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I like you and you and especially YOU, have considered quitting Facebook. Often. And for a long time. A really, really long time. Yet, here I am. We all realize what an extreme time suck Facebook is. Lured in for a brief check on upcoming event, we realize we are 58 photos deep in the 120 pictures from your ex’s wedding photos. Gads, did you see that dress?I’m Gonna Quit…Tomorrow
So, yes, I’ve been quitting Facebook for a long time. Here is why, in Year Four, I still haven’t quit Facebook – sound familiar?
FOMO
This is “Fear of Missing Out”. There is also FOMA, the “Fear of Missing Anything.”
- You never knew before Facebook what was really going on out there. Never realized how fabulous your friend’s lunches were. Never understood how many photos of cute cats there really were out in the world. Never grokked the depth of political passion could be conveyed with a forwarded meme.
- Well, now you know and knowledge is power. The power to suck you in and never let you go! People want to feel like they fit in, avoid loneliness, and the design of Facebook is to specifically create groups, tribes, clans, cliques. Facebook knows what it is doing. Well, in this area at least. IPOs though, not so much.
Actually Missing Out
Earlier this year I succeeded briefly in quitting Facebook and missed a wedding. Didn’t even know it was scheduled.
- Nowadays people often send out Facebook invitations and make no other effort at all to inform people of what’s going on. No calls or texts and certainly no paper invitations sent via the postal mail.
- And it’s not just events that you might miss hearing about, but also other developments in the lives of your friends and family. It seems the way that people introduce us all to their new significant others in now the infamous “Change in Relationship Status”. And on New Year’s Eve, I got dumped via a Facebook relationship status change. Yup. Good thing I checked my Facebook, eh?
Procrastination Nation
No better way to lose a few hours and put off whatever unpleasant task, report, or household chore than to slip on over to Facebook.
- In fact, you’ll find a plethora of statuses announcing just that intention, or the guilt arises from doing so.
- Avoiding work by use of Facebook is so common that many employers specifically block access to the site. Of course, they don’t know about your Facebook app on your mobile device, now do that?
Societal Pressure
It’s what brought you to Facebook in the first place, right?
- Everyone is doing it! Join in, and belong.
- All your Friends are here.
- Heck, even your Mom is on Facebook.
- And her Mom. Yeah.
C’Mon, Stick Around!
It’s too late now. Just give in and do what I do: Wait for Facebook to go belly up eventually so you can leave guilt free. After all, whatever happened to your MySpace page?
Written by: Heidi Hopper likes to visit Luxbet occasionally on the weekends. She also likes to read and study infographics to learn more about the world around her. She's a likable person in many respects.
Written by: Heidi Hopper likes to visit Luxbet occasionally on the weekends. She also likes to read and study infographics to learn more about the world around her. She's a likable person in many respects.
Photo by Sean MacEntee / Flickr
