Sunday, April 21, 2013

Actually Deleting Facebook

Back at the beginning of March I wanted to get rid of Facebook. I thought I deleted my account, but it turns out I just deactivated it. I found out when I followed a link and it asked me to sign in to my Facebook account and had my email address there. Impossible! I deleted it! So I tried to log in and sure enough I get this nice welcome back message. Facebook was on standby this whole time, arms wide open, just waiting to hug me upon my return.

It was depressing clicking on stuff on Facebook. People were living their lives and I was witnessing all the stuff I'd missed out on; all the get-togethers I wasn't invited to and all the daily random thoughts that have no impact on my life and don't enrich me in any way after reading them.

Being away for so long, you'd think there would be more to catch up on, but sadly there wasn't. I was bored in 3 minutes. I checked out some pictures and looked up a few friends. I creeped on the people I am no longer in regular contact with. Meh.

It's gets lonely and boring being stuck inside the house day after day. (Yes, bad enough to warrant exercising as a family at Rona's.) Facebook used to be this link to the outside world. It was a way to reach out and connect with someone. It wasn't always instantly gratifying. Sometimes it felt more like fishing. You put yourself out there and then wait around hoping someone responds.

The problem was that I never felt I was connecting with anyone. It felt more like I was witnessing other people's lives from the sidelines. Nobody told me anything. I had to go and read it. Nobody personally invited me anywhere. I had to go and follow a link.

Having left Facebook for nearly 2 months and then returning for a spell, I think I'm making the right decision to permanently delete my account forever. I didn't miss it then and I certainly don't miss it now. This experience has affirmed my feelings. I still hear from my friends. I still leave the house and visit with people. In fact, I would say I see certain friends more regularly now because we aren't passively reading each others statuses and then doing nothing to catch up because we already caught on Facebook.

See you all in real life!

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