Getting Rid of Facebook: The Ups and Downs

The Backstory

So I finally got rid of Facebook.  I remember almost 4 years when I fell succumb to the bandwagon and finally got one.  But addiction didn't really start hitting until college.  By that time, EVERYONE was on Facebook.  Posting, pictures, chatting, candy crush...you name it, everyone was doing it, and one can really see how much the simple social networking website was starting to become a part of us!  People talk about addiction to drugs and alcohol and how bad it is...but wasn't this a sort of addiction as well?  And what if Facebook addiction is actually worse than drugs and alcohol??  At least the other two are only detrimental to us, health wise...but Facebook has been proven to be detrimental for both our mental health and physical health.  Isn't that worse?!

I didn't really start noticing the problems until a few months ago when I got a new phone, my Samsung 5 (which I absolutely LOVE AND ADORE over my aging IPhone 4S).  Downloading all my apps I had originally and downloading new ones, I had to sign in via my Facebook account in order to "connect".  I never really put much thought into ever doing this before as I usually did it without thought, but, I started realizing how much information these apps were getting with a simple login from me.  It's pretty scary.  Thus, I made a promise to myself to "slow down" from Facebook and eventually get rid of it after college, but then I thought..."pfft, why not now?"

My depiction (in my head) of letting Facebook go-it's ok!  Pillows are there to save/help you



The Ups

FREEDOM.  Seriously, I feel like I have ample amounts of free time to do whatever...starting a blog!!, catch up TV shows, actually talk to my friends/family, go out and enjoy nature, etc.  A good 3 hours of scrolling through useless statuses, updates, and pictures of a middle school colleague I may not even talk to anymore now gone, kind of nice.  But definitely, I have ended up with so much more physical time on my hands, it's unbelievable!

Privacy, privacy, privacy.  Like I stated in my backstory, so much is connected via Facebook, it's ridiculous.  Now when I go into my phone games, a Facebook login pops at least half of a dozen times every 10 minutes when I play (even while I'm playing, which really irks me).  I was pretty astounded to get an email as well from Facebook saying that I had this many notifications and this many messages, "calling" me back.  Seriously, leave me alone please, good sir.  I'm slowly starting to delete all my apps/websites/whatever else gadgets Facebook was connected before and managing strictly through my junk email.  Yes, it takes more time, but trust me, no creepers will get to you.  You never know who's staring at your profile halfway across the globe these days.

The Downs

The only major thing I would have to say I miss about Facebook is the lack of communication I have now with my friends.  I do like the fact how easy it was to connect and communicate with people on Facebook since so many people were on.  The late night conversations, group posts, jokes through posting on each other's walls...those I treasure and are now gone.  But alas, things always come with a sacrifice, right?

Summary: All-in-All

So in summary, is keeping your life private and saving time worth getting rid of Facebook?  YES.  But losing track of 100s of friends?  Hmmm...  But then again, think about it this way.  True friends, actual true friends, find each other and will keep in contact in other ways even if a form of contact (in this case Facebook) is now depleted.  Whether it be text, Skype, email, or the traditional of actual phone calling someone, there are other ways (possibly even better ways) to keep in contact with friends.  If that's not even worth it, you may have to consider if he/she is really a friend, bud.

Sources:

HuffingtonPost: 11 Reasons to Quit Facebook in 2014