4 years ago, I deleted my Facebook account.
At first, I thought, “How can I do this? All the important people in my life won’t know what’s going on with me.”
That fear was unfounded.
As it turns out, all the important people still know what’s going on. You see, once they find out I’m not on Facebook, they get a hold of me through some other means. Typically, that means phone, email, or text message.
And a few have joined the Fediverse.
Deleting Facebook actually improved my life in one substantial way.
It got rid of all the ex-girlfriends and high school bullies that wanted to be my “friend”.
And when I awkwardly bump into old acquaintances, and they ask me to be Facebook friends, I just tell them, “I’m not on Facebook!”
Their reply is usually, “Good for you!”
And neither of us have to pretend to be friends when we’re actually not.
Another benefit of not having a Facebook account is that dinners with extended family are so much better.
I don’t know about any cousin’s conspiracy theory beliefs.
Neither do I know about interpersonal drama between aunts.
There is joy in obliviousness.
It’s great to think about the best of people instead of knowing about their worst.
When you delete your Facebook account, you truly discover how much of your day was just filled with noise and bullshit.
I mean, I think people who use Facebook already know.
But once you get rid of it, it’s shocking how different your day is once you no longer scroll through that meaningless claptrap.
Yes, there’s the occasional good thing on Facebook. But to be real, all the negativity and fluff doesn’t make up for the good.
No longer checking Facebook feels good.
Chris Trottier
Archnemysis