Comments on: Why I’m quitting Facebook

By: keiko nakano

keiko nakano — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:47:12 +0000

Thanks for the article Andres, it’s very well written and I agree with many of the comments. There is obviously a certain percentage that uses it as a worthwhile communication tool to stay in touch with friends and family. But there is a nagging feeling that a vast majority are using it to fulfill something missing in their lives. We live in a pop idol tv culture where far too many only seek celebrity status. It’s a fascinating topic that I am sure many a psychology thesis has been written. I am one of those that don’t use it and never will that does not mean I don’t have friends or family, its just I prefer to stay in touch with letters, emails, and phone calls. In the end I think the Beetles song sums it up “All the lonely people, where do they all belong?” I think today you will find Eleanor Rigby on Facebook.

Ps interesting fact a 2006 study in The American Sociological Review found that Americans had, on average, only two close friends to confide in, contrasting with three in 1985. But in that same year 10 per cent said they didn’t even have one such confidante; by 2006 this had risen to 25 per cent.

By: Dave

Dave — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 09:56:50 +0000

I think your facebook problem is partly your own making.

You can’t get more out of it than you put in. You say that you kept it impersonal meaning that you never added anything particularly unique or interesting about yourself. Also, you never set out to develop your social network.

So ultimately you found it unfulfilling; but if you joined any other club and never went to the meetings or told anyone about yourself could you find that fulfilling ?

I think you could find some kind of halfway ground if you were a bit more flexible about your “rules” and looked for other ways to engage your acquaintances.

By the way, I am not defending facebook, I am also looking for my own way to use it. Unlike you, I chose to only friend people who I really knew well, I de-friend people who never submit anything to update their profile; I never take part in those “Who is my best friend for X” comparisons; I post the odd picture about things I like but never anything to embarrass friends.

By: Ahmed

Ahmed — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 13:08:36 +0000

Thanks for sharing this link. It’s very interesting. But you did miss one important point I think. From an economics perspective, technology changes to create new commodities. The previous technology in turn is used to create the marketing environment to launch the new marketing campaigns.

Facebook may be for glauting. I certainly believe that many people use it for that very reason. It shows how insecure human beings are, no matter who they may be. However the reason why its promoted and designed the way it has been is to create a marketing platform where you attend voluntarily and accept many campaigns.

By: Cherrie

Cherrie — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 00:18:17 +0000

I disagree with your opinion, though I do respect your opinion to leave FB. I am what you would call a “young person” in university. Some of the people I see using FB are quite addicted and constantly on their profiles, and whilst I myself may have FB, I do not use it regularly (being in a law course with a cumbersome work load to cater to). Nevertheless, I disagree with your suggestuion thaty FB is used to flaunt oneself. For me, it is used to keep in contact with highschoolm friends that I do not frequently see, and to hold a connection with those that aren’t in my everyday life. I further use FB to talk to friends of mine that I regularly see. My profile isn’t used to show-off myself. I am not a superficial person, and I think no matter what website you look at (whether it be Twitter, a blog, or even non-technological sources such as the person themselves!), there will be people always trying to flaunt themself. I just wanted to present this view to you, as it presents an alternative view picture of FB.

On the privacy note, everybody should be careful with the information they put on it (and thats for any website. If people choose to put a fully-fledged profile of themselves up, they will suffer the consequences of potential stalker issues (that is just an example).

I found your article very interesting, and hope to hear your insights as to my opinion

By: Andres

Andres — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 22:11:25 +0000

Thanks Max, excellent post!

By: Max Fiction

Max Fiction — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:27:35 +0000

Long on Face, Short on Fiction – My Experience on Facebook and Why I Quit:

http://maximumfiction.wordpress.com/2009/08/04/long-on-face-short-on-book/

By: Facebook privacy shocker - Techlog

Facebook privacy shocker - Techlog — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 07:59:13 +0000

[...] in General on Jul.07, 2009 Who could have guessed? Social networking sites have proved to be a serious privacy threat. The new MI6 chief (who looks [...]

By: Andres

Andres — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:05:52 +0000

Don’t worry, I never delete messages unless they’re spam, it was an easy mistake to make

By: waterbug09

waterbug09 — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:02:21 +0000

ooh, haha, mea culpa. I missed that you linked to the actual article I pointed to. I give you permission to delete my lame comment.

By: Andres

Andres — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:53:15 +0000

Waterbug09, perhaps you missed the link to the Adbusters article. I wrote:

Reading through some stories of people who have decided to take the same action, I came across this phrase attributed to Aristotle: “We are what we repeatedly do”

I clearly attributed where I got the quote from by using the link. I read a lot of blog posts from other people who had quit Facebook, and that helped inform my own decision to quit. I don't see other similarities, other than we seem to share the same dislike for showing off, which is one of the main reasons why I quit.