My relationship with Face book has been an on/off affair over the years… Sometimes I love it, other times, it drives me insane! I have often asked myself the question, what is it for? For some, it is the only way they get to communicate their emotions, for others, it gives them a moment of significance if someone ‘likes’ their status and for that fleeting moment, you may feel important and if no-one ‘likes’ it, then the opposite is true…’Oh no! no-one likes me!’I have found myself checking every few minutes to see if anyone has commented on my status and I know, so have you! I have sighed and been mad at some of the things I’ve seen and wished that I’d never seen them because if I hadn’t then I wouldn’t be thinking about it and I wouldn’t be mad! Facebook can be very emotionally driven and it is very easy to write something for the world to see which you regret afterwards, but it’s too late! It’s out there. You can’t take it back. It’s very easy to read into someones status something that is not true and before you know it, you’ve made an assumption and a judgement that isn’t what the person meant at all. Maybe you’ve been tempted to write a response to justify a situation – I know I have and I can type so I could do it quickly, press the ‘send’ button and live to regret it!

I have been off FB for about a month now…. What do I miss? I miss being in contact with friends from overseas,family members and friends that are not in my everyday life. What don’t I miss? Status’ that tell me how fed up someone is, or that tell me they went to the dentist today or invites to play ‘Farmville!’ Is that still a game?

I tried to go back on the other day and had the bright idea that I would just be friends with the people who I don’t see…. But when it came to deleting friends, I just couldn’t do it! It felt too ruthless…So, the question I’m left with is, do I stay away so as not to have my day interrupted by things that I just don’t want to know or see or do I put up with that and delete as I go those who tell me those things so that I can benefit from being in touch with friends and family that I never see?

So…Facebookers- a word of caution… especially if you’re a Christian, before you press that ‘send’ button, make sure what you’re about to announce to the world is positive. Even ask God to help you if you’re not sure, but my guess is, if you’re not sure, then don’t press send! There’s enough negative stuff in the world today so let’s use Facebook as a positive tool to influence for good… Think before you type!