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Why I’m Leaving Facebook in 2018

2017 wasn’t a great year for many of us, but it was a blistering twelve months for Facebook.

Facebook branded itself as a connector. And when it was first embraced by the adult population, it operated to enhance our lives. I found people I hadn’t seen in decades, reached out to family members, and gave readers the ability to talk with me whenever they liked.

I remember when everything started to change.

With outside encouragement, I spent money to optimize my Facebook author page. The week we rolled it out, Facebook introduced their earliest algorithm. They removed the ability of page admins to see who was liking our pages. They started shrinking options for contacting our connections.

Finally, they introduced the opportunity for us to PAY. If we wanted people who’d chosen to see our posts to actually see them, we could PAY. They wanted us to pay to boost each post. And what do you know? Facebook recommended that pages make at least five a day. Additional advertising opportunities cost even more money. Every time I turned around, Mark Zuckerberg was putting his billionaire hands in my meager savings.

Even more frustrating? Facebook limits personal reach.

People post everything on Facebook and assume their connections see it. WRONG. Facebook’s current algorithm limits how many of our individual posts hit the newsfeed. By their own admission, they reward use. In a recent article in The Guardian, their leadership actually said people should use their platform more if they want to feel better.

Other troubling tidbits about Facebook?

  1. Former FB executive Chamath Palihapitiya said on the record that sites like Facebook are tearing society apart.
  2. According to Ex-FB President Sean Parker, FB is made to exploit human vulnerability.
  3. Tech insiders who had a hand in creating the platforms we now use admit our minds can be hijacked.
  4. Facebook was found to be routing advertising revenue through Ireland as part of the Paradise Papers investigation. What that means? They were paying almost no income tax on it.
  5. The Russians purchased advertising through FB and set up numerous fake accounts, impacting our last presidential election.
  6. FB follows every click you make on their site. Every like. Every hover. If you use the app on your phone, they record everywhere you go. Every store. Every doctor’s appointment. If you use FB Messenger, they record everything you say and compile it to sell to advertisers. NOTHING YOU DO IS PRIVATE.

Other platforms like Google, Twitter, and Amazon also have these problems. I AM THROUGH WATCHING BILLIONAIRES GET RICHER. I REFUSE TO CONTINUE TO FEED THEM MY PERSONAL INFORMATION. AND I DON’T CARE WHAT IT COSTS ME.

If you’re interested in what I’m planning to do to stay connected to people I care about, tune in tomorrow.

LINKS TO RECOMMENDED READING:

Facebook Admits It Poses Mental Health Risk – But Says Using Site More Can Help – The Guardian, December 17, 2017

Former Facebook Executive: Social Media Is Ripping Society Apart – The Guardian, December 17, 2017

Ex-Facebook President Sean Parker: Site Made to Exploit Human Vulnerability – The Guardian, November 9, 2017

Our Minds Can Be Hijacked: The Tech Insiders Who Fear a Smartphone Dystopia – The Guardian, October 5, 2017

Facebook Criticized For Responses on Russia and Brexit – The Guardian, December 13, 2017

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17 Comments

  1. Uh-oh…I clicked ‘Like.’ Because I liked what I read. That’s the extent of my caring about FB. Amazon is always affecting my royalties as a writer. I may end up standing on a street corner reading my stuff aloud and call that my marketing. But I refuse to let “them” steal my energy.

  2. FB has been a way for me to keep in touch with people I don’t see often. Rarely do I post anything, just reply to others’ remarks. However, I can appreciate how professional writers are unhappy with the treatment they receive from FB. Please do let us know how we can keep track of your books in the future.

  3. 100% agree. Gave it up 16 months ago and am a happier person for it.

  4. Facebook? Is that archaic site even relevant anymore? I applaud you for your decision to jettison Facebook. I did it after growing tired of the constant changes and useless information long before they actually started to control the feed (plus I don’t care if you are taking a nap, had a delicious meal, or taking a jacuzzi bath…especially if I know you are morbidly obese ?). I’m hopeful WordPress is your choice.

    1. Author

      You were braver long ago than I was. I’m still using WordPress for my site, but I want something where we can message each other easily.

      1. I would not call it bravery but wanting something better that I could control (I do recall some grief about ditching Facebook and my creating my blog but that problem is now resolved…). I’m now pondering how WordPress and a messaging system could be connected? The simplest solution is email which in my world is far from dead. Oh, I just logged into WordPress in my computer and I see your latest post.

  5. Thank you for this post. I shared it–on Facebook, of course. I joined Facebook because my great-nephew was a guest soloist with the Fort Worth Symphony and his mom posted it to FB, and I had no other way of seeing it. I didn’t intend to let it take over my life. It irks me that the company could do business in an honorable way and still make money, and yet they choose not to. It also irks me that the founder is revered for being such a wonder boy when his invention is so clunky (It can’t alphabetize?). I’m happier when I take a few days off–but a couple of my writing groups use it to communicate, and I’m in contact with a wide circle of writers I wouldn’t have met (“met”?) without it. I feel stuck–don’t want to stay in, can’t get out.

    1. Author

      I think if enough of us say, “I’m done,” others will follow suit. I’m hosting my own network on another federated service. It grew from 30K accounts at the beginning of 2017 to over a million by the end of 2017. Plenty of people are fed up, but until we act on our frustration, nothing will change. So I’m acting.

  6. I’ve been upset with FB ever since the Russian interference and Zuckerberg denying the possibility. When it turned out they’d accepted rubles as payment, yet still denied the possibility, that was enough for me! I don’t spend two minutes a month on FB, and I don’t miss it one bit.

    1. Author

      We see each other elsewhere. I’m similarly upset about their continued stonewalling on the interference.

  7. I’m pretty much ready to kill my FB account. I think it’s really mainly the 40 somethings and older who use it with any frequency. The 30s and under are all Instagramming and SnapChatting because they moved off FB ages ago.

    I would miss the keeping in touch with cousins/ friends in distant places who I’d otherwise not see pictures or updates from. Then again, some of them are on IG already, so it’s a pretty small # who I’m tethered to FB for in reality. May need to just pull the plug.

    1. Author

      I keep thinking I won’t see certain people if I leave, but I’m beyond caring at this point. It sucks my time and challenges my creativity.

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