Facebook-less

A few days ago, I deleted Facebook. This was a big step for me since I am constantly checking my newsfeed (damn you, Blackberry!) and have been a Facebook user since 2007. I find that although I do miss using it when bored or on the bus, in general I haven't thought much about it. I also find that I am being more productive -- ironic, since school is done for the summer. Instead of checking Facebook, though, I am doing a lot more reading, which I thoroughly enjoy and which I could do more of.

But why did I delete Facebook in the first place, especially since I am such a self-professed addict?

1. Facebook stalkers. Okay, I'll admit I am (was) one of them, and my stalking skills are largely unrivaled. I can pretty much find anyone I want on Facebook, within the restrictions of their privacy settings, even if they are pretty well hidden. It isn't the fact that people can find me that concerns me -- if that was the problem, I'd tighten my privacy settings and get over it. No, what bothers me is when I have people on my Facebook for work or school, and they "like" EVERYTHING. For example, my status once was "T-3 days." This is, obviously, an ambiguous status that doesn't really mean anything unless one understands the context. A former co-worker of mine "liked" it, which totally blew my mind. Why would they like it? They didn't even know what it pertained to! In addition, this person insists on commenting on everything regardless of the relevance to them. If it wasn't for the work/school aspect, I would delete this person off my Facebook altogether.
2. Limited profiles. Remember the days when you decided what your limited profile consisted of (meaning, what could be seen), and added people to this category? This no longer exists. Limited profile is now a friend list that you add people to, but not only is there no way to change what these members can see, there is no way for me to even see what my limited profile hides (unless I'm missing something). This is ridonkulous. Ye olde limited profiles would have been perfect for the aforementioned stalker co-worker. Sadly, it is now unhelpful to me.
3. Rude replies. There is a friend of a friend who insists on commenting on everything in a judgmental, douchebaggy way. They difficult for the sake of being difficult, and this is understandably, I'm sure, frustrating. This person isn't the only one who does it, of course, but perhaps my best example. Facebook is renowned for it. But why deal with it unnecessarily? I have to deal with this particular person regularly through our mutual friend; please spare me in our off-time.
4. It is all-consuming. Recently my mom joined Facebook. I feel like many people would be completely opposed to adding their mother on Facebook, but I feel like I have nothing to hide from her (she already knows almost everything) and didn't care. In some ways it was fun sharing Facebook with her -- she was partaking in something that was such a huge part of my life. She soon became comfortable navigating around the site and reconnected with old friends she grew up with. Great, right? Wrong. That's when Facebook began to consume her life, too. I felt like anytime she had anything to say to me, it was to tell me about some random shit that had been said on Facebook, or to complain about something Facebook had done (one time she became so angry with Facebook that she shut down the computer and stormed around the house. When my brother -- either brave or stupid -- asked her what had happened, she explained that the comments she was posting were not showing up, then magically, after she tried reposting it several more times, they all appeared. My brother and I both looked at each other, informed her it was a lag, and not at all uncommon. My mother is fairly computer illiterate, also, in case that needed explaining). I felt that I didn't care about her positive OR negative Facebook experiences because, let's be real, they were on Facebook. This not only led me to get annoyed with her, but caused me to reflect on myself. I spent far more time on Facebook than she did (damn you, Blackberry!), although the novelty of it had long-since worn off. But I couldn't help but wonder if I was equally as annoying. Did I also constantly talk about Facebook? Complain about Facebook? Even if I didn't (I'm not actually sure), there was no doubt that Facebook consumed my life. I felt I needed to take a step back and breathe.

Inhale. Exhale. I am still Facebook-less. I'm still alive. I don't need to know what everyone is doing every second of the day. A very valuable lesson, I think.

I have every intention of reactivating my account one day, and probably sooner rather than later. But even if I do reactivate it, I'm hoping that my self-imposed suspension will be a turning point: since I will have learned (am learning) that I can function just fine without refreshing my newsfeed every 3 seconds, I will refrain from doing so even with an account.