Here I go again, writing about social media. I am afraid I can’t help but speak my mind about it from time to time. In my opinion, it has become a really great thing and at the same time a not-so-great thing.

A few months back, I got so fed up with my attitude and my own smart-mouthed comments on Facebook that I decided to subject myself to a “time out” from Facebook. It was a good thing. Sure, I missed out on the day-to-day goings on of people and all that. But did I really miss out? When all was said and done, I realized, if I may quote the great Betty White, what an “enormous waste of time” Facebook can be.

When you pick up that phone or log on from your computer, you are just in. Often, we have no intention of spending the amount of time we spend on Facebook. We see a friend. We read their post. We click on a new photo, which raises questions about the size of their family or the size of their wallet or how pretty their spouse is.

Pretty soon, we have clicked away 20 minutes or more.

I started disciplining myself to just reading my newsfeed. I also cut down on a number of “friends.” It seems very harsh, but I decided I did not need to be in touch with many of the people on my friends list. Several were only acquaintances.  Some had “friended” me, and I remember having to ask other friends who this person was.  Quite silly. So, I whittled my list down to family, close friends, church family, and those folks I knew well enough to keep in touch with.

Experts are constantly coming up with issues about Facebook. I’ve heard recent reports on how Facebook is actually destroying our relationship building skills. Another report talked about how it fosters isolation. Still another said it causes us to feel depressed, comparing our hum-drum lives to the fascinating posts of our friends.

I really started thinking about that last report. Indeed, most people post only the happy stuff. We see the best photos, the best outings, photos of wonderful meals, and on and on it goes. Shoot, I don’t know how many times Michelle and I have argued over what photos to post because they aren’t flattering.  We are all in the same boat.

Then there are people who actually do post real things. If these folks are crabby or having a rough time, they post something about it. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard people say “I have ‘unfollowed’ or ‘defriended’ that person because they are always griping or posting depressing things.”

In essence, we are so used to the fun, perfect and positive world Facebook has helped us create that we really don’t want to hear any of the real life stuff.  Am I right?

I’m just as bad as anyone. I post the cutest photos of my kids. I share their accomplishments and the funny things they say. I don’t focus at all on our daily struggles or our low points.

Maybe I should.