A couple of years ago, Jamy dropped her Facebook account. Calling it “Drama-book,” she was tired of all the sniping, flaming, and other ugliness. It made total sense to me.
It took me a little longer, but I decided a couple of months ago to drop mine as well.
But I never pulled the trigger on killing my account.
No real reason. I just didn’t get around to it. I’m on a computer all day at work but no where near Facebook, and at home I’m usually on my Nexus 7, onto which I haven’t even installed the Facebook app. But I did have the app on my iPhone, and I would pop it open from time to time when I was extremely bored.
Then, I upgraded to iOS7.
In order to do that, I had to delete about 3GB of apps. Knowing I could easily reinstall them, I didn’t mind. Facebook, being one of the larger apps, had to go.
I haven’t put it back on my phone, and haven’t missed it one bit.
Here are four reasons for my Facebook farewell…
- I am not hard to find. You are reading a blog available pretty much world-wide. Google my name, and the top two hits are my Twitter and this website. If anyone needs to get a hold of me and makes the smallest possible effort, they can get a hold of me.
- Keeping up with lots of people is hard. Of course, I appreciate the daily emails from my friend FB, reminding me that I have notifications pending. But let’s be frank: if I needed to know something about someone I care about, I would get an email, text, or phone call. Or (gasp) I would talk to them about it the next time I see them.
- “Drama-book” isn’t far off. Whether it is the cry-for-help status (“I’m having a bad day” or “I wish I knew what to do”) or the trying-to-start-a-fight status (“<insert political party> is stupid!”), Facebook is prime real estate for ugliness. And there is enough of that IRL.
- Facebook doesn’t respect privacy. They constantly change privacy settings. They have said they will use your likeness to advertise products without compensation. They charge businesses and organizations to make sure their updates are seen by their potential customers/patrons. I do not trust them, and, as they continue to try to justify their stock offering, I do not believe they will earn my trust anytime soon.
My one concern? Access to entities other than my own. I do not care that come promotions, apps, and other things require a Facebook sign-in. I will not use any that have such narrow entry methods. But just the other day, our church staff discussed the maintenance of the church’s Facebook page. Once I forego my account, I wouldn’t be able to help in any capacity. What I may do is cancel my current account and then start a new one with no pix, no bio, no friends… nothing but an empty account so that I can utilize the church’s account in an emergency. But I may not even do that.
I just don’t see an actual need for an account anymore. Plain and simple.
So, I will for real be pulling the plug the next time I get a sec behind the good ol’ MacBook Air. Seriously. This time I mean it.
Not a Camouflaged Soul 