Facebook and I are on an indefinite hiatus. Maybe it'll be a Sonic Youth length hiatus, maybe it'll be Foo Fighters length. I'm not totally sure the length of it. All I know is I cannot scroll through my feed one more time. So I'm done and retreating to the quippy land of Twitter and substantially more encouraging and uplifting and blissfully filtered world of Instagram.
Which brings me to my hiatus terms. My other social media accounts are still active and actively connected to my Facebook, so posts will still roll through. In essence my posting won't change, it just won't be coming from Facebook, and I won't be logging into Facebook to check it. It's like that obnoxious thing bands do when they go on hiatus but then members make music together that sounds identical to the old band but they have a new name.
When bands go on hiatus they very rarely give a reason, at least not a real one. But since I'm a person and not actually a band I'm going to give the why. This morning when scrolling through Facebook I saw in order:
- a post stating Michael Brown got what he deserved
- the video of Andrew Wheeler (18) physically assaulting autistic teenager Aaron Hill (16)
- an uninformed and entirel repugnant analysis of goings on in the Middle East
- an insensitive and largely unChristian response to the passing of Robin Williams
And I broke. Today Facebook made the world look dark and broken, which it is. But it also made the world look beyond redemption, which it is not. My God is bigger than all of this and He can redeem all things. And beyond that He is the author and creator of every good thing. There is tragedy and it doesn't do any good to pretend there isn't. But there is beauty. There is hope. There is cool summer evenings, and swimming in clear water, and climbing trees, and being kissed by someone who loves you. There is tragedy and we can't forget that, but as a Christian I can't forget the beauty of God's creation either. And Facebook makes you forget.
So I'm leaving Facebook for a while to only focus on what is uplifting. Don't mistake this for burying my head in the sand. It's not. I will stay informed (from credible news sources) and I will form opinions, but those opinions will be shared over coffee and a meal and not over internet wires. I will find ways to impart change instead of just wish for it from behind a screen. And I will stay connected to Real Life Friends through REAL LIFE. Feel free to connect with me through Instagram or Twitter or my email address (abrostad@gmail.com) or my phone number. Let's have coffee and have an actual conversation about how wonderful the world can be, and yes how dark sometimes too.
