Today I’ve abandoned Facebook and I think you should do the same

Duckface in front of Hiroshima Peace Memorial

I have never been a hardcore Facebook user. But for a while it was delightful to automatically keep in touch with what your online friends were up to. When Twitter exploded, I’d already went through all the stages of social media addiction, (ecstasy, extensive lurking, oversharing, bloated timeline, information overload, total abandoning, reasonable use) so on Facebook I restrained myself. I ended up following mostly friends and family, close colleagues, and some neighbors. It was nice to like some of their posts, to comment on their trips, see their strange relatives.

I even joined a few groups that were of value. The elementary school of my two daughters and their scouting group. I was invited to join the SeriesSociety, a secret circle of serial drama lovers dissecting series and their plots. And things took a nicely weird turn when one of my best friends assumed the identity of his cat, reducing his own online appearances to brief stints as the #scarymanfromtheattic.

From a professional point of view, I explored the value of Facebook as a marketing platform. Forever the right audience for your sponsored messages. Fantastic metrics. Amazing new leads for your business. Of course I used it for promoting my podcast. Fantastic! And naturally I recommended having a Facebook presence to many of my clients.

So why quit, you ask?

1. I’m tired of people sharing only their ‘Facebook’ moments.
   Maybe it’s my age, but I’m really tired of all the engineered happiness. All those shiny selfies, the perfect meal pics, the crossing the finish videos, they pressure us all in doing the same. The other day I found my twelve year old sharing a photo of my coffee. It’s a constant fight for bragging rights. We seem to forget that life is boring too. Being bored is fantastic. Great things come out of it.
2. Real-time updates make real-world interaction less special.
   I’d rather hear the exaggerated fictionalized story of your holiday than see your hourly selfies in front of random landmarks. Join me for coffee or drinks.
3. I no longer want to contribute to fueling the FOMO economy.
   For years I was addicted to the news. A remainder of my time at several broadcasters. A year ago my wife and I cancelled our newspaper subscriptions and stopped consuming news on TV. It completely changed my perspective on the value of news. I believe the same applies for the FB newsfeed. No automatic updates will fuel your need to connect IRL. Go discover what you really missed out on.
4. Facebook is driving content publishers out of business. Vehicles like Instant Articles disconnect content from the brands/editors that create it. A further commodification of ‘content’. In times of Trump and Thiel, we need strong, self supporting, investigative journalism to thrive.
5. The FB algorithm fuels the ongoing polarization of today’s society. Facebook is built on serving its users more of what they know and like. The timeline of a conservative looks completely different than that of a liberal. Facebook mostly acknowledges what you already know and thus fuels the disconnect between you and many other people you share the real world with. That is not a world I want for my children.

So that’s it.

I’m not ready to destroy my entire FB identity, but after posting this, I will logout and delete the app as a first step. If that doesn’t work, I’ll have to take other measures.

I hope we meet again soon, in the real world.
See you on the other side.