
I Quit Facebook - nreece
http://www.erickarjaluoto.com/blog/i-quit-facebook-and-you-should-too/
======
harry8
"A facebook account was closed." Headline suggested to me someone resigning
from the company. The latter is more interesting.

Many people have closed their facebook accounts, it's not a big deal, you just
announce you're going to do it, get whatever contact details you don't have
from connections then do it. Others never opened one. Life is fine without
facebook, if you feel you want to close your account, do it. Footage at 11.

~~~
lloeki
> Many people have throwed away their cigarette packs, it's not a big deal,
> you just announce you're going to do it, get that one last cig with a friend
> then do it. Others never started to smoke. Life is fine without smoking, if
> you feel you want to stop smoking, do it. Footage at 11.

> Many people have stopped gambling, it's not a big deal, you just announce
> you're going to do it, get whatever money's left on the table then do it.
> Others never started gambling. Life is fine without gambling, if you feel
> you want to get out of gambling, do it. Footage at 11.

I am always shockingly impressed at the lack of empathy and open-mindedness
some people or group thereof are reliably able to show, here failing to
recognise that this mind trick minefield can have devastating effects and act
at the very least as a dramatic catalyst in loss-of-balance situations. The
underlying, untold, insulting judgement is basically "damn this guy is weak/an
attention seeking whore".

I found the article articulated quite well the issues he faced, his reasons
(which extend beyond Facebook's carefully engineered attention seeking
madness) and both of his strategy and tactics to get out of the hole he found
himself in (which extend beyond Facebook and social networks). Writing about
one's problems help a lot in internally processing them. Making a public
statement helps in committing oneself to improvement, and help others in a
similar predicament to relate and hopefully even proceed to action.

~~~
Chris2048
Are you saying FB is as addictive as nicotine?

~~~
lithos
Well there are a couple of studies that track vitals and responses of people
who get their cellphones taken away. So it's not like that's an empty
implication.

~~~
eradicatethots
What about taking away peoples ability to go out with other? Looking at
“cellphones” as one collective thing is foolish, it’s a platform on which all
of modern life takes place- you’re causing them serious harm by taking away
their phone

------
yodsanklai
There are less drastic options. I'm still on facebook but unsubscribed from
all feeds. As a result there's almost nothing but ads on my news feed so I'm
not really tempted to go there anymore. I also don't post anything there.
Still, I keep my account "just in case" and I do use messenger a lot though.

I have the feeling facebook is slowly dying, but I'm probably wrongly
generalizing my own experience (is this called a "false consensus bias"?)

~~~
stevewillows
Its funny. Most people I know (~37 and under) only really use it for events
and, at times, messenger. Its sort of a modern phonebook.

My sister (early 40s) and her peers are still using it on a regular basis, but
the content could easily be on twitter or instagram.

The real demographic that is in love with it is my parents' generation, ~67+.
They follow a lot of the '%city% then and now' and other nostalgic groups.
Along with those, their feeds are filled with goofy videos that were going
around a while ago.

I don't see Facebook going the way of myspace in the near future, but I do
think they'll have to shift their focus a little if they want to draw us back
in.

What I don't understand is why facebook isn't going head first into online
dating. They already have a lot of information on everybody -- where a lot of
us like to eat, locations we frequent, events we like, etc. For a lot of us
the data would be slightly outdated, but I bet they could give some solid
suggestions.

~~~
netzone
That's not a bad idea on the online dating. Though it would probably mean
Facebook becoming much more transparent regarding what data they collect on
you, at least to the unknowing majority.

That's something I really don't see happening.

~~~
flycaliguy
Yeah, you might also have newly formed couples becoming weary of their partner
continuing to use Facebook.

------
fredsted
I'm honestly a little amazed at all the thought put in to quitting Facebook.
It seems like such a big deal for people. I think it's very sad that we've
gotten to this point.

It's just a Web site.

~~~
staticelf
Technically it is, but it is much more than that in reality. All my friends
use Facebook to create parties and announce sudden gatherings. I don't use
facebook to much more than to know when these things occur so I can
participate but if I were to deactivate my account it would mean that I would
probably miss out on some of these gatherings.

I'd rather just keep my account and post as little as possible in order to
just recieve that information. Even if I personally do not like facebook,
pretty much everyone else does. What can you do?

~~~
T-zex
Are people, who can't be bothered to send you an SMS, email or give a call to
invite you into a party, actually, your friends?

~~~
seanwilson
Are people that can't be bothered to mail you a letter really your friend?
Facebook is an efficient form of communication that the vast majority of
people use. I'd expect close friends to go out of their way to contact me but
you have to accept that by not using Facebook you're going to miss out on
things and creating an inconvenience for people. SMS and email aren't as
efficient for arranging group events.

~~~
exergy
> by not using Facebook you're going to miss out on things

This is the beginning and the end of all the thought that should be put into
this matter. Missing things is not the end of the world, since there is so
much to do in life anyway.

More importantly, I think the benefits of fb are greatly exaggerated. In
Europe at least, it seems the de facto standard are whatsapp groups of close
friends, and that's where things get arranged. Even wedding invites are
generally sent out over emails nowadays.

Finally, I never get the point of keeping in touch with a zillion people. I
_prefer_ not being in touch with high school friends. The endless comparing
yourself to others and the 2 AM binge facebooking take a huge toll. Better to
get in touch once in a while with old friends and have _no idea_ what they've
been up to. It's so much more of an enjoyable conversation. And after it's
done, you have the lingering benefit of being able to retire to your cozy,
slightly-more-solitudinous-than-normal existence.

~~~
seanwilson
> > by not using Facebook you're going to miss out on things

> This is the beginning and the end of all the thought that should be put into
> this matter. Missing things is not the end of the world, since there is so
> much to do in life anyway.

Missing out on things isn't the end of the world but what's the big deal of
keeping up with what's going on? It's minimal effort to be signed up to
Facebook so you can receive messages and event invites.

> More importantly, I think the benefits of fb are greatly exaggerated. In
> Europe at least, it seems the de facto standard are whatsapp groups of close
> friends, and that's where things get arranged. Even wedding invites are
> generally sent out over emails nowadays.

So if Facebook was the de facto standard for communication where you live
you'd be OK with it? My point is just use what your friends are using to keep
in touch and don't make a big deal about it. If Facebook, WhatsApp or whatever
is having a large unhealthy influence on your life that's something you should
fix about yourself.

------
mrslave
Virtue signaling heavily laden with Trump derangement syndrome.

Thinks Twitter failing to discipline President Trump because he violated the
don't-threaten-people policy over North Korean missile launches is a grave
double standard.

Not a quality article.

~~~
matthewmacleod
_Trump derangement syndrome._

I'm keen to understand what you mean by this, in context.

~~~
jack9
[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Trump%20Deran...](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Trump%20Derangement%20Syndrome)

In all fairness, this is a reactionary "definition". It's not useful when
looking at this behavior as an actual condition and discerning the causal
elements.

There's a segment of the population that seems to amplify their own disgust
with a celebrity's manners/message/actions/writing/etc, to the point that they
see every facet of a personality as caustic. Bibi, Linus, Trump, Mencia, and
probably countless others. It's only brought to light when an individual from
this population happens to have a media pedestal, so the locus is usually some
conservative.

------
baby
Alternatively: accept the value of Messenger and access it directly via
[https://www.messenger.com](https://www.messenger.com) or the Messenger app.

I will never be able to understand these articles as ALL (with some
exceptions) my friends are on facebook, and it is the only way I have to keep
touch with all of them. This is a huge problem for people like me who travel a
lot and have no other ways of getting in touch with someone.

~~~
craigsmansion
> have no other ways of getting in touch with someone.

They don't have telephones or e-mail, or even home addresses?

Granted, it might not be as convenient, but people, including friends, do not
cease to exist outside of facebook, or are facebook-friends friends of
convenience only?

~~~
AbacusAvenger
Telephone numbers and home addresses change all the time, and communicating
the change of this information is a hard problem that requires effort that
most people won't put forth. On the other hand, Facebook accounts just stay
the same. It doesn't matter where they live or what Nth phone they happen to
have, they've always got a Facebook account.

I don't know everyone else's use cases for Facebook, but in my case it's just
a way to be able to keep in contact with people I'd otherwise be losing
contact with.

------
avip
Please change the title. yet-another-random-dude-closes-his-fb-account. He did
not close his medium account though, so he can blog about his amazing journey
clicking few buttons on a webform.

~~~
exergy
Plus, it seems like he deactivated it instead of deleting it. Which basically
is the equivalent of logging out, from the user's perspective. So all the pomp
and circumstance and the quoting of Trump and Snowden seems even more
ridiculous to me. Like, have the balls to fucking do it properly.

~~~
karjaluoto
Actually, if you read the post, I reference why I temporarily deactivated—and
that I’ll delete. (I also reference what I’m doing with Medium, which I hardly
ever used anyway.)

The question I have for you, is why the negativity? “Have the balls to fucking
do it…” Seriously? Why do you feel the need to emasculate me over a personal
choice to not use a social network?

Some people found the post useful; others didn’t. What I’m curious about is
why you seem to take this so personally. You needn’t take it as an affront;
and it certainly wasn’t intended that way.

~~~
exergy
I did read the article, and the reason you gave was "I didn't want to be too
rash". Which kind of serves my point. You wrote a 100,000 word article on
quitting Facebook without even quitting it!

You're right though, and my apologies. I found your post grating and it rubbed
me the wrong way. I really dislike this recent trend where everything is a
Medium article. Oh your startup failed? Better post on Medium. Oh, you're
firing people? Better Medium it. Oh, you're quitting social media? Better
announce it everywhere. I know you recognise the irony, and mention it as such
in your post. But I'm just one random man on the internet, and my vitriol is a
reflection of my thoughts, not a reflection on you.

~~~
karjaluoto
I deactivated as a sort of safeguard. I had transferred all of our
company/project pages to my business partner at the time of deactivating. If
something went wrong that prevented him from accessing those, I wanted to have
a way to get back to them.

Like I said in the post, I’ll sign in one more time in the weeks ahead, and
delete the account altogether.

As for the company/project pages, it’s not as though I intend to use them
again. (I did delete a few outright.) That said, I also didn’t want to leave
those urls/names open for someone else to grab—and spam from.

I understand your frustration with folks posting on Medium—and turning
life/work events into a type of promotion. That said, while some do this
purely as a marketing ploy, I think some just want to share their experiences.

Personally, I just like writing. I enjoy thinking through an argument/idea and
seeing if my thoughts hold up. That’s part of why there were so many links in
the post; they served as a way for me to force more research and find the gaps
in my thinking—which, typically, there are many.

I try to be honest in my posts, and share the struggles I’ve experienced. To
me, this adds a cost to them. For example, in this one:
[http://www.erickarjaluoto.com/blog/in-pursuit-of-mental-
plas...](http://www.erickarjaluoto.com/blog/in-pursuit-of-mental-plasticity) I
admit to past beliefs I’m deeply embarrassed by. I know some will probably
think less of me for even acknowledging such biases/stupidity, but without
such admissions, I’m not sure the writing is worth much.

I’m carrying on, which perhaps also reinforces your point. That said, I read
your initial comment and just felt shitty. I didn’t write this post to sell
anyone anything, or trick anybody. It was just something I felt I needed to
write down somewhere, and I thought others might also find the reasoning
useful.

------
smnscu
Quit Facebook a long time ago despite being a huge fan and promoter (lol) in
the early days (even used lastname@facebook.com seriously when email addresses
launched) – it's not that difficult to do. Same with LinkedIn, love the
occasional mild shock when people find out I'm not using either.

South Park is spot on as usual. “Who invited Mark Zuckerberg to town in the
first place?”

[https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/12/south-park-vs-
zuckerberg/](https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/12/south-park-vs-zuckerberg/)

------
gfiorav
Did this 5 years ago and never looked back. The fact that people write about
it is probably showing how serious Facebook has become to them. Pretty sad and
frivolous if your think about it.

My other social media (Twitter, Instagram) have notifications turned off, and
are silently — and non instrusively — waiting for me when I decide to glance
at them (usually once every 2-3 days). You end up forgetting about them and
only remember when you're bored, it works wonders.

I believe we’ll look back in 10 years and realize that this generation (like
most generations that are first to adopt something new) was ridiculously over
attached to social media.

~~~
john_minsk
Nice one. But how do you look at Twitter only once in a couple of days?
Twitter is useless this way if you ask me.

~~~
gfiorav
Well I really like the “in case you missed it” section. Brings up the
important and funny stuff condensed.

If I hear something’s going on, I’ll open un the TT section and get some
instant insights from it. They way I see it, Twitter is useless most of the
time, it comes in handy only when some event is taking place.

------
seanwilson
I can't help but feel that if Facebook has such a huge negative influence on
your life, the problem isn't Facebook but something deeper you need to resolve
in yourself. If you're getting hopelessly addicted to Facebook or letting it
make you feel bad, you're probably just going to replace it with something
else until you fix the reason you let it impact you that way.

I use Facebook to keep up with friends and arrange events. It's a useful
communication tool and I don't get caught up in it any more than that.

~~~
sreyaNotfilc
My point exactly. I can't for the life of me see how Facebook can be so
addictive (based on the application itself).

If you're the type of person who HAS to know what other people are doing, then
'yes' Facebook will take over your life.

I'm always so busy (and can careless of the day-2-day of people) that I'm
barely on the platform. And when I am, its probably for 5-10 mins every month
(unless someone Messages me).

I'm thinking that closing your account may slowdown your addiction, but there
are other apps, sites, avenues to be 'in the know'.

Maybe Facebook in this case means all social networking apps?

------
return0
People like that cannot live without ranting and validating themselves
externally. Please go back to facebook before you explode intto every other
online platform.

------
samzer
I've tried deactivating facebook multiple times but always got back to it. I
like facebook as a tool to keep in touch with people who are somewhat friends
to periphery friends but I'm not interested in consuming the feed. So the
solution that worked for me was to unfollow everyone with the help of the link
which is at the end. Now my feed is empty and whenever I open facebook without
thinking, I see nothing and get back to my normal real life very soon.

[https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-unfollow-everyone-on-
Facebook...](https://www.quora.com/How-do-I-unfollow-everyone-on-Facebook-at-
once/answer/Amol-Upraity?srid=XY3v)

------
QuelqueChose
Personally, I enjoyed the article but I felt bombarded by the suggested links
as I was reading... the very slight , light blue highlighting should be enough
for most readers to just gloss over, but I couldn't help myself with at least
hovering over the group of words to see what is the site that's been linked.
Made it difficult for me to take in the piece in it's entirety; I'll
definitely be keeping this experience in mind next time I write.

------
RickJWagner
Meh. The author goes on a rant against Trump, complaining about how views are
being pushed upon him.

Yet he also goes to CNN, which was shown to be colluding with the Clinton
campaign (and runs overwhelmingly slanted coverage. Something like 90%
negative on Trump, hugely positive for Obama.)

He's picking his preferred poison. But he's not getting a balanced world-view,
if that's what he's after.

~~~
karjaluoto
The point I made about Trump wasn’t about views being pushed on me. It was
that Twitter’s TOS was being changed to allow him to bypass those policies.

As for the CNN reference, you’re cherry-picking. I also note going to HN and
Bless This Stuff. I provide these as honest examples of where I find myself
going to waste time. I didn’t at any point say these provided a more “balanced
world-view”.

------
Ileca
I hear a lot about facebook but I almost never run into it though I feel like
I am literally living inside internet. It amazes me how something I can
literally not see any presence can have presumably such huge importance in the
cyberworld. Google, I get it, twitter, I get it, facebook... nope. Looks like
big inflated wind to me (or quite crafty salespersons).

------
halokonrad
I just decreased my Facebook use to minimal. Won't remove it because of
possible FB identity theft.

You can do more and more with Facebook Account it's just just scary to lose
control over my profile.

~~~
reustle
I've seen a copy of a few friends already created, even myself. They then
friended all of my friends. Fb is pretty quick to delete them once reported

------
danra
An ambiguous title, came in expecting this to be about someone quitting his
job at Facebook.

Which you absolutely should do if you work there. Facebook has an obligation
to its shareholders to maximize its profits, which (possibly) means its
strategy of monopolizing everyone's social identity is a valid one (though
hopefully it could be mitigated through anti-monopoly laws, see the recent
trend in the EU).

But no talented programmer has an obligation to help Facebook fulfill their
strategy. If you care about freedom, don't help its opponents.

------
commenter1
I never joined any social media site, but you don't see me making useless blog
posts about it.

~~~
MaddAgent
Me neither - I resisted joining Facebook from day one. I never felt the need
nor do I feel like I'm missing anything! At the end of the day its just a
personal choice and I also don't feel the need to tell everyone about it
(current post excepted of course! but this is literally the first time I have
ever mentioned it in any kind of forum/post)

------
sus_007
I haven't deleted mine yet, but it's been a long time. Often I think I'll
regret doing so, lots of memories with my closed ones, but again I feel like
none of that matters at the present. A tragic dilemma.:/ I can't think of any
other social mediums for reaching out my people in the state of emergency or
during such times.

------
__BrianDGLS__
"I Quit Facebook", do you want a gold star?

~~~
topmonk
Man quits social media site and brags about it on social media.

Too bad he couldn't find a way to post his medium page on Facebook. He would
have gotten more attention that way.

------
jlebrech
facebook is just a piss up planner now, and i share funny memes. that's about
it.

