Why I Left Facebook

Though, as of right now, I haven't actually left. That is still a little while out. 

First, mostly it's my family. They are all on FB, they share pictures and their lives. I live so far from all of them, that I sort of feel like I'm still connected. The problem is that FB is the lazy mans way of staying connected. I'm not actually communicating with them, I'm not actually talking to them. I see what they post, but do I actually call them and talk to them? Mostly no. Facebook disrupted that. I got lazy. Time to end the lazy.

Second, on-line friends. Many I've made online over the last 20 years. Good googlie, it's been 20 years since I really got online and started interacting with people. There are knitters, political junkies, gardeners and others I've met online. I will miss them like crazy. I love seeing what my friend from Dubai is doing. I may still see her on other platforms I use, but I've been pairing that back as well. I will start making better efforts to keep in touch, local friends I see mostly online. I need to stay in touch with actual people and not substitute liking their posts directed at other people as a facsimile of actual interaction.

Third, old friends. This is the one that will hurt the most in the long term, I think. These are people from elementary and high school, old churches and jobs, people I love but have no other interaction point than Facebook. I am sorry that I will not be seeing their lives any more. 

These three things are what have held me back from leaving Facebook for years. But it's time now. 

Because Facebook is a bad actor as a company. It's no mistake that the 2016 election was meddled with using Facebook. They've been messing with our feeds, tweeking what we see, who we see, how we see, for a very long time. I think they've been manipulating their users. I am not okay with that. 

Even more importantly, though, is the issue of deplatforming, restricting speech, and restricting the ability to bank. Silencing those you disagree with using the power of the goverment is dangerous. I would argue that an equally dangerous silencing is what's happening on all the big social media platforms. Sure Alex Jones is a wackaloon. Louis Farrakhan is a racist bigot. Don't follow them. Don't read their stuff. Don't subscribe to them. Scroll past. But that's not enough anymore, and hasn't been enough for a long time. Now you have a push to un-person them. They aren't just being kicked of social media, people are going after their ability to bank. Paypal is restricting who can use their services. Sure, Hezbollah shouldn't, but Alex Jones? WTF? Don't buy his stuff. Has he been convicted of anything? Seriously, where is the crime? ACTUAL crime. There isn't one. Driving people underground results in desperation. Deperate people do desperate things.

I'm not willing to fund more wrong doing at Facebook by using their services. I really would prefer to stay on the platform, it's easy to use, everyone is already there, I get to see and interact with people who I love, like, and just find funny. I'm unsettled in my heartular region when I use Facebook. I can't ignore that anymore. 

So, fresh start. I will lose contact with many people I love, for that I am very sad. Hopefully, I'll find another way.