Why I Deleted My Facebook Page (And Haven't Looked Back)

I've been wrestling with the idea for a while; the scary but liberating prospect of deleting my Facebook account, an account I'd had for over ten years.

Facebook has gone the way of MySpace--a virtual hodgepodge and random assortment of thoughts from people whose insight you can probably do without.

The final push for me was the series of "challenges," where nominees find photos (of themselves) to post for a series of specified days in a row for no real prize other than to say it was done.  It was done, and I was done, too.  My Facebook has been gone for about two weeks now.

In these two weeks, I've clarified my thoughts, and realized what finally brought me to this decision:

1. I became increasingly uncomfortable with the idea of keeping up with everyone I've ever met- for life.  Why do I know what the girl from my 3rd grade class had for breakfast? Why do I need to know?   Aren't people supposed to go their separate ways at some point for a reason?  Why this permanent touch-point?
2. Similarly, I started to dislike watching the passage of time via the conception, birth, and maturation of my friends' children.  It's not that I'm unaware the kids will grow up, it's that...I remember your sonogram picture.  And now to be celebrating your 7th birthday...feels strange to me.  I started to have visions of their high school graduations on my timeline and it became far too real for me.  I'd rather receive the invitation in the mail in ten years or so.  Thanks.  
3. On a related thread, it has saddened me to watch very promising lives stall out and flatline.  These are the people I just knew would succeed in life.  The people who'd grab life by the proverbial horns, and show us all how it's done.  I had high hopes and expectations for these people, and I've watched them slowly fizzle out on my timeline.  It's disheartening.   
4. I'm bothered by the amount of time my friends had to 'spend' on Facebook.  In fairness, I had to be on Facebook to even notice the amount of time my friends were spending on it, but what I'm referring to is the amount of content that would get posted on an almost hourly basis.  Content that had to take time to curate.  It made me wonder, "what do you guys do all day?"  Like, are you working?  Earning money?  Learning anything new?  Expanding?  Growing?  The vast majority seemed extremely bored, and that depressed me in an odd way.  I guess because, at one point, everyone seemed so hopeful and full of life.  Now they're all bored.  
5. I'm bothered by the amount of time I spent on Facebook.  I would literally find myself scrolling like a zombie through endless of hours of content that I had developed a serious love/hate relationship with.  Rarely was I "fed" by Facebook.  I got the occasional breaking news announcement there first, that I eventually would have gotten via other media outlets later on in the day.    Mostly, I got to sift through my friends' memes, rants, food pictures, injury pictures, feet kicked up with wine pictures, political innuendo, progression photos, and poorly written status updates.  I think the poorly written status updates broke me over time.  
6. Updates we didn't ask for and fishing for attention.  I lost respect for a lot of people I really admired over time because of these things.  Posting things like "Just vacuumed the whole house now off to my dentist appointment!" or "So upset right now.  Don't feel like talking."realllly got under my skin.  It really made me wonder about the mental makeup of these people, and why they felt the need to seek validation in such an odd way.  
7. The random assortment of 'friends.'  I grew to dislike my friends list, in the sense that my:  best friend, uncle, former boss, friend's mother from high school, friend's mother from college, current coworker, former coworker, middle school ex, and every type of person in between represented my friends list.  These were the people who would read everything I wrote.  See every picture.  Be privy to every "like."  It actually felt...invasive.  I'm aware of the filtering Facebook offers, but this seems like a lot of work for very little payout.  I eventually stopped posting altogether. 
8. The features Facebook oddly doesn't offer.  For example, there should be a "negative hashtag" feature.  What this means is, you'd have the ability to filter out everything you didn't want to see.  For example, if you're tired of all things election, you'd be able to create a filter using the minus sign.  So -election, -campaign, -white house, -vote, -candidates, etc.  Allow me to truly have control over my experience.
9. Your friends force you to think their thoughts/experience their experiences.  What if you're having a great day and scroll past a particularly disturbing post?  Now your good day has been tainted by something your friend thought you should see.  Now you have to spend time unthinking that thought.  I was spending far too much time unthinking thoughts I didn't want in the first place.  
10. I want the opportunity to become a better person than I was.  Facebook has a tendency to memorialize who you were.  For example, none of my current Facebook friends are aware this blog or YouTube channel exist.  The reason is because they do not know this version of me.  The version of me the majority of them hold is probably circa 2002.  I am a fundamentally different person now, but my Facebook page has not reflected that progression.  Because I don't share much, who my Facebook says I am is who people believe me to be still.  It's not a bad representation, it's just not a current one.  I have morphed.  

The day may come that I'll resurrect my Facebook, or create a new one in its entirety.  I doubt it though.  I feel like I've shed an old skin.  My mind feels freer and more clear.  I feel in control of my life.  I believe social media has an important place in the world, and I also believe it's important to know when to step away and evaluate its relevance and effectiveness in your life.