Warning: Online Balancing Act May Cause Drowsiness.

UGH. I think this sums it up:

"It's incredibly irritating that Facebook has become such an indispensable mode of communication; it often seems like it's somewhat required to have a Facebook profile just to appear to have an actual presence on Earth—invitations, news, and connections pass you by if you're not a part of that easily-contacted world. And so for many, the trick is to maintain some sense of privacy while putting your trust in the hands of a company that shows very little respect for it."   ~ Hortense Smith  

This is the main reason I decided to get back on facebook. Insert huge sigh. Friends were complaining that they couldn't keep in touch as easily. In my overtly passive agressive opinion, friends usually keep in touch despite whether or not they can click on your picture. Ha. But, I admit that I honestly also did feel left out and it's very tense and weird when you have to ask/remind friends to make sure they text you if they are hanging out because you won't see it on facebook. My intention was not to make sure I get "special invites" or to make it hard for the people I appreciate to reach me, especially people who are half a country or oceans away. 

So I brainstormed and googled and I think I have found a solution to increase productive dialogue online and decrease the toxicity of facebook on my time and well-being. All while still being able to receive information on what is going on. Allow me to explain:

If you haven't noticed (as I am assuming most traffic here has been routed via facebook) my FB wall is disabled. You can't post anything on it. Muwahahaha. It is all part of my evil plan to have the last word. Just kidding. It just helps me not having to check it incessantly for validation, as I know I will never get any there, because no one can comment. 
Then, eventually, I will create an email just for facebook and turn on notifications to it if someone messages me or invites me somewhere, and then forward these to my actual email. This way, my actual email is protected from FB spam, but not the information that would still connect me to people. 
In conclusion, I will actually never have to go to the facebook website and get lost in the buzzfeeds, over-photographed babies, and political/religious/food chemical/diet debates ever again. But I will still be apart of the connection and have an online presence for future employment since that's a thing now. 

But holy cow the effort this will take to implement! Balance is hard. All for the sake of connecting with people who eventually wear me out anyway. Maybe I'll just read books instead of maintaining relationships. Much easier if all your friends are imaginary...