Five Reasons Facebook Is No Longer My Close Friend

My three year affair with Facebook is just about over.  It was thrilling at first!  Staying in the know with family and friends, finding old high school friends I lost touch with, the cute pictures and quotes that are shared, the games, and more.  Can you relate?

After a short time (1-2 years isn't a long period of time in my almost 43 years of living), I was hooked.  Several times a day, I found myself checking in when I had a spare moment.  In the mornings, I would sit down with my first cup of coffee to see what everyone was up to, only to find myself pulling away a couple of hours later.  In the evenings, I would wind down my day by visiting with everyone in the Facebook virtual living room.

Does this sound familiar?  Did you know there is even a book out about this?  Check out Facebook Addiction: The Life & Times of Social Networking Addicts.

Well, after being sidetracked for a while, I've escaped this close friendship that was unhealthy for me.  Maybe you can relate to my five reasons:

1. The time vacuum.  Facebook was sucking away too many hours in my day, when I could be doing so much more!   
2. The boldness, rudeness, and confrontational spirit.  I cannot believe how people "attack" each other, and even worse than that, on a user's own page!  So often someone will put up a thought, and regularly, there will be someone else who purposely puts up a contradictory response.  No longer can you share your opinion without being turned into a bad guy.  No longer can you say anything without someone accusing you of being judgmental.         
3. The vulgarity.  Pictures, jokes and regular talk has become so perverted and profane.  I cannot believe the language and sense of humor that is so common among people in my own age bracket.  Just because we're considered to be a legal age to do and say anything we want doesn't mean we should.  My belief with almost anything in life is that, if a young person shouldn't do it, most likely an adult shouldn't either.  There are few exceptions.  Dirty jokes are tasteless whether you are 10 or 75.
4. The accusations.  This is one of the first things that made me back away from Facebook.  When I had one good friend accusing another good friend of doing something horrible that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt is not true, I had a very bad taste in my mouth.  The venom that was spewed toward an innocent victim just made my stomach turn.  And this doesn't just happen publicly, it happens in private messages.  To the extreme.  
5. The depressing reality of the negative direction so many are going.  I can't help it.  Between seeing innocent young teens turning into provocative young women by the pictures they post, the lifestyles of some who have changed so drastically, and the comments sharing personal problems that should never be shared publicly, I often pull myself away from Facebook, feeling saddened.  Something I enjoyed so much because of the fun times it offered in the beginning, has turned into something so different.

Am I trying to strike against Facebook?  Not at all.  There are responsible users out there who keep things under control on their page.  I am not angry at Facebook.  I am aggravated at what my page has become, and my tendency to spend too much time on there.  I just don't need the extra stress of seeing so much I consider garbage, or the guilt of wasting my day clicking a mouse.

Will I still visit?  Occasionally.  My blog has a share button for Facebook and Twitter, and I have seen great things from others that have been shared.  Those will be the things I'll hope to see when I do visit.

I hope you will do a self evaluation and see if you found yourself in this post.

Are you addicted?  Here is an article that may help you to break away.

Please share your thoughts!  Is Facebook a turn-off to you?  Did you overcome spending too much time on the site?  Please share how!