Blocked and Deleted

What is it about Facebook...it truly does mess with people's heads. I'll grant you it can be a useful tool in staying connected with people, but I've increasingly been finding out that it's more in my head than I'd like for it to be.

Recently I've discovered that I've been blocked and deleted by a number of people. Two in particular left me with a "what the f" feeling. And really it shouldn't bother me as much as it seems to be.

So why does it?

I've made mention of the false reality Facebook creates, leading others to look at their timeline comparatively. "Oh so and so just got back from vacation", "This person just got a new car", "That person just put their two weeks in because they just got offered a fabulous job", so many people seemingly enjoying their lives and living way more fabulously than you could ever dream to, and then you sit and take stock of your life and become disappointed. And this is the definition of social media?

(Whoa, get off your soap box. You're going to be sharing this post via Facebook)

When I had my hands busy knitting and working on Christmas projects, I found little time for Facebook and this did not bother me one bit. But now that I've slowed down on that, Facebook once again sinks its time-stealing claws into my mind and it is then that I'd discovered the whole blocked and deleted nonsense.

But now back to my original question: why does it even bother me? It shouldn't. Admittedly my posts as of late tend to be a little left-of-center, which doesn't exactly mesh well with some of my right-leaning friends, and since you can now see things that other people like as opposed to what they just post, people can see that I merely liked things that are a bit Catholic in nature, which doesn't exactly mesh well with some of my more evangelical-leaning friends.

At the same time, I am neither staging a Lenin-esque takeover nor am I proselytizing, so their blocking and deleting really comes down to their narrow-minded insecurities and do I really want that in my life anyway? It's almost as if I'm taking each unfriend or block/delete as a personal attack for which vengeance is necessary. (Okay that was a bit dramatic, at least the last part. I apologize.)

In all honesty, it's more like a bee sting (although I am allergic). Now that I've given it a few days, the initial sting has passed and I'm soothing myself with the Benadryl cream of "you don't want that kind of negativity in your life anyway".

But still, for something to have such a profound effect on one's psyche, says a lot about the subliminal power of the Facebook.

Poster beware.