I Chose to Delete my Facebook Account

The day I chose to delete my Facebook account, I remembered the moment a friend told me, “You must get on Facebook. You can look up all of you old friends and classmates – even the ones from grade school!”

I was hooked.

I wasn’t new to social networking. I’d been on Friendster and MySpace years before. I’d kept a LiveJournal, and I was comfortable connecting with “friends” through the internet. I even met my husband through an online dating service.

But Facebook… this new site promised fresh profiles that didn’t automatically play music when you logged on. Facebook let me update my status, and see all my friends’ statuses updates all at once.

And then there were the games: Scrabble, Farmville. While I didn’t play all the popular games, it made me think Facebook was fresh and cutting-edge.

But then something happened. Facebook began consuming my time. I checked it first thing in the morning. I logged on during lunch breaks at work. I fell asleep scouring Facebook for friends’ photos and updates at night.

Then, the privacy notifications began coming in. Facebook now had the ability to share my information with third parties, and I had to jump through hoops to block that feature. Friends could “tag” me in photos and in places, and I had to jump through hoops to make sure my settings blocked those features too. And the content I uploaded – the photos, videos and posts meant for my family and friends? I didn’t own them. Facebook did.

It got to be too much.

At first, I whittled down my “friends” list making sure only the people I really knew and trusted had access to my information. I stripped my profile page so it contained no information other than my name. I took down my photos.

And then? I just decided to delete my Facebook account all together.

My life is busy. I am a full-time working mother who is constantly trying to find the balance between work, family, keeping up with household stuff and maintaining real-life friendships. I don’t have time for Facebook. I don’t care what my “friends” are up to on an hourly basis. I’m too busy taking care of what I need to do.

Since I chose to delete my Facebook account, I no longer worry about my privacy and how much information I share on Facebook. I don’t bother myself with checking others’ updates, adn comparing my life to theirs.

Deleting my Facebook account was quite possibly, the most freeing thing I’ve done in a long time.

Do you have a Facebook page? Do you struggle with how much information you share through Facebook? Is your Facebook account causing you more stress than it’s worth?