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I deactivated my Facebook account

jerlyn24 Comments
Facetune-20150106-712386204I’m not going to really give reasons why like it’s distracting, or blame people, etc. I had a very testing 2014 so I wanted to take a break to come up with a plan for this year (especially since I’m always late with resolutions). I also just wanted to see what it would be like and whether Facebook actually has an effect on my life. It does. However, it’s not exactly what you’d expect because I actually love Facebook. I loved it so much that I ended up screening the movie The Social Network and writing about it.  This time, Facebook‘s absence is simply to envision my brand.

I don’t know what I really think about the term, “friend.”

Facebook calls everyone on your list a friend. I started having an issue with this especially last year when I noticed that the friends on my friendslist weren’t such good friends. I think this is where I adore Google+. Google allows you to differentiate. I am able to have acquaintances, coworkers, family, etc. After last year, I really wanted to explore the true meaning of this title: friend. I’m happy to say that a few people who noticed that I wasn’t posting sent me emails to ask whether everything was ok. Friends? Yes, if you were my “friend,” you would have to been able to google my name to find my email address or blog, tweet at me, comment on my blog or IG—or know someone who has my number.

Every website that I wanted to access wanted a Facebook OAuth.

After a full day of not being on… I’m certainly envious of people who have never signed up for Facebook. I’m noticing that their lifestyle might not be quite like mine though. On the very first day, I attempted to do my daily research of trends in my industry (I have to know what’s going on). It was difficult. Every website I used expected me to authenticate my account with my Facebook credentials. Although tempted to log in just for the content, I concluded that if it’s information that I really needed to know, it wouldn’t be that difficult to access. During the subsequent hours at work, my coworkers also sent me advertising campaigns which were all on Facebook. I concluded that it was simply white noise and irrelevant… I’m sorry but know your audience. I always figure when things don’t work in my favour from a campaign, I’m not the demographic—totally fine with this.

Download your Facebook data if you’re curious

Before I decided to deactivate my account, I did a quick download of my data from Facebook. I was shocked. No wonderFacebook had been targeting certain ads to me. It assumed that I was in relationships with people that weren’t accurate (oh you know, my April Fool’s jokes where I talk my friends into being in relationships with me only to encourage curious bachelors to message me admitting their ever-lasting adoration of me). It also had data from pages that I liked for campaign or curiosity, not necessarily because I liked them. No wonder I wasn’t happy about the content being served. Facebookdoesn’t know me at all. My gender is “Other” I asked to be called “Neutral” as my pronoun. I first signed up for facebook on Sunday, November 14, 2004 at 11:12pm EST.

Where am I going with this?

Oh I don’t know. To be honest, I’ll be back. I mean, my birthday is in February, I’m making 30 and I love having birthday wishes posted to my wall from people I hardly talk to. Besides that, my klout score is going to be hugely affected.
Have you ever deactivated your profile? Are you one of the few who’ve never been on Facebook? I want to know!

jerlyn

My name is Jerlyn Thomas. I own this blog and you can read more about me here. The views expressed on this site are by me and do not reflect those of my employer or my clients. The content here belongs to me and my guest contributors. Views and opinions expressed by all contributors belong to them and not me, the blog owner. All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only. I make no representations as to accuracy, completeness, currentness, suitability, or validity of any information on this site and will not be liable for any errors, omissions, or delays in this information or any losses, injuries, or damages arising from its display or use. All information is provided on an as-is basis. If you want to use content on your own site, you must ask permission first before you do so under these restrictions.

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