the tindog coffeehouse

Over the weekend, I closed my Facebook account. Technically, it’s “deactivated”, meaning I can log back in and reactivate it later if I choose. I’m not sure I want to, though.

It wasn’t a rash decision; it was something I had considered numerous times before. And honestly, even as I clicked the button to deactivate it, I had mixed feelings about doing so. But I did it anyway.

Why? I think I finally just ran out of patience with it. Every single thing I did on the site, whether I changed my profile picture, posted a photo, or updated my status, resulted in some kind of response from someone, and the responses weren’t always welcome. Just this weekend my “friends” told me I looked like a serial killer, offered me unwanted (and not very accurate) medical advice, and tried to coax me into a political fight. Between that and the never-ending barrage of Facebook quizzes and other nonsense, I had simply had enough. (And I’m not the only one.)

I want to like Facebook, I really do. I believe there’s a lot of value in it as a tool to be able to keep up with friends and family members. But there has to be a boundary, some kind of line at which sharing becomes over-sharing, some point when it becomes best just to keep your opinions to yourself. And within the “safe” and “trusted” walls of Facebook, it seems like people don’t care about such boundaries. You’re their “friend”, aren’t you? Therefore, they’re free to let you know you remind them of John Wayne Gacy. Because that’s what friends are for.

I’m not saying, of course, that people shouldn’t speak their mind online; please do, even if I don’t agree with you. But even online, if you can’t say something nice (or even interesting), it’s often wise to not say anything at all.

I’m sure at some point I’ll probably reactivate my account, but if I do, changes will be made to how I use the site. But at least for now, silence is golden.

Previously:
Why I joined Facebook and LinkedIn
How to play the game of ‘Blog-Facebook-Twitter’
A little social network housecleaning