Farewell Facebook
Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Rachel Jonat of Minimalist Mom
Minimalism will lead you to a lot of things you never thought about. What you once accepted as the norm you will now question the how and why of. Where you invest your time, energy and money are decisions you will start placing much more thought into.
I recently deleted my personal Facebook account. In the past, I spent 20-30 minutes on Facebook, 5-7 days a week, browsing updates and occasionally setting up social engagements via wall posts and messages. Some of my friends posted interesting links that I would follow to view their favorite TEDx talk or an article they recommended. I occasionally commented on status updates or links but most of my Facebook time was passive surfing of photos and updates about weekend antics. Harmless enough, right?
My time is valuable to me and to my family. The more I thought about what I was getting out of Facebook, and what I was giving back on Facebook, I realized it was a one sided conversation. I was passively bobbing along in the tide of updates, not connecting, not sharing and spending time keeping up with people I would never call on the phone or invite over for dinner.
I want more from my friends than status updates. I want to give my friends more than status updates.
Facebook wasn’t enriching my life. The photos of my friend’s children were nice to see but they didn’t replace having a play date and seeing that child in the flesh. Thirty-six, four word wall posts congratulating someone on turning a year-older rang false to me. If this person isn’t significant enough in my life for a birthday phone call or visit or even a personal email, why do I want to stay on top of where they are vacationing and that they got a new puppy.
I’d rather give up the 189 Facebook friends, the majority of whom I don’t have or want the phone number of, and focus on the people near and dear to me.
The 20 minutes a day, or roughly 2 hours a week, or over 4 days a year, I spent on Facebook can now be used for better connections. With that time I can:
- Day trip to my college town: go to an alumni event and catch up with old friends. (12 hours)
- Spend one hour every Sunday of the year calling friends and family. (52 hours)
- Coffee or walk with a friend, or one of my sisters, every other week. (39 hours)
Goodbye, Facebook. It’s been entertaining but I’m looking for deeper connections with friends and family. And I’m not going to find that on a wall post.
Read more from Rachel on her blog.
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When email became popular I missed the cards and notes that would come in the mail. Now Facebook has taken over and I don’t even get the emails. Maybe it’s generational but I like people to people contact. Good article.
Thanks, Kent. I miss face to face contact as well. I am using Skype more for out of town friends and relatives. It’s not as good as in person but I get more from it than a Facebook wall post.
I canceled my Facebook about 8 months ago for the same reasons … those 10-minute check-ins 3 or 4 times a day REALLY added up. I still use Twitter, but I have no Twitter apps on my computer or my phone, and I cut my following and followers lists dramatically. Therefore, it’s not constantly on my mind like before. Both moves have really gone a long way to making me more present with friends and family I DO want to be with, and I find I’ve had more time to read, garden, and just be in the moment. Good luck on your anti-Facebook journey!
Good for you, Suzanne. Love to hear about other people canceling FB and life continuing on. I too want to be in the moment more. With no Facebook it’s happening =)
I deleted my iPhone facebook app for the same reason. Being a military family, facebook does provide a wonderful medium to stay in touch with friends who are all over the world and frequently moving; phone calls are next to impossible and when you sometimes move three times in one year, keeping up with addresses is difficult. However, I now severely limit my facebook time and am much happier for it.
I agree, Dana, Facebook can provide a great way to stay in touch. I have a group of friends that strictly uses it to set up social engagements. I asked one of them to email me with dates and such and so far so good.
Good on you for limiting Facebook time!
This post really resonates with me. I have never had a facebook account though I have experienced/felt a fair amount of pressure from people I know to join. I am very reluctant to join a programme that seems to have, as its basic, ultimate purpose, data gathering for marketing purposes. I do not wish to be the recipient of targeted ads for things I neither want nor need. I also want more control over who is seeing and sharing my news. I want friends in real time, face-to-face. Though I have missed some social opportunities, I have not missed time that could better have been spent elsewhere.
Thanks, Kelly.
Another reason to be wary of Facebook. I also felt it was too integrated into my time on the Internet. It’s a touch creepy and ‘big brother-ish’ when you visit a website and the website shows you all of your friends that have visited or liked pages on it.
Through another minimalist blog (I don’t recall which one)I was introduced to a free product called ad-block that I installed on my computer. It not only blocks the ads that come up in facebook, it blocks the ads that were in my gmail account. I’m sure the companies are still “big-brothering” me, but I no longer have to view the unwanted ads. I’m not ready to give up facebook altogether, but I cut my friends list in half…and I still can’t keep up with them all. It is a little nuts.
Thanks, Jennifer. I’m making a note of ad-block right now.
That’s were it does start to be disturbing, the sense that you are followed around the web. I guess we set some of it though. I was shocked to recently see my firends name pop up and that she ahd read an article on Huffington Post, I think I had connected them. IT IS VERY BIG BROTHERISH. I’m not quite ready to give it up yet as I used it for promotions a good amount. But it does bring into question how close we really are to friends in real flesh and blood life??!
There’s an easy way to fix that, without extra software.
When you log into FB under the user name, there’s a keep me logged in check mark, if you turn that off, sites can not have access to your FB account and track you that way.
Kelly,
I’m with you on this one! Too much personal info out there for the world to see. If I think someone is that interested in my daily comings & goings I will personally & privately get in touch with them either by personal visit, phone or snail mail. And although I’ve been on a journey for the past several years to get rid of “stuff” & simplify my life…I do keep all hand written thankyou notes & cards received in the mail. I guess it’s like holding and reading a REAL book….
Great job, Rachel! Our family is committed to not having personal Facebook accounts, smart/cell phones, and to limited screen time (computer/TV) for our kids. All the hi-tech gadgets and virtual friends can really take away from connecting in real life.
Nice to hear about your family’s commitment to less Internet connection time, Sara. My son is still a toddler but I often wonder about how we will deal with him wanting a cell phone or email address. I guess the first step is to limit it ourselves and be the example.
I deleted my personal FB account a few months ago and left my blog only account.
I am considering deleting that as well. Wouldn’t it be nice to get personal cards in the mail more often? Maybe I’ll give it a try and see if I get any back.
Great idea, thanks.
cg
Thanks, Crys. I also like getting mail and have started keeping cards for a few weeks, displaying them, then snapping a photo of them and recycling them. A friend of mine recently emailed me a photo of a card I made her ten years ago. I want to keep those memories and revisit them. Nice that we have the technology available to do that.
I’m sure a hand written letter would be much appreciated by anyone you sent it to.
I totally hear what you are saying. I still have facebook, and don’t plan on getting rid of it. I do however only really check in with it for any length of time a few times a week for say 15 minutes.. I joined facebook to connect and I don’t always feel like I do that. So I really limit my time on it. I think it’s opened up a way to connect with people you would not have otherwise in good ways, but It can also really be a time sucker..
Hi Heather,
I agree, Facebook can help you connect with people you would not have otherwise. Facebook was how I found out about my high school reunion and alumni events.
The problem I had was that I didn’t work on those connections. I didn’t take the opportunity to see that person in the real world or even write a more meaningful letter or call them. The blame is squarely on me – not Facebook – that I need to be a better and more present friend. I’m already seeing that by removing the ‘Facebook crutch’ I am calling and meeting up with friends more.
I am doing the same this week and deleting – not simply logging-out for a few weeks – my FaceLess account for good. I’ve just posted an article on one of my blogs about the futility of having hundreds of (so-called) “Friends” and not really knowing more than a handful of them… and most of those usually being from your own extended and/or dispersed family!
Anyway, I called it “Do You Tumble for Everyone at First Sight” and it can be read here…
http://eatwithasmallerspoon.blogspot.com/2011/01/6-do-you-tumble-for-everyone-at-first.html
I did the permanent delete too. The fine print of it is that it they won’t delete the account for 14 days. Good luck, Ed.
Removed my personal account just yesterday, and very happy about it. I felt exactly the same as you, amd was amazed at some reactions. One person actually wrote me asking why I would be “disappearing”. And I am on Twitter, Linkedin, Skype… Plus, honestly it was becoming morbid in some way, checking endlessy to the life of people I really don’t care about for the most part. I’m happy I did it!
Good for you, Laura. I’m also on Skype and email – dabble a bit in Twitter – and it seems like more than enough to stay connected to people online.
Although, that is how I found this blog.
The irony! =) I still believe Facebook is a great tool to connect with people and share. I just wasn’t using it at a level I was comfortable with.
There seems to be a huge trend right now in the blogging community regarding the deletion of Facebook accounts. I think if you’re spending an undue amount of time on Facebook, it’s worth looking into deleting the account. However, I don’t spend any time on Facebook except to “connect” with old friends – so I’ll be keeping my account for now.
I never got hooked on Facebook – I’ve got an account and probably check in once fortnightly, but even that’s dropping off now. Same old same old. I think I knew it wasn’t for me when I had an awaiting friend request from someone I had known at school that I hadn’t confirmed (I keep my FB friends to a handful)and I walked past them in the street and they didn’t even recognise me (or chose not to speak to me). It makes no sense.
Ha! That’s hilarious.
Great post!
I quit Facebook last May, and don’t regret it one bit. I was spending hours lurking there, living in the past and staring at my friend’ lives while mine went to waste. Now I spend hours staring at blogs instead. Damn. One step at a time, eh?
I quit Facebook a couple of weeks ago and don’t miss it. For me, the turning point was when I heard the false rumour that Mark Zuckerberg was shutting down Facebook. My immediate reaction was – YES! I was disappointed when I found out it was just a rumour and that I was that gullible … and that somehow I was feeling like the only way out was if he shut it down. Yikes, reality check. I decided I could get rid of Facebook by simply deleting my account. Mostly, Facebook felt like a loud coffee shop in my head. I’m more of a loner and like to hear myself think sometimes. Twitter can be similar. Leo Babauta calls it a river, he says, “you can’t drink it all so just take sips once in a while”. I get where you’re coming from Rachel, something is definitely missing and can ring false if you don’t find your own way to make these things work. It has to ring true. Thanks for sharing your farewell to Facebook.
Thanks, Katie. I felt huge relief when I removed the Facebook App from my iPhone. It was a big sign to me that I wasn’t feeling in control of using it. It’s kind of like chocolate cake for me. If it’s in the fridge I will eat it for breakfast. So I don’t keep sweets at home and it’s a nice little barrier to monitoring my consumption of them.
I deleted all the friends, wall info and photos from my Facebook account and left a message on the info page to say that I was jumping off the bandwagon and that I’d love to catch up in real life. I keep the account active to manage a page for my band and to follow a few businesses or social groups that I’m interested in – I found that removing the social aspect of it was enough for me to reclaim all that time wasted on facebook and get away from the passive relationships you talk about. I do miss out on some things now, but overall I don’t miss it. I was freaked out by the big brotherish / culture mining aspects of it too. I think like any online medium, facebook is a tool that you just have to use to suit yourself, not let it use you.
I didn’t delete my account (and have no intentions of doing so), but I did take a hard look at my over 500 “friends” I had in November. I then took a hard cut & if we had no contact within the last year on FB, I deleted them. I got down to 220. The nice thing is that I don’t have to tell the same stories over & over again. I just post it once & everyone is updated at the same time. When my grandmother died last week, I posted a prayer request for our family b/c some of us were traveling 6 hours one way to her apt. I didn’t have to call people all over the country while driving, I just posted it from my phone & that was it. I agree that it can be a time suck, but that’s when we have to unplug for a bit & get back to reality.
Hi! Thank you for sharing your thoughts.I’ve been meaning to do the same thing for months now. Though it’s nice to trace your classmates and old acquaintances and relatives, it had not really added value to my relationships with them. I do miss sending and receiving cards / letters. I just have to make sure I still have copies of the photos in my account before I finally delete. I’m actually excited with the idea of becoming invisible in the virtual world and let the people I value the most feel my presence and undivided attention. My husband is not into social networking because for him, with his limited time, he would rather spend time with us – play with our kids, watch dvds with me, exercise, hang out with our immediate family and close friends, or simply catch up with sleep. Keep on sharing and inspiring others!
I know exactly what you mean about Facebook. Inspired by this article on Study Hacks I left Facebook in my last year of university. I was so scared of getting less than a 2:1 and I knew that if I sat around glued to the computer on pointless ‘social networking’ sites I definitely wouldn’t. So I deleted my accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr and got myself a 2:1.
Since then I’ve been back on Twitter and Tumblr, but I haven’t gone back on Facebook. I no longer trust the site. Having to go through different subsections of the website and then having to request to have my data deleted within 14 days has put me off ever wanting to go back on there. And there are the concerns about their ever changing privacy policies.
When I stayed off Facebook after completing my exams, I had a lot more social interaction than when I was on it! I started meeting up with friends more regularly and I kept bumping into people I knew because I was actually going outside for more than just lectures or to go into town.
Some friends have complained that I’m not on Facebook anymore, but the benefits far outweigh their opinion. I was a passive user like you and the friends who complained didn’t seem to realise that I barely updated it in the first place. The only think Facebook is good for is being really nosey about what people are up to, especially to find out what happened to the people you want to school with.
I’m also starting to reconsider Twitter and Tumblr, I don’t think I’m getting anything worthwhile out of them and hope to delete my accounts on those again soon.
Social websites can be fantastic tools when used in the correct way, but they’ve entered our lives so fast without people being able to critically think if we want to use them or not, and if they are of any real benefit.
You go, girl!!
I have been sitting on the fence about this whole topic. Not a great place to be. You may have just helped me make a decision. Thank you for the inspiration! Have a wonderful day!
You’re welcome, Wendy. It was actually reading a few other blogs about Internet use that made me jump the Facebook ship. Happy to pass on the inspiration to you from them.
I find that facebook is a blessing to me. I’m in the middle of nowhere, and it’s nice to be able to keep up with family and friends far away — sometimes there is not enough time for a phone call, so a short status update or blurb on a photo is great. I guess, facebook can be what you want it to be though.
What a timely post. I just returned to social media (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, etc.) after a three-month sabbatical. I was inspired by a piece written by Edan Lupucki on The Millions.
One of the things that I had to reconcile was how I interacted with family and friends. I think the decision to delete your Facebook account strikes some as a curiosity, others as absurd. I think it’s a personal decision, and I didn’t, and will not, allow others projections to affect my decisions. Trust me…those friends on Facebook that feel disconnected will find a way to reach you. I was amazed and the minuscule percentage of “friends” that actually took the time to connect with me when I was off Facebook. When I returned, a lot of people were like “Were have you been?” Ugh.
Kudos for following your heart, and doing what you feel is best for you.
Wow! I just found this blog today and have spent hours pouring over it! I’m really enjoying myself!
I just joined FB recently because I moved to a different state and wanted to keep in touch with people with photos and updates of daily life. Within the last, I’d say, three months it has completely taken over my life! I got a ‘smart’ phone for Christmas and immediately installed a FB app so that I could check it a Million times a day while I work! I hadn’t really given any thought to how quickly it invaded every waking moment of my day- thanks for bringing some clarity to my instantaneous FB addiction Rachel!
I think you hit a ton of great points, and in reality, it is something that my wife and I have really considered in the recent past. However, since then, my 81 year old mother in law started using Facebook and Skype, because at times that is the only way she could see her family. To think, we live 20 miles away and people won’t visit.
But that will all change in a few days, when my wife and I leave California and head to New York for work. Skype will be the only way we will get to see my mother in law face to face for quite some time, and I know how important that is to my wife.
Also, with facebook, seeing the pictures of family members and friends from California will be even more precious to us, and I think that is something you missed in your post, is the way that Facebook brings together families and people from across the world as a social gathering place. Not every one of our friends is in the same city or county, same state or even country.
I do agree, Facebook can be a great tool for connecting with family. I’m using Skype more and even FaceTime on my iPhone to call people and catch up. I find we have real conversations that way, no multitasking, and while it’s not exactly that same as being face to face, it’s closer than a wall post or just seeing a photo.
If you’re getting good out of it I see no reason to stop. I wasn’t getting the good anymore so that’s why I deleted my profile.
I’ve been considering deleting my fb account for quite awhile. I enjoy keeping in touch with my many young nieces and nephews and probably wouldn’t without fb. Ultimately, I’ve decided to delete all “friends” who are not either family or truly close friends. I’m currently under 100 friends and plan to unfriend several more people. Facebook has taken the word “friend” and totally distorted it’s meaning. For myself, I want to bring true meaning back to my “friends.”
I did the same thing last year, and am thinking of removing Twitter for the same reason. It’s been fun, it can be great, but it all takes up too much time once you’re into it, is my experience. All these online people you want to stay in touch with, and meanwhile Real Life has lost you.
we’re all going to end up on tumblr now.
Excellent idea. I’ve been mulling over the thought of doing this – I think my mind’s about 90% made up. So much of it is meaningless and I often wonder how people actually have the time to do all they do on Facebook. Okay – so technology helps; but it still eats up such a lot of time. I am only procrastinating over it because I’ve got my school group there. Sigh. Luckily, I am too lazy to even text and would rather pick up the phone and talk – I do that all the time.
Perks of being a child of the sixties, I guess.
Thanks for an excellent post! I’m finishing up a similar post of my own. I recently took a 21-day sabbatical from my personal FB page and I loved it! I felt such relief from being disconnected.
I recently got rid of my Twitter account b/c it wasn’t adding value to my life or my business. I keep my FB business page updated, but only spend a quick minute or two checking my personal page. What a delight!
I applaud you for your decision. Congratulations!
Thanks, Michelle. Isn’t it funny how we love being connected but when we pull the plug for a bit, it’s a relief? I love leaving my phone at home when I am out or traveling and not bringing my phone or laptop. It’s so freeing.
All things in moderation are a wonderful thing. I have a FB account and i sincerely love it!!! I check it once a day and upload photos right after an event. I only have a few friends NOT 200++ like many people because you are right those are NOT friends they at a maximum a long distance acquaintance. My friends and I use it to post each others pictures from the weekend’s playdates, birthdays, kid’s soccer games, scout meetings and girls night out. Everyone joins in the conversation and we have a ball with the comments. I definately do not look up people whom i knew years ago and i do not accept invitations from people whom i haven’t seen in the last few months. they are not in my life enough to deserve my time or attention.
Thanks for sharing your courageous decision to simplify. I too said farewell to Facebook, pulled my LinkedIn public profile, and rarely tweet any more (although I did tweet this entry). None of them added value to my life.
Back to paper and a fountain pen.
YES!!! “Back to paper & a fountain pen”….How I treasure handwritten notes & letters…they’re one of the few things I save. For someone to actually take the time to sit down & write me (without CC-ing or BCC-ing everyone else) makes me feel really special. If you want EVERYONE to peek into your life – write a book & have it published!
I found that subscribing to blogs was a great way to cut out time on Facebook, with all the great content around I’m far less inclined to bother checking to see what everyone is eating for dinner tonight
Convenience is a killer some times!
i read this earlier today and immediately deactivated my facebook account. i had been thinking about this for months and just needed a little push…thank you for that.
absolutely brilliant post!!!! I did the same last week. I don’t tweet, but love to blog.
Interesting isn’t it Rachel that many people are ditching Facebook. It seems strange that millions have thought a Social Network life can replace an actual one. But, rest assured we’re not stupid, and deep down we prefer to connect for real, so I expect that FB and similiar may have begun to have their day. If I want a real chat and a happy friendly face who I can hug and laugh with I pick up the phone and not log on online. Nothing will ever replace that!
I deactivated my personal Facebook account a few months back, then a friend asked if I knew I was back on there. I didn’t, but I was! So this time I’ve deleted it completely, rather than just deactivate. They say allow 14 days.
I’ve done a similar thing with Twitter the last few weeks – I went through about 800 people I follow and cut it down to just those I really find inspiring and/or have had personal contact with.
I also reset my Seesmic app which had something like 10 columns with different groups and searches. Now it’s down to two – the main stream of everyone I follow (now down to just over 100) and a column for replies that mention me, so I can partake in far more conversations with people.
Already it’s a far more rewarding experience, and feels so much more personal and useful. I know every face in my main stream now, rather than recognising only one in 5 or less.
Facebook abandoning seems to be gathering as a trend, which I feel is a good thing. It’s one of the biggest forms of procrastination there is these days, and it saddened me to see people who I know are so creative just posting random and trivial stuff on there rather than creating, then complaining they don’t have time to create…
YAY! I quit Facebook after only a few short months a few years ago. When people ask if I have Facebook and I tell them No, they look like they are going to freak out! “How do you live without Facebook???” they ask. I tell them I have better things to do with my time, that I wasted time looking at stupid things, had “friends” that weren’t really friends, and stopped actually staying in touch with real friends. I don’t miss it at all; I think the whole concept is living “fake”… people don’t have 500 friends and its all just for snooping and boosting your own confidence when you see people’s photos. Congratulations and welcome to Facebook-Free- Life!
Susan,
Interesting statement that people on FB have 500 “friends”! I learned a while back that the average number of people at weddings & funerals (two of the biggest “social gatherings”) was 250….A lot of the people at funerals haven’t seen the deceased in years or are only there because they know one of the deceased’ loved ones. When you think about it – funerals are the big “send-off” and only attract an average of 250 people. Makes me wonder how many “FB friends” that person had???
I totally applaud you for leaving Facebook. A few of my friends have already deleted their accounts but, alas, I cannot given it is my business to stay up to date on social media network websites.
It would be great to get that time back and put it towards my own health and well-being. Maybe one day – but in the meantime I will live vicariously through people like you.
Way to go!
You worded your thoughts perfectly and I concur with each! Although I have not gone as far as you have in completely ending my FB account (I do enjoy staying in touch with my family which is quite far and spread very far away from me to prevent ‘in the flesh’ get togethers), I did delete all of the silly games, promotional nonsense that I was receiving through updates. I found that my time was not spent in a quality way that I desire.
Keep up the great minimalizing efforts and blog!
Good for you. I deleted my account over two months ago and have not a single regret. It’s always refreshing to see others kick the habit too.
I cancelled my FB account on December 31/10 as a New Year’s gift to myself. Best gift ever. My promise to live with less, and be grateful for what I have brought me to your blog. Thank you for inspiring me.
I came across this blog a few days ago, he has very strong views against Facebook, calling it an “invasive, aggressive data-mining corporation”…
http://immediatism.com/facebook
I deleted my facebook account at least 2 months ago. Today I received an email from facebook on behalf of my friend David inviting me to join faceook. The message read:
Hi,The following person invited you to be their friend on Facebook: DAVID
It then listed his name and had a button requesting me to join facebook.
The crazy thing about the email is that below his name was the text:
Other people you may know on Facebook:
MICHELLE (with picture)
SARAH (with picture)
DANIEL (with picture)
These were my old friends on facebook but had no connection with the friend (David) who sent me the email.
CONCLUSION: Facebook still has my “friend list” and is using it even after two months of quitting my facebook account to persuade me to sign up again.
Jay,
I’ve never had a Twitter, FB, etc. account and I receive the same kind of “notices” of people who are looking for me, wanting to “friend” me, etc. I don’t even know any of these people! Kind of creepy…..
I deleted my Facebook account a few months ago, and the change has been refreshing. I would feel the need to log in and connect as soon as I woke up, and my kids became a distraction as I was doing My Thing. Getting caught up on all the updates, looking at pictures, commenting here and there – it ate up so much of my time. Aside from family members, only a few others on my friends list were actual friends, and I wondered why I was putting so much energy in keeping up with these superficial relationships. Then there were a couple big blowouts in my immediate family; drama, misunderstandings, feelings hurt over assumptions. It was ridiculous, and I was fed up. Facebook keeps inviting me back; apparently all my information is still on file, just as I left it – scary! I meant to back off for a while and perhaps ease my way in again, but I’ve signed off for good. If someone really wants to get in touch with me, we can visit face to face, chat over the phone, or write an e-mail.
I am deleting my fb a/c this weekend and so I searched on google “farewell to facebook” because I wanted to write something meaningful on that scrap of info that’s left when you leave. Amazing what you find on the internet. This is a great blog and interesting comments. Thank you! The key to fb for me was never keeping my page too long – I only ever had about 10 statuses going (hey I’m already talking in the past tense lol), so they were easy to delete. I’ve deleted all my photos, my wall stuff, info, notes, emails, etc..
DON’T leave fb with all your stuff on it. Get rid of everything, leave a comment in your info eg on your quotations section explaining (if you want to) why you’re leaving, and that’s it. Within a few months all that will be gone. Whether stuff I’ve removed is still on fb’s server is another question.
I agree with Karla above – family hurts & watching rellies be nosy and needy + misunderstandings – drove me nuts too. It will be interesting to see how many of my 17 friends & family (I’ve kept numbers low over the years I’ve been on fb) comment on my last status about leaving. HA! Couldn’t care less. Bye bye facebook
ive just delited my facebook account,,that thing just GAVE ME THE CREEPS AND THE HEBEGEEBEES,,,YUK..people snooping and spying,,jesus i started to find it so sinnister it gave me the creeps big time ..or am i just being paranoid,lol,lo..no realy it creepy
Want to go a step further? Get rid of the dumb-down box (aka TV). I have been TV free for 2 years and don’t miss it at all. It was easy to wean off because of all the mind-numbing, idiotic programs that were being fed to us on the “d-db”. My time is spent being more creative, relaxing, reading, “de-junking”, talking with REAL friends in REAL time, listening to and/or playing music, or the radio or sometimes just enjoying the QUIET in my home, sounds of birds chirping, etc. My schedule is my own and not dependent on some TV program. There are many more benefits but I want to keep this short & sweet…JUST TRY IT!
I enjoyed this little personal response. I too quit facebook, sometime in the fall of 2010. It can feel strange to be out of this bubble, but all and all I think I feel like I own more of my time now and that I truly enjoy. Whereas with facebook it sneaks up on you and it easily becomes a massive time-waster that gives much less than people credit it with. Inherently the signal to noise ratio with facebook is completely out of whack (in favour of noise) and what everyone neglects to mention is that we have to become the filters of this noise and this in the end eats our time.
I enjoyed this little personal response. I too quit facebook, sometime in the fall of 2010. It can feel strange to be out of this bubble, but all and all I think I feel like I own more of my time now and that I truly enjoy. Facebook sneaks up on you and it easily becomes a massive time-waster, one that gives much less than people credit it with. Inherently the signal to noise ratio with facebook is completely out of whack (in favour of noise) and what everyone neglects to mention is that we have to become the filters of this noise and this in the end eats our time.
So true!! I just deleted (permanently) my facebook account today, fan page and all! I am SO over it, the time wasting and checking was driving me bananas. I did quit a while ago and my facebook friends begged me in real life to not go so I relented and re-activated. I got sucked back into it all over again. This time I have just deleted and haven’t told a soul that I’m leaving… I’m hoping they don’t miss me before my 2 weeks is up.
I was so over the waste of precious time, I was addicted to it and now I feel such a relief to have it out of my life. It’s awesome.
LOVE this. It is exactly why I never ever opened an account. I am proud to say I have never been on facebook. Some of my friends have been trying to convince me forever to join. I always say I would rather 1 awesome visit a year than a bunch of impersonal comments. Thanks for writing this:)
Steve
January 22, 2012 at 10:51 am
Hi, just stumbled on ur VERY good website… (I’m a man so hope that’s ok for me to comment?)
I’ve been suffering clinical depression for a few years now, but I’ve only recently started looking at minimalist living…
I deleted my Facebook 3 weeks ago so it should be gone by now as it gave me 14days to change my mind I THINK THAT’S THE SINGLE BIGGEST FACTOR IN MAKING ME FEEL ABIT BETTER.. I go out and socialise a lot more now.. Feels like such a burden has been lifted off my shoulders..
I’ve been strict and intentially broken my iPhone as hated being in constant contact or at least reach able… I have NO laptop, but I do have an iPad 2 which I use for emails, FaceTime etc
TOP TOP SITE YOU HAVE HERE, ALL THE BEST
STEVE……