursuit of that goal, so it's time to say, "Adios!"

With that said, I'll admit that I'm really, really sad to be losing this connection.  I'm afraid I'll be *terribly* out of the loop, and I worry about how I'll get in contact with people for whom I have no contact info...  I suppose I'll go to the older-fashioned way.  You know, whitepages.com or *gasp* the phonebook.

Anyway, I really do care about each and every one of you, and I'm terribly sad to be missing out on all that happens in Facebook-land.  However, I know this is an action I must take to spur myself on towards more productive living!  :)

If you'd like to have my contact info, use the contact form above to e-mail me, and I'll send you my digits.  ;)  Oh, yeah, baby...that's how I roll.

Anyway, I'll still be blogging and tweeting, so I won't be completely unplugged.  I sure hope you'll still visit around these parts and hang out on the blog with me!  For those of you in real life, I can't wait to get re-connected with you OFFLINE.  I think it's gonna be GREAT.  :)

For now...

Lindsay Burke Goodwin is saying goodbye to Facebook.

Goodnight!