Yes, I committed suicide. One of my first entries on this blog had to do with Facebook. It took me some time before I jumped in because I felt it was a waste of time, but D. and I thought it might be a good way to get our advocacies across. It turns out it wasn't. Not really. Though we enjoyed it when we were there, appreciating some connections made and fretting over others, we realized that the only time it was really a socially RELEVANT tool was during Ondoy. That was awesome use of Facebook.
From the get go I gave myself a May 10, 2010 deadline. There were times when I felt I would probably stay on but as the date loomed, I felt myself warming to the thought of freedom from Facebook. Part of me felt that it was too much of a false community and it was starting to take over actual human interaction. Facebook gives you a sense of connection that isn't really there. At least I don't think so.
A nephew joined one of those groups on Facebook called, "Yes we're Facebook friends so why is it so awkward in person ?". Or something like that. That sums it up for me. I see people in person and realize I know too much about them, without really knowing them. That gives me the creeps.
I was very careful about my privacy settings, but if you've been in Facebook long enough, you know there is no privacy there. Privacy on Facebook. A friend says that's an oxymoron. I have to agree. And if you're so worried about privacy, why are you on Facebook?
As May 10 loomed, I thought it might be too early to sign off. I wanted to see the after-elections updates. But did I really? On Facebook? Not really. So before I knew it, I left. And I haven't looked back.
I'm hoping 2010 will be a zero-catastrophe year so that I don't have to re-activate it, because Facebook makes it so easy to activate your account again. In the meantime, I'm free and loving it. I'm actually writing more--creating rather than lurking.
Isn't that something?
4 comments:
writing and creating more instead of lurking ... that's wonderful! and making me reconsider my own adios...
i always thought facebook interfered with face-to-face relationships, but for the networking it provides, am not ready to give it up just yet.
then again, do we really want to be available and accessible to people all the time? can't it just be the other way around--we get to have a way to contact our long-lost friends "just in case"?
a compromise i always made when i felt overexposed online (even in the old days of friendster, mulitply, etc) was wiping the slate clean-- deleting all info on my page so all im left with are my contacts.
one word comes to mind: audacious! =]
congratulations! here's to an even better life post-Facebook =]
(hmm makes me think too of how much time i spend [waste?] in Fb...)
Congratulations! maybe another networking tool will come up that will breed meaningful and authentic community.... technology am sure can surprise us on the positive as well.
I too have long been considering saying my own adios to Facebook as I did on all my other networking sites, (i.e, Friendster & Multiply). I've been pondering the last couple of months. What I've done is hide everyone that don't have anything sensible to say and by that I meant a lot.:) After coming across your post, it gave me the green light. I'll delete everything first before de-activating. Kudos to you!!!
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