Unplugging

I realized recently that I am grossly over-informed. By everyone. I am in the middle of one of my Facebook boycotts right now and the longer that I stay away, the less and less I miss it.
I noticed, almost as soon as I signed up for my account, the downside to such a social conglomerate. I want to do a psychological study that analyzes what I refer to as, "the stages of facebook use". (Similar to the seven stages of grief.) I really haven't dwelled on the idea long enough to actually outline what the stages would be, but it seems to me that most of my "friends" seem to experience similar social networking emotions.
It's exciting at first to reconnect with people whom you haven't seen in a long time, but it's not exciting to be up to date with every mundane detail of a person's life. And it is so easy to get caught up in the perpetual posting of information. Who doesn't feel good about themselves when a bunch of people comment on their witty little status updates? But then there are the hot spots that make the whole social networking thing a little tricky. I would never intentionally disrespect anyone, but passionate beliefs do that, regardless of intent. I'll admit, I don't mind stirring the pot every now and then. I like a good discussion from different perspectives. I'm usually not so set in my ways that I can't appreciate and listen to the other point of view. I don't know if I always come across that way or not, but I really do try to listen to all sides.
The worst part for me though is the margin of assumption. It is impossible to accurately represent a person's entire life through status updates and page interactions, however, the people who constantly read them mistakenly believe that they have the whole story. Enter judgement. It inevitably turns into high school drama with one misunderstood statement. "Did you see what she wrote?" "I can't believe they like that!" And so goes the gossip chain. It's sad really, that I hurried so much to get out of that mess when I was actually in high school only to find myself falling into that unproductive pattern as an adult. I've been unintentionally sucked into my past by letting it into my computer!
So, I am pushing my reset button and taking a much needed break from the rest of the social networking world. (Except for my poor neglected blog.) I don't need to know what the color of my eyes says about me or how many of my "friends" are addicted to their virtual farms. I have greatly reduced my interactions this week and have been so much more productive in the rest of my life. (Which has enough drama of its own.) My little boycott has also led to the neglect of my TV as well. I have been much better about opting for my IPOD as background noise instead of a mindless sitcom that I've seen a hundred times. It has also helped me to take the time to enjoy the gorgeous AZ weather. I actually spent a ton of time in the yard the last couple of days planting flowers. (Much to the dismay of plant life everywhere.) They already look wilt-y. I suck at this. But, oh well! There is color in my backyard and on my skin and the interactions I've had with people in the last two days has exponentially topped any of the virtual interactions that I can think of.
I'm not sure if I'm going to cancel my account completely just yet, but this separation is a good thing for now. I've decided that money may, in fact, be the root of all evil, but Facebook is a close second.