Why I don't regret not quitting Facebook, yet.

by Beverley Paine

A friend, on Facebook, shared a link to an article Why we don't regret quitting Facebook . It's not the first article on this topic I've read in the last year: there's been a few and I'm always interested to read them.

Thing is, some of us, me, don't use Facebook the way the people in this article do. I use it to keep in touch with people who are important to me and for whom I have either a real, in person relationship (either daily or once a year, these people are my closest friends).

My use of Facebook groups replaces my use of yahoo groups and forums and yes, sometimes sharing information and helping others through groups has eaten a considerable amount of my time, but given my health problems, it has been an essential social outlet for me over the years - and I believe I have been much happier and healthier as a result.

It's not my perception that I use Facebook in a social competitively way, and I don't see many of the people on my friend's list doing that either. I don't feel compelled to share information about what's going on in my life throughout my day, but I do use it to converse with friends in the same way I might have used the phone a couple of decades ago.

I am aware that Facebook doesn't exist to serve me, it exists to to build wealth for [now] shareholders. I am aware that everything I write is tracked and used to market goods and services at me, and that my personal profile is sold to whoever is willing to pay for it. I am a cautious user of this medium. I don't say anything on Facebook I wouldn't say face-to-face, in public, or to a large crowd.

What is working for me in limiting the time I spend on Facebook is limiting the time I work on the computer. It probably helps I don't have Facebook on my phone.

What it all boils down to is self-restraint and discipline. Yes, it is addictive, but ultimately it's our choice to be a user in the first place. If we succumb to addiction it's our responsibility to take the first step to help ourselves. Obviously the people in this article did that. That first step doesn't have to be abstention, it can be moderation.