Day 357: Leaving Facebook

The only reason that anybody reads this blog is because I post the links on Facebook. On the days that I forget to share a link, there are zero views. I don't say this as a bad thing but as a tribute to the power of Facebook and the reality of the internet. There are very few websites that I visit on a daily basis. Social media platforms have the wonderful ability to drive users to a website because they are following a link. It is free advertising. This is not a new concept, but something that I wanted to point out as a factor for me still being present in the social media world.

I have Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts. I rarely use any of them besides Facebook. Twitter would come in number 2, and I only get on Twitter when I want a change of scenery, i.e. different news media and celebrity opinions. Snapchat I use for about four friends and it is only because they send me Snaps first. Instagram, to me, is basically Facebook except with much less bickering; I can see my friends and family's photos that they will probably post to Facebook anyway.

Overall, I only use Facebook and it has become too instinctual to click on the app any time I open my phone. There have been so many times that I had some intention of looking something up or texting someone and Facebook will already be loaded on my phone because it is the last thing I was looking at. Then in about two seconds, I forget why I opened my phone. Another two minutes later, I finally snap out of my trance and again try to remember the reason I opened my phone. Sometimes I remember, but most of the time I have to go back to what I was doing in the physical world and retrace my thought process. And sometimes I will forget that I even wanted to do something else altogether.

The instinctual habit of opening my phone when I am slightly bored has become a problem. If I am around other people, I have to catch myself reaching for the phone in my pocket for no reason that I consciously gave my brain. The phone and Facebook have been an addiction for far too long in my life and I want a change. So, when this writing experiment is over I plan on deleting the app on my phone. I have thought about deactivating my account for a period of time, but that would not be fair to my friends and family. If they want to look at old photos or posts then they should be free to do that. This is a personal choice and it's a personal addiction I have to break. Of course, I could still get on with a regular computer. I will have to continuously make the conscious choice not to get on.

The addiction to social media is something very new in the world. Clicking on and tuning in almost feels like I am on autopilot. Even when I am consciously telling my thumb to stop scrolling it doesn't stop. There is an endless feed of potential funny pictures, funny videos, heartwarming quotes, pictures from a friend's vacation, a video of my nephew doing something funny, a recipe for a delicious dish, and countless other attractive rectangles that are all placed in perfect order in order for me to continue spending more time on the app.

Time is the most valuable currency we have. As I transition away from time using social media, I want to use that time for more meaning full activities. For one, I want to read more books than I have in the past half-year. Even if I am not carrying a physical book, I can continue reading a book on my Kindle app. And if I am at home there are plenty of other activities that I can do rather than scroll through social media.

I enjoy being on Facebook and seeing what my friends and family are up to. I enjoy the funny pictures and videos. I don't think there is anything wrong with social media platforms and what they provide. I am worried about how my brain is changing because of how much time I am spending on these apps.

I created my Facebook account in 2005 because my girlfriend at the time made me do it. I was very satisfied with MySpace. That was enough of an online presence that I wanted. I found it redundant to have two online profiles. But Facebook was something else entirely, as we all know. It was simple and elegant. We didn't have the customization capabilities, but we didn't need that. We could easily see what our friends were doing and share comments back and forth. Soon, we could share photos. Then videos. Then our entire lives.

I am not worried but I am very curious to understand what it will be like to live almost entire life online. To have everyone's life documented with photos, Likes, and Comments available for eternity. Imagine the amount of data that will be available in the future from everyone volunteering information to these social media companies. It is going to be astounding.

I am not leaving because I dislike the program in any way. I am leaving because I am curious of what life will be like without it. I have been active on Facebook for fifteen straight years, which is nearly half of my life. That ratio is only going to grow. Before I succumb to the rest of my life online, I want to live some of it just in the real world.

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Image by Krzysztof Kamil from Pixabay