Farewell to Facebook?

The Physicist and I had an interesting conversation today about leaving Facebook.  At one time,  such a course of action would’ve been unthinkable, but now it’s looking better and better.

I don’t remember exactly when I joined Facebook, but it was no later than the winter of 2005/6.  At that time, it was exciting and new and I marveled at being able to see what my friends were doing.  Every time I added a new friend, I got a little thrill.  I posted frequent status updates detaining the mundane details of my existence, largely because I could.

But, like many things, Facebook lost a lot of its luster over time.  As I got more and more friends, my NewsFeed became engulfed in a tidal wave of minutiae, from FarmVille updates to statuses posted while under the influence.  It was TMI every day.

Still, I clung to the idea that Facebook was useful because it helped me keep in touch with old friends.  On reflection, I’ve come to question whether that’s actually the case.  The mere fact of being someone’s friend on Facebook does not constitute ‘keeping in touch’ with them.  It’s one of the paradoxes of modern life that, although we know more and more facts about our friends, we end up knowing less and less of them.  I suppose most people see no reason to take the time to write a personal letter or email when they can convey their information coldly and clinically through a status update or a comment on a Wall.  It may be more efficient, but it lacks soul.

I’ve also been unnerved by Facebook’s endemic privacy problems.  Lately, they seem to be bound and determined to make you share your personal life with strangers.  I know it’s possible to go in and opt-out of a lot of this stuff, but it’s kind of galling that you have to do that in the first place.  Facebook used to feel like an intimate little club; now it’s as public as Union Station.  That makes it harder to connect with people on a meaningful level because you have so many more people looking over your shoulder.  True, you can go through and set your filters so that only certain people can see certain things, but, in my experience, that ends up being more of a hassle than its worth.

My mother is one of the few people I know who doesn’t have a Facebook account. She’s always said that she has no desire to bombard others with the details of her life, nor is she interested in being bombarded by others.  The more I think about it, the more I think she’s probably right.