Facebook is not just a means of social connection anymore, but a way of life. Everywhere I look, in coffee shops, restaurants, and parks, I see people glued to their computer screens checking the status updates of their four zillion friends. This is particularly prevalent among the youthful crowd. And yet even as part of this group, I have chosen not to partake in the social networking revolution. Why would that be? Let me count the ways.
More Free Time
According to Facebook101.com, the average amount of time users spend per day on Facebook is 19 minutes. While that may not seem like much, keep in mind that spending just half an hour per day on the site is three and a half hours per week. Here is what I can do with that extra time: watch four of my favorite television shows, write five new articles, go to the gym and work out, increase my work productivity for my job, go hang out with friends, the list is endless. Now I don’t think that Facebook is necessarily a complete waste of time, but I do think that time better spent would be living your physical life instead of your cyber one.
Improved People Skills
Because I don’t use Facebook, I am forced to actually talk to people face to face. Furthermore, my relationships are not based on what happens online. The way I treat people and the way I am treated is not by how I “friend” and “un-friend” people. My friendships are cultivated slowly and surely, with much less fickleness than it would be on Facebook. I also speak more articulately and understandably because “my wrds r not wrttn lk dis.”
Keeping My Sanity
Oprah Winfrey is cancelling her show? OMG, look at that cat dressed as a person! What do you mean Kelly’s been hitting on another guy? Did you know that Tom Brady’s IQ is 104? Abstaining from Facebook has saved my brain from information overload, and I am able to keep an attention span that lasts longer than a thirty second “The Office” clip. I’m not constantly clicking from one page to another so that I forget what I was doing in the first place. As a result, I can put my full focus into things that really matter, and I can maintain an organized mind.
Am I losing out on some things by choosing not to use Facebook? Perhaps, I believe that the choice I have made is reaps many rewards. By not being the hamster on the wheel clicking through endless status updates, I can live a richer, simpler life, free from the drama involved with an existence revolving around social networking.
Interesting article.
Blessings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
Totally agree.
Great article. All those are reasons I gave up my facebook plus a few more.
For a college student, I think it was easier for me to get laid by using facebook. I got to make small talk via facebook, got invited to parties which I wouldn’t have known about, and in the end scored…So, I guess I’ll miss out on that but I feel so relieved I let my facebook go.
Great article! I don’t use Facebook either.
I’m completely with you on all of those reasons and can happily say I don’t use Facebook either. Thank you for sharing this.
I agree 100%. I’ve been off Facebook for 6 months and I don’t intend on ever going back. To add to your list, some other reasons to stay off Facebook:
1. They own all of the content you post.
2. People you don’t like from your past contact you.
3. Ex flames try to contact your significant other (who needs that drama?).
4. Everyone on Facebook is starving for attention.
5. People stalk you.
6. “Friends” can rob your house if your status is “On vacation!”
7. You leave an internet trail that can be used against you in the future. Can you imagine the mudslinging between future presidential candidates about their facebook statuses from 20 years prior?
I’m sure there is more but I’ve already devoted enough of my free time (and work time) to Facebook-related stuff.
Facebook is a tyrannical melting pot.
I’d say you miss the point. It doesn’t need to replace your social life, it doesn’t need to replace your information intake and it definitely shouldn’t mean you can’t watch TV (use it in the adverts), can’t go to the Gym or can’t meet with friends.
Facebook is probably the better of the social networks for regular people as it encompasses everything. You can see what music people are listening to an broaden your musical horizons, see film reviews from friends, arrange nights out by inviting anyone you want and can keep in touch with people who maybe you like but don’t mix in their circles too often.
Your blanket statement article is utter lazy journalism and one of the top 10 don’t in article writing.
I agree with the previous poster’s comments. These blanket generalisations are lazy and inaccurate. Facebook can be a useful communication tool, ultimately it depends on how you use it. The objections you raised could equally be applied to mobile phones, ipods or TV.
I disagree
It depends on your usage….facebook is handy for me because i have friends all over the world (mainly UK,NZ and Oz, as such it is a cost effective way of keeping in touch.
I only pop on a few times a week, for minutes literally, fire off a message or two, skim read for interesting announcements, pop up some random crap and then leave.
At the end of the year i dump all my random crap into 1 big word file and hey presto, i have a diary.
All in all, its a useful service, i would love to fly to NZ / Oz / London every other week, keep a real diary and photos of the experience, but its just not possible.
Yeah a lot of people use it for tedious reasons, but then they are tedious people.