Monday, July 29, 2019
Considering Pulling the Plug
. . . on Facebook. I came very late to the Facebook game, but I’m very tempted to leave early. There were a couple of things that got me to finally get on it. One reason was some business considerations. Mainly it’s how most of my friends and family stay in contact.
People are lazy. They assume just about everybody is on Facebook. If they want to leave a group message, that’s the way it’s done. Hardly anybody wants to bother to contact people another way, be it e-mail, phone, text or whatever.
As much as I limit my Facebook time, it’s still a considerable time suck. The platform is designed to engage you as much as possible. They don’t care if it’s with cute kittens or horrific news about something you care about. The longer you are on, the more they can charge advertisers. The best and brightest are working very hard to monopolize your time and attention.
Before I was on Facebook I felt pretty superior, but that was dishonest. While I didn’t go on-line to check what was happening, my lovely wife did. Then she’d inform me or even have me read the information off her computer. After doing that long enough, the only honest thing was to get my own account.
Recently it occurred to me that while quite a few things engage my attention on Facebook, very little of that interest turns into action. For example, I may be upset about some news item across the country, but I’m not going to drive across the country and do something about it. There’s also the trap that the algorithms optimize things to what you are already biased towards.
So I have to ask myself what will be lost if I get off Facebook. Will people forget about me? Will I no longer be invited to events? Well, if that’s all it takes to be forgotten, I guess it’s not that important to me either.
On the upside, I expect to become a lot more mellow, with a Zen-like calm.
Of course, it would make no sense to give up my account only to look over my wife’s shoulder at her’s. However, she’s thinking about getting off it too. Won’t that be interesting?
-Sixbears
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Yes, it would. I only use Facebook for some friends that mainly use Facebook but their posts are getting less and less interesting. I can still email them so what is lost?
ReplyDeleteTJ
I went off FB for a while. When I came back on, I never told any of the old crowd, especially my relatives.
ReplyDeleteSometimes you have better luck with strangers than relatives.
DeleteBail on FB. At least for a while. Let it lie dead to you. Then reevaluate 3-6 months down the line.
ReplyDeleteI predict you'll not go back.
Emails are a much easier system. So is, well, this site. If your friends can't get you by email they can contact you here, without FaceBook looking over your shoulder and judging you.
Good advice. I think I will pull the plug for a while and see what happens after that.
DeleteNever touched the book of farce. It's hard missing out on some default info but if friends and family really want to share with you they'll know to contact you another way. My life is still full and rewarding without it.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it'll be easy or hard to retrain people to get in touch with me other ways. I suppose those who really want to stay in touch will.
DeleteNever joined FB and I never will. For some reason, I just don't trust them.
ReplyDeleteThey've done nothing to earn trust. Never forget that on Facebook, you are the product.
DeleteConsidering that it was proven all the fake propaganda paid for by the rooshins, got all the rubes to believe in General Bone Spurs. VIA FB !! Yet those same rubes still believe Orange Julius to be all wise and great. Even tho most of it is actually fake spews...
ReplyDeleteYeah , I too consider going away from using that opiate of the masses.
Someday it will go the way of MySpace.
DeleteI bailed on FB a year ago...but still check in on my wife's phone, admittedly. It was a huge time-suck, as you say.
ReplyDeleteI'm retired and don't have time for all that drama.
DeleteI still have an profile with them but am never on it. I initially got on it to keep an eye on what my teenage daughter was posting. Needless to say, she's no longer a teenager but the profile still sits there. Should probably delete it.
ReplyDeleteGood idea to see what the kids are up to. Besides that, I'm not so sure.
DeleteThose "working very hard to monopolize your time and attention" are neither the best nor the brightest, not by a long shot.
ReplyDeleteWell, considering some of the so called targeted ads, I'm inclined to agree with you.
Delete