Seek Respect, Not Attention. It Lasts Longer.

Photo credit | Kush and Wizdom

For some reason, when I read the quote above, it made me think of Facebook. My husband recently deactivated his account. I haven't been shy about the fact that I also permanently deleted my account in late August 2014. Why? Because I was tired of updating everyone on the really not important things in my life. Like what I was eating. Or what I thought of the latest movie I had seen or vegan dish I had eaten. People were probably tired of hearing about my veganism (that was so 2012, Kelsey!) and I was sick of crafting carefully worded status updates.

I also spent a significant amount of time scrolling. I swear my right thumb was probably tired of the upward flicking motion I was make as I scrolled through hours worth of news feed. And why? I had pared down my "friends" list to only 96 people, which only included close family members, a handful of coworkers, and a dozen or so close friends. That's still a lot of people to impress daily. Hell, some people even update a few times a day.

So what were they posting? About their kids, what they ate for dinner, or the random, "Oh. My. God! I can't believe that just happened," without further detailing what the hell just happened! This will cause a cascade of "OMG, what happened? Text me!" responses. Attention. Pure attention. It's what we all crave, right? I decided to hop off the attention bandwagon and pay attention to the latest development in my life: baby Eleanor Jane, who I had conceived over the past summer.

I had just shared the news of my big announcement maybe two weeks prior on Facebook. But, guess what? Half already knew because I told friends and family in person or on the phone as soon as we found out we were pregnant. And what did I learn since cutting myself off from the digital world? That I only really need to pay attention to the important things in my life, like say, my pregnancy, my husband, and my career. It was time to stop looking for attention and start earning the respect that I strived for.

Just because I think it's that important, I'm going to share the original video that inspired me to disconnect, along with the instructions for how to free yourself from the never-ending and unsatisfying cycle that seeking attention will cause.

So, I ask: When will you begin to look up?

Have you been thinking about permanently deleting your Facebook? Here how:
1. Download a copy of your photos, videos, and more before switching off.
2. Disconnect all third-party apps so you won't be auto-logged and therefore null and void your deactivation. Note: Be sure to manually click the "x" to the right of each app to remove your data.
3. Permanently delete.