My dear digital friends! Due to recent events I will leave Facebook once more. If you want to stay in contact with me and you do not kow how to reach me by mail/phone/friends please send me a private message with your contact details. I will wait until 30.03.2018 and then I will be gone.
I had completely deleted my profile twice before and every time it felt great. Each time it was a matter of just one klick and then not logging in anymore. Here is a more detailed view.
Logging in is just a habbit and if you manage to replace that by somethign else, be it juggeling, calling your mum, walking outside or just making yourself aware of the reasons you left.
Here is a short How-To on deleting your account:
1. Hit the small arrow on the top right corner, klick settings, klick “Download a copy of your Facebook data.” if that is possible in your country.
2. Klick on ‘Manage Account’ and search for the section where facebook promises to keep your account even when you die. Klick “Request account deletion”.
3. Maybe it is best to wait until you have your data (All photos will be there, all messages, all dates when you logged in and from what device,… a lot of info that will also show you what power can be behind it.
The reason why many people do not want to leave is because of the benefit they see in the plattform. The news, the events, the staying in touch. I tell you this:
If you think you can not manage your social life without Facebook, then you have a major problem!
But, sadly, not even then you have a major problem, in fact, all the social media of the present has a problematic structure. Famous executives, developers and whistleblowers from inside the companies talk about how the main goal is to hack our society to make you more ‘addicted’ to social media. And even in scientific terms we can talk about an addiction here, because recent publications show clearly how the social media giants are feeding on our dopamine. With Chamath Palihapitiyas outing that Facebook active trys to hack that reward cycle it is clear that the problem is not rooted in Facebook alone, but several social media apps/plattforms (Twitter, Instagram) are doing exactly the same.
If you consume all that media you will have a hard time stopping. It will feel like you are ripped appart from your family, it might feel like your tribe has made you an outcast.
Here are some things that you can do instead of looking at your news feed:
- Take a nap. Sleeping is considered really helpful!
- Go into the sunlight and relax. Both will tremendeously increace the joy in your life, if you never tried you will be surprised!
- Read a book. There are too many good books. No matter which, any book is better than the news feed because it improves your understanding of language and your ability to concentrate.
- Apropos language: learn another language. Use Duolingo as compensation for your Facebook addiction, learn a language for free!
- be creative
Feel free to share this on Facebook before you delete yourself and/or publish your own statement on why you make that decision. If your friends and family consider doing it, think of tools that you like to use to connect that are more direct in communication. Videocalls are widely possible already 😉