Positive Reframing - Deprogramming From Facebook!

Recently, I decided to free myself from the toxicity of Facebook. Unlike before where I have said I was not coming back, I ultimately won't be returning to that platform anymore.

I attempted to positively reframe how I think and feel by joining Facebook groups that were aligned with my way of thinking.

However, Facebook is like a graveyard that has a road running through it; a road that has many lanes, like a motorway/highway/freeway. Most of the time, you are just standing there in the graveyard talking to yourself and nobody talks back; obviously, because they are not alive figuratively.

It's when you step towards the road that you end up being subjected to whatever is driving by at that time. Sometimes, somebody hears you and stops by to shout abuse at you from the window as they drive past; they may circle a few times and repeat the process before you turn your back (block them), and phase them out of existence until they drive off never to be seen again.

Other times, you could put up a sign (writing a post on Facebook). Most of the people driving by don't see your sign, or don't care enough to stop and read it. Though, on the rare occasion that they do, it's usually to tell you that you have a problem with your thinking, or are brainwashed and conditioned to think a certain way.

That's ironic, as they are the people that won't even entertain the possibility of another way of thinking! You have bothered to take the time to think openly and objectively across topics and sources of data, and have even neutrally presented both sides, yet they still think you are brainwashed because you won't hold bias the way they do and root to a particular way of thinking; why limit yourself to subjective logic systems and restricted ways of thinking anyway?

You may be thinking Facebook is not that bad, much in the same way a person thinks when they have an addiction to something and convince themselves that they need it. But, what your doing is making excuses for your habit. You look for mindless content to scroll through to distract yourself from what's staring you in the face; you find comfort in watching videos of interest or reading articles. Yet, ultimately you end up back in the graveyard again, with a road that's mostly quiet with no traffic passing by.

Using an example, it's like picking up a magazine somebody threw out the window of their car and occupying your time to read it; you are still standing in the graveyard, but you are distracted by what's in the magazine. Or a truck with a television on the side stops by for a short time, and you find a distraction watching what's on the screen, ultimately, again you are still in the graveyard.

So, what are you left with? Like any addiction, when you come down from it; as in, you realise where you are and contemplate your existence, you ultimately turn back to your addiction to make yourself feel better.

However, what you are doing to yourself is actually very bad for your mental health. Deep down, you know and feel you are alone; mostly you are talking to yourself, and you have become irrelevant.

Now, imagine that Facebook groups are like a group of people who drive around to different graveyards. They will go back and forth between peoples graveyards and display messages or content on the side of their van as they pass by or stop to socialise.

Though, ultimately, they will eventually leave and go somewhere else for a while. You have to go and look for them and use your time and energy to keep up. That's great if you had the time and energy to do that, but outside that frame, you always end up back in that Facebook graveyard and wonder what the point of your life is?

Eventually, I just decided to pull away from Facebook and change my morning routines, and even other bad mindless scrolling habits during the day to deprogram myself from Facebook entirely.

Instead, I am actively trying to positively reframe my life and find a new way of thinking away from Facebook. I just decided that I don't need people who don't need me? They are welcome to reach out to me on Messenger, or through this blog. Outside that, I am not chasing people anymore. I am taking back control of my life!