Why we don't regret quitting Facebook

FACEBOOK has ruled our lives for years. But now the social tide may be turning. These 10 quitters tell us what they learned by opting out.

Can't wait for everyone on Facebook to see how much fun we're having. Picture: Thinkstock.

IT was once the be-all and end-all of socialising. If you weren't on Facebook, something was surely wrong with you. But now the social tide is turning. These 10 quitters tell why.

1. To be more productive

Writer and editor Jocelyn Hoppa claims she can "almost 100% guarantee your happiness lies somewhere just outside of a social media website", she wrote on Role/Reboot.

"If one were to add up the vast amount of time I've generally pissed away on the site, we'd easily see that I could've written a book, started a business, or done any number of things that resulted in producing something meaningful. Instead, it's all been one giant attempt to incite thumbs up from people I mostly don't see in real life while putting dollars in the pocket of an already outstandingly rich dude," she wrote.

"All that time invested, and what do I really have to show for it? No book and certainly no billions.

"I've been without Facebook for about a month now and, like any addict, I only looked back twice before truly letting go. But after a few days, it was easier to live without it.

"What have I done with myself since? Amazingly, a lot. I've had the most productive month in terms of my personal life outside of work in a long, long time. I've spent time fixing a few broken aspects of my relationship with my boyfriend, and we're functioning like these new awesome best friends and lovers because of it. I booked a trip, went to a rock show, made some art, got tickets to a theatre production, called friends up, or had more meaningful dialogue through email."

2. To spend time with real friends

Forbes contributor Tim Maurer says, in a piece for the site, that there's a reason he doesn't hang out with his Facebook friends - because they're not real.

"Most of my Facebook friends aren't (actually friends). They're not enemies. It's not that I wish them ill, but for the majority of them, there's a reason we don't associate other than on Facebook. For most, it's not because of a geographic disparity or because they don't have an email address or phone number - it's because we're simply not actual … friends," he wrote.

Boring. Picture: Thinkstock.

3. To prioritise

Matthew Warner says it's simple.

"At the end of the day, it comes down to this for me: Am I spending all the time I should be spending on my most important relationships?" he wrote on his blog.

"If not, is my time spent on Facebook the best way to accomplish those things?

The answer to both questions for me is quite clearly and confidently, no. And in fact, my time spent on Facebook has been quietly stealing away precious minutes that I should instead be spending more directly on my most important relationships."

4. To enjoy the present

Sam Laird quit Facebook as a social experiment. In a post on Mashable he says there are some things about the social networking site that he misses.

"But it's what I've actually enjoyed about being off of Facebook that has surprised me most. I spend less time on my computer without Facebook's source of infinite content," he said.

"During real life experiences, what is or isn't worth sharing on Facebook no longer lingers in the back of my mind, so I spend more time simply enjoying the present. "And the false comparisons between others' curated digital self-presentations and my own naturally widespread sources of pride, fulfilment, dissatisfaction and insecurity no longer exist."

I'm becoming a stalker. Picture: Thinkstock.

5. To reclaim privacy

Araceli Crus says Facebook encourages oversharing, in a piece published on Fusion.

"Ultimately, Facebook is changing the human race. People think, speak and live in status updates. We have become short spurts of witty commentary. It's becoming increasingly difficult to truly connect with a person, rather than just their online character. We are all becoming narcissists," she said.

"I didn't leave Facebook because I hate my Facebook contacts. But I would rather hug them in person than "Poke" them. I prefer to laugh out loud than LOL. I'm happier emailing someone directly instead of commenting on their status update.

"I already spend too much time on the internet working, paying bills, shopping, downloading."

6. To avoid exploitation

The variation of the Sponsored Stories feature called Related Posts pushed author and CNN columnist Douglas Rushkoff over the edge.

"Facebook has never been merely a social platform. Rather, it exploits our social interactions the way a Tupperware party does," he wrote on CNN Opinion.

"Facebook does not exist to help us make friends, but to turn our network of connections, brand preferences and activities over time - our "social graphs" -- into money for others.

"We Facebook users have been building a treasure lode of big data that government and corporate researchers have been mining to predict and influence what we buy and for whom we vote. We have been handing over to them vast quantities of information about ourselves and our friends, loved ones and acquaintances.

"With this information, Facebook and the "big data" research firms purchasing their data predict still more things about us - from our future product purchases or sexual orientation to our likelihood for civil disobedience or even terrorism.

"The true end users of Facebook are the marketers who want to reach and influence us."

Can't wait for everyone on Facebook to see how much fun we're having. Picture: Thinkstock.

7. To do something interesting

News.com.au features editor Lucy Kippist says Facebook was making her bored and judgmental.

"With the benefit of a couple of weeks (at the time of her original article) sans Facebook I started to realise that just like anything addictive - after a few days without it, you don't really miss it that much," she said.

"That said life without Facebook has been pretty good for me. I have found myself emailing people more often and have even picked up the phone for a chat. Before I decided to quit, I would have just sent a Facebook message -or been content to scroll through that person's status update to feel caught up.

"At the end of the day I just feel better about things generally - and unless that changes, I plan to stick with my decision."

8. To connect the old-fashioned way

He's Just Not That Into You star Justin Long just isn't that into Facebook, according to Fox News.

"I tried to use Facebook at one point for a couple months to keep in touch, but I realised there's like a thing about just friendship in general. There's a reason why you don't keep in touch, "he said.

"I have a couple friends from high school that I still call them on the phone, which is really old fashioned and weird."

Enjoying real life. Picture: Thinkstock.

9. To free yourself from technology

After quitting Facebook Duke University Buddhist chaplain Sumi Loundon Kim also quit texting, mobile email, chat, and neurotically clicking over to the Gmail inbox.

"The first few hours after closing my Facebook page were mind-bending. My husband went onto his account to see if any trace of Sumi Loundon Kim remained. Nothing. For a few minutes, I felt like I no longer existed. It was freaky and liberating at the same time," she blogged on

Shambhala Sun.

"It felt so good, in fact, that a few days later I disabled Google chat in my Gmail account because my eyes would constantly flicker over to the box to see who was online. I noticed how often I checked email on my cell, so I removed that function. A month later, I changed the texting aspect of my mobile-phone plan and now only use it for immediate, necessary transactions.

"As I'm letting go of the alternate reality of the online world, I find myself much more attuned to actual reality. I am more interested in the people right in front of me because I am not half-attending to the virtual people online."

10. To live your own life

Monique Minahan says ignorance is bliss, in a piece on The Minimalist Mom.

"Really. That's what I've learned since limiting my personal social media," she wrote.

"Biggest reason for the change: I was wasting a lot of time reading about other people's lives instead of living my own.

"Sure, I may have fewer choices because I'm not connected and monitoring everything everyone else is doing. But I seem to have enough invitations and activities to keep myself and my family as busy as we want to be."

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