Facebook

Life Without Meta

/ LaShona Sellers / 1 Comment

“We disabled your account.”

With that, Meta permanently disabled my social media presence. And though it would be nice to clear my name of the bogus charge of violating community standards (Meta AI’s limitations and margin for error is a discussion for another day), I think Meta has actually done me a favor.

I’ve always had a complicated relationship with social media. Facebook, Instagram, Threads…It often felt like opening a fire hose as I was deluged with images, information, opinions and rants. I regularly deleted and reinstalled my apps during self-imposed breaks. Of course it wasn’t all bad. There were the memories that often reminded me of random thoughts and moments I’d forgotten. I was encouraged by communities that shared my values, interests and quirks. Most importantly, I kept up with the happenings of family and friends, near and far.

So what now? I see opportunities for more thoughtful connection and intentional engagement. I see invitations to explore new communities and platforms. I see the possibilities of redeemed time and energy. I see a life without Meta.

I wrote this poem almost 7 years ago, but the sentiment still rings true.

RELEVANT

Likes & loves

Clicks & shares

Fans & followers

This became the value of their life

Perfectly lit selfies

Outrageous opinions

Shameless self-promotion

Platforms built on illusions & lies

Identities lost

Souls sold for relevance
-LAS

Attitude of Gratitude Day 1 & 2

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

According to some of my friends on Facebook, November is the month of gratitude and each day you’re supposed to post one thing for which you are grateful. While I’m on a self-imposed FB detox of sorts (another post for another day), I’m not one to turn down any opportunity to give thanks so I thought I’d blog my daily gratitudes.

Day 1
I’m grateful for clarity of mind especially since I’ve only averaged about 12 hours total sleep over the past 3 nights with a cranky but clingy 21 month old.

Day 2
I’m grateful for heat and electricity. Our furnace is out and while waiting for the part (that had to be specially ordered-then delayed due to Superstorm Sandy) we’ve been using space heaters. I know that I can”make do” but in light of all that the storm victims are enduring, my heart and prayers truly go out to them.

So Random

/ LaShona Sellers / Leave a comment

Our church is currently doing a 21 day corporate fast. We’re joining with other churches and believers to seek God and His will for this year and beyond. You can go to Awakening 21 for information about the fast, devotions, inspirational videos- it’s just a one stop shop for anyone desiring a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ. Anyway as part of my fast I’m abstaining from Facebook. Is Facebook the devil? Of course not, but for me it can be a distraction and a time killer. Say I log on to accept a friend request or post a quick status update and two hours later I’m thinking where did the time go and of all the other things I could have and should have been doing. So in the span of three days I’ve received two emails from FB which in short say “Hey your friends are posting and liking all this interesting stuff. You don’t want to miss out on the fun so why don’t you log on!” I guess the site’s algorithms or something have detected my absence for the past week.  It’s temptation by email!