I’ve been Facebook-free for the last two weeks, after I have decided to pull the plug and just tune out. And since I still have it in my Blackberry, I also try to ignore the big, blue “f” icon staring at me from my phone wallpaper. It’s not easy I tell you, but this is something that I am determined to do. Four years after joining the so-called social media phenomenon, I think I am quite ready to throw in the towel, albeit in a more temporary setting (will explain this further later).
I don’t know why the sudden aversion to Mr. Zuckerberg’s grand creation. Maybe it’s what the studies call “Facebook fatigue” – the point in our lives when the drama or the “tedious-everyday-wall-update” has become too much for us to bear. <SOURCE>
In my case, the point of no return came when I woke up, logged in and saw a series of mundane, useless tidbits which appeared on my wall. The posts ranged from the mundane (i.e. announcing to the world that she has woken up), the REALLY mundane (i.e. describing in detail the morning breakfast) and the scandalous (i.e. airing of dirty laundry in public and accusing the baby daddy of….). After a while, I will then see a cache of photo albums all featuring head shots of a single person taken at the same moment, and with the same camera and almost the same pose (yes! 45 pictures of the same wide forehead and a constipated expression) and if I am really lucky, a status update of a mom announcing to the world that her son is now potty trained!(Adorable I know, but what the heck?)
Tired with dealing with the same kind of post every single day, I decided to just log off and take a sabbatical from all the stupid posts some of my Facebook friends have taken great pleasure in posting on their walls daily. I figured that I’d rather surf travel and news websites and learn something, than hang around Facebook during my spare time just to get annoyed on the level of inanity available on site.
Sorry if I sound stuck up or too serious, but don’t you just hate it when things like FB chain malls, large pictures of torn-off limbs or rotten, icky stuff figure prominently on your wall? (I know there are unfollow or unfriend or block features — but the whole exercise can get pretty tiring). Or how about when people tag you on pictures that does not include you or when people invite you to “play games with them?”
In a study conducted by The Pew Research Center and as reported by CNET Magazine, here are the common reasons why people log off Facebook:
I guess in my case, it’s being annoyed with some of the contents that I see everyday and finally choosing to spend my spare time somewhere else.
I know the better option would be to log off for good and erase the Facebook profile. Or maybe start unfriending a lot of my current friends/acquaintances, but there are reasons why I can’t do the first choice. Similar to other users who have family abroad, Facebook serves my only connection to family and good friends that are currently overseas. Without Facebook, it would be a lot harder to reach them.
As for “unfriending,” this is currently on top of my to do list. I plan on ufriending a lot of people, a move — no doubt, that will not totally endear me to my so-called friends and will further cement my reputation as the Quee nB*tch from hell and anti-social extraordinaire. This will be a very risky move. Considering I’ve read somewhere that “unfriending” a person social media has real-life consequences. (Duh. Obviously. The person you unfriended will think you’re a stuck-up B*tch and will hate you for real). Yes, people take their Facebook life seriously.
What about you? Are you tired of Facebook? What can make you consider logging off for good?
LIFESTYLE WANDERLAND 
Reblogged this on Susan Trout and commented:
Facebook doesn’t make it easy. They’ll de-activate an account, but deleting …not so easy.
Thanks for the comment and for dropping by, Susan. Was hoping to visit your blog but seems can’t find it. Oh well, again thank you for dropping my little nook 🙂
That line about seeing the “F” on your mobile. Yeah, I totally get the tempting nature of that.
I come and go a lot on FB, sometimes stay away for weeks, but I usually come back. That distance-keeping is how I stay “above” the mundane, silly stuff somewhat. That, plus I’m older, so most of my friends don’t post as much random, unnecessary crap. So… is it Facebook, or is it your Facebook _Friends_ you are sick of?
The new way random ads are starting to appear *on my wall* (not on the sidebar, and not stuff I’ve previously “liked”, either) , …*that’s* the FB trash I really don’t like. If it gets too heavy, I might jump ship, too.
Facebook: it’s the new “F bomb”…
Yes, I know what you mean. I’ve actually got a post about the same thing coming up. The annoying thing is that I quit, but an application I like linked me to them, and so my account was reactivated. It’s very hard to get to this site without going through Facebook. So annoying. And the status updates are irritating. They make me dislike people I normally have no problem with because I normally don’t hear their weird views on everything.
thanks for visiting Alice! That’s exactly what I mean — Facebook has a way of showing us how moronic some people can be.