Why I’m Deactivating my Facebook Account

I joined Facebook quite a long time ago at the insistence of my husband, Dr. Green. He thought it would be a good way for me to promote my blog.

He was right.

Years later, there is now this concept of a page (has been for a while, as you well know). I have one for my blog. The original purpose for having a personal Facebook page is gone.

So why am I still on it?

I have been wrestling with this question for months (if not years). Facebook is a time suck like no other (at least for me). And with my personality, there’s no “not being on it.” It’s addicting. It’s awesome for procrastination. So I feel that the time is right to pull the plug. Here’s why:

Facebook Makes Me Feel Bad

It shouldn’t, but it does. Between the parties I wasn’t invited to and images of amazing culinary feats I couldn’t even dream of reproducing and the lack of likes on my own brilliant posts, I feel inadequate. (Even though I know this is only one small peek into the full story of life.)

What would social media look like if people didn’t stage the way they presented their lives? ~Brian Gardner

I suppose I could stick with it and use Facebook as virtual self-flagellation, but why increase suffering when life is already hard enough?

Facebook Is a Time Suck

It happens time and again: I go to Facebook for some legitimate reason and 15-20 minutes later emerge after having been led through a maze of more or less useful information across the Internet. One thing leads to another. And it never ends.

The older I get, the more I realize that time is the most precious thing we have. I have a lot of things I want to do in life. Spending time on Facebook is not one of them.

Facebook Is Procrastination’s Best Friend

Have you ever sat in front of your computer, staring at the blank page of a word document or presentation, struggling to get started on a project, only to get the (not so) awesome idea to jump over to Facebook while you wait for inspiration to come your way?

I have. In fact, I probably jump over to Facebook at least 15 times a day, breaking up thought process and delaying productivity. It’s got to stop.

Q&A with Myself

I’m sure you have all sorts of questions for me—perhaps challenging some of my logic above. I’ve tried to anticipate the most frequently asked questions here:

Can’t you just use website blocking software to limit your time?

Yes, I can. And I do. But, I always manage to find loopholes. And sometimes I need to be able to access Facebook for work, so I can’t just completely block it.

Don’t you worry about missing out on things?

Not really. I hope that if a friend really wants me to come over for a party, they will find another way to contact me. It actually stresses me out to see all the invites to events I don’t have time to go to. I have other ways to find out what’s going on around town, and I prefer to seek out information than having it shoved at me anyway.

How will you manage your Simply Enough page?

That’s a secret.

How will you keep up with news?

Twitter & Google+.

What about the birthday wishes?!?

Those are nice. I actually thought about waiting to get off Facebook until after my 40th birthday, because that’s one day of the year when Facebook (or rather my friends) make me feel good. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I’d rather get a phone call or an email or a card or a visit.

Facebook almost lets us off the hook when it comes to properly congratulating someone.

Will you ever come back?

I don’t know. For now, I’m just deactivating my account to be safe.

So there you have it. I’m deactivating Facebook tomorrow. November 1, 2013.

Epic.