I'm 6 days into an unplanned but sorely needed Facebook break and I'm finally getting past the "cold sweats, shaking on top of my stripped bed because I've kicked off all the linens" part of the detox. I only feel the urge to reach for my phone every 6 minutes instead of every 5. It's progress.

I'm not someone who really holds a lot of negative feelings towards Facebook. I used to really dread and kind of loathe the notion of willingly plugging into the Matrix and giving that service such a strong and unfettered foothold into my attitudes, feelings, and creative impulses. Although that's never completely gone away, daily Facebook usage has worn down my edges and I now see that the pros (communicating with friends and family, reading interesting stuff, being a class clown) outweigh the cons (echo chamber circle jerk).

But despite my enjoyment of Facebook and how good I've gotten at self-regulating when and where I use it, it has taken up time and energy I used to give to writing, reading, and other creative tasks. Yes, I could write on Facebook, but I kind of miss the notion of writing in a space where the volume's turned down a bit. No ads, no notification distractions...that kind of deal.

So my Facebook hiatus is gonna continue a little bit longer, but the hope is the creative outlet I used to get from Facebook will be filled here and in other areas. We'll see.