February 2021 marks the 5 year anniversary of when I completely deleted my facebook account and left social media. Each year, I post an update on what I think about that and how I am doing. Many people will do a technology “fast” and refrain from social media or the internet for a set period of time. The time frames are typically a week or a month. A year-long break is considered to be extreme. So I like to give an update for each year since I broke up with facebook.

I have to admit that the pandemic has been challenging. I feel socially isolated. I would like more people to talk with. I would like to meet new people. However, when I think back to the days when I had a facebook page, I realize that the drama is not worth it. People on facebook are petty and mean. I don’t need that type of negativity in my life in the middle of a pandemic.

Combine this with everything you hear about Facebook in the media, and I can confidently state that I am not going back. Facebook psychologically manipulates people against their will. I’m pretty sure that if you bother to read all the fine print in their terms and conditions that they leave out that fact or bury it significantly in some legalese.

The purpose of platforms like Facebook are to suck you in so that you spend loads of time on them. You end up so absorbed in your phone or your computer that you completely miss out on your life. I don’t want to be like that. I live with three amazing cats and I want to be present for them as much as I possibly can. Life is so very short, after all. I want to enjoy the time that I have and not waste it on the internet.

I have no FOMO (fear of missing out) over not being on Facebook. There is nothing on facebook that I can’t get from some other source. I use radio and the newspaper to receive news. I’m not missing anything. From what I hear on the news, facebook is full of fake news, misleading people, and causing conflicts that just don’t need to exist. Part of the reason why this country is so divided is well due to social media use.

Five years after facebook, I am 100% happy without it. 

Have you deleted facebook? How do you feel? Maybe start with a digital detox if you are not quite ready to hit the delete button yet. What avenues to you use to find news?