Going against the grain.

One thing I noticed last year was that I was spending a large amount of time on social media and news sites. Invariably, I'd end up frustrated because of something I read in the news that was happening or because of someone on Facebook or some other social media site spouting racist, bigoted, misogynistic, etc. rhetoric. It's getting close to election year and, of course, politics will bring out the worst in people. People that I assumed were smart were spouting some pretty ignorant and hateful stuff. I ended up blocking a lot of people, especially a few people that claimed to be Christian, but then went out of their way to show how UN-Christian they could be. With everything else going on around the planet, and only bad things being reported in the news, I decided to take a break from it all.
So, I have stopped going to news sites. I've stopped browsing Facebook. And, you know what? I actually feel better. I have more time to do things. Productive things. I guess I could be accused of sticking my head in the sand, when it comes to local, national, or world news. I just don't care anymore. Things are happening that are outside my control, and I am not going to get worked up over it, anymore (although, I did tell my wife if Trump becomes President, we're moving to another country). And Facebook? Yeah, it's a great way to connect with your family and friends that are long distance. I may eventually go back to Facebook. But, it's also a big time-waster. I had a lot of "friends" on Facebook that I'd never even met face-to-face. I just added people that asked me to be friends. Before long, my wall was filled with all kinds of things (what people had for breakfast, lunch, supper, etc) that I didn't really care about. Also, as I mentioned before, people sounding off and looking like intolerant bullies about whatever. Basically, I was getting tired of all the negativity. It overshadowed the good stuff. I was blocking people left and right. I unfriended a couple of folks that were my friends because of their hateful speech and attitude. I just couldn't take it anymore, and didn't want to be associated with someone like that.
I've read that being exposed to negative things has a huge impact a person's psyche. I agree. Since I've stopped paying attention to the world of things that I have no control over, I feel better. Since I've stopped being exposed to the negative people in my social network, I feel better. I don't know. Life is just too short to be worrying about things that I can't control or people that bring me down.
So, my point is, I feel better without these modern day "tools". I miss Facebook, I do. I do not miss the news sites. Maybe soon I'll step back into the pool of Facebook and test the waters. Until I think I'm ready, though, I'll continue to go against the grain and not use it.