Life Beyond Facebook

Life Beyond Facebook

By Stephen Reid

Exactly one year ago I decided to pull the pin on facebook. Cold turkey. Gone. I made the decision not knowing what to expect or even if I would be able to commit to abandoning what is such a significant part of modern society. Did I crumble under the pressure, cave in and come crawling back?

No. Not even close. A year ago I deactivated my facebook account and today I deleted it. Here’s why.

The other side

In my initial reflection of going offline, I noted how anticlimactic it all was. I was expecting it to be difficult to give up a decade long habit or that I would be ostracized from society. Neither happened. Likewise, I expected to have all of this extra free time but I’m still yet to feel this is the case.

They say you never really get rid of an addiction, that it is replaced with another. In my case, I suppose I have replaced the time spent on Facebook with YouTube. While that sounds like a potentially worse habit to take up, what with the number of cat videos and the like, I use YouTube as a resource rather than a crutch.

Upsides

My main grievance with Facebook was that I was aware that I was essentially wasting time using it, time that I could’ve been spending improving my life. My morning routine used to be to scroll through my newsfeed as I drank coffee. Now it’s watching videos on topics that relate to my hobbies, interests, and work (whilst drinking coffee!). I’m a better guitarist now after watching musicians speak at workshops and interviews. I’m a better teacher after watching tutorials and demonstrations. I’m a better informed technology enthusiast from watching reviews.

Downsides

What is annoying though is how small businesses often use a facebook page instead of a website. Facebook is pretty aggressive with asking you to sign up if you wish to use the site so they (understandably) make it annoying for ‘outsiders’ to browse.

It’s also annoyingly easy to reactivate your facebook account. I accidentally reactivated my account when signing into Shazam to find the name of a song I’d captured months ago.

The wrap up

That’s about it really. Since giving up facebook I haven’t felt like I’ve lost anything or am missing out; if anything I know more about the things I’m interested in. I feel like I’m making better use of my time and don’t have the anxiety of managing a second life in the digital space where you are bombarded with people’s incessant opinions and narcissism.

As expected, it’s not easy to delete a facebook account. Even after you confirm you want to delete it, if you log back in within 14 days it cancels your request. Thankfully I’m not the first person to do this and there are instructions on how to do it.

So if you are considering doing your mental health a favor by experiencing life without the demands of a social platform designed to keep you using it, rest assured that it is not only easy but surprisingly rewarding.

Goodbye facebook.

Source:

medium.com/@Stephen_Reid/life-beyond-facebook-one-year-later-b7412ca4852d