Deleting Facebook

I have had a Facebook since I was 15 years old. That was seven years ago. I have been posting status updates, writing messages to people, and posting pictures via Facebook for a third of my life.

To some, this may sound cool. I essentially have the ability to look back onto my life and see what I was talking about any day for the past seven years. This freaks me out. When Facebook came out with the new timeline layout I suddenly realized how readily available my 15 year old self thoughts were to the entire Internet and I hated that. So I decided to do something that I assumed was a personal decision and deleted my Facebook. 

I quickly realized how much less this decision had to do with me and how much it apparently insulted many of my "friends". Within the first few weeks without my Facebook I suddenly began receiving text messages and phone calls from some very upset people asking why (not if) I had "unfriended" them on Facebook. My mother even called me to inform me that people from my home town were approaching her and asking why I was upset with them because I had apparently "unfriended" them. These reactions only solidified my decision. 

However, the longer I went without a Facebook I began to realize something was missing. My friends would be frustrated with me that I wasn't aware of the plans they had apparently made, there were inside jokes I didn't get, my classmates were annoyed I couldn't be a part of their Facebook group to plan meetings, and I was no longer talking to some of my friends who live across the country. 

I went about three months without a Facebook. It was a very alleviating experience but what I ultimately learned is that Facebook actually makes life less complicated in many ways. Since my return, I now use Facebook very differently than the average user. I get on maybe once a day and pretty much only use the secret groups of my friends and class groups. But in this middle class University culture that I live in, Facebook is almost a necessity.