11 ms·

Study: Staying off Facebook can make you happier

283 points by vidyesh 11y ago

brickmort 11y ago
I deleted my Facebook account after realizing that every time I would go on it, the clickbait and mindless minutia would irritate me more than entertain me. between the advertisements, there would be 'you'll never guess what happens next!' posts, then political propaganda, then children/marriage updates on people I hadn't interacted with in years. At a certain point, I realized that it wasn't even fun to me anymore, so I bid farewell to everyone, backed up my contacts & pictures, then deleted my facebook. It's been about two years since I left and, for the most part, I don't really regret it. With that said, what I do regret is missing out on my growing family. My cousins from out of state as well as my siblings are getting married and having kids. I was helping my mom log into her facebook the other day and I saw pictures of my niece's first day of ballet class and my nephew's first day of kindergarden. It made me light up and think "Ah shit, I'm kind of missing out on these things." Although I see them every now and then, stuff like that is the only reason I would even consider getting back on FB. I find it funny that it's for a completely different purpose from when I first joined in college.
- dottenad 11y ago
  I just found News Feed Eradicator the other day and it has changed my Facebook habits drastically. It lets you use all of the useful features of FB (messages, groups, pages, etc.) and replaces the newsfeed with a quote about procrastination or productivity. 10/10 would recommend - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicator-for/fjcldmjmjhkklehbacihaiopjklihlgg https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicat...
  - mrchess 11y ago
    I used this for a while but noticed it greatly slowed down my Facebook in general. Ended up uninstalling it after a few days. Wish they had a lighter weight one.
    - ldd 11y ago
      I know this might sound like a really non-efficient thing to do, but you can individually unfollow every single one of your contacts. I only have around ~200 friends so unfollowing them wasn't that hard. Nowadays, I love going to Facebook. My news feed is completely empty.
      - georgemcbay 11y ago
        I don't go to that extreme, but I did find Facebook was much more manageable when I started just unfollowing anyone whose posts/reshares annoyed me more than a couple of times. I've probably only unfollowed about 10% of my total friends list, but the difference is immense, a lot of the noise tends to come from a small subset of the people, in my experience.
        firebones 11y ago
        This is a missed opportunity. As Shirky points out, social media is "publish, then filter", and you've found a powerful filter that lets you reap the benefits. (And he also points out power laws--10% of the people in your feed post 90% of the garbage.) While I don't log in to Facebook more than once every six months, your observation gives me hope that I might be able to find some utility in it.
      - jupiter90000 11y ago
        I love this approach personally. Unfollowing almost everyone (except for a few I actually want to see) has it so I usually am OK with going on there now without feeling exasperated. I'm learning a foreign language so I began following people I don't even know who use that language so I can get practice reading it. I'm trying to make it work for my needs instead of completely checking in or out of the whole thing.
  - enraged_camel 11y ago
    It seems to me that the parent would still miss out on what he would like to see the most: pictures of his extended family's (cousins and niece) daily life. The nice thing about the News Feed is that it shows them to you unprompted. Otherwise you'd have to go into each and every single profile and check to see if they have posted anything. Don't get me wrong, I love the News Feed Eradicator, but it doesn't always change the "Facebook experience" for the better.
- nommm-nommm 11y ago
  Pictures are nice when they are once in a while. Most FB parents post so many pics you get sick of them quickly.
  - throw_away 11y ago
    Seriously, I wish there was a baby face detector/blocker extension. Usually, when I know a friend is having a baby, I just unfollow them for about a year.
    - Domenic_S 11y ago
      Here ya go: http://getrather.com/ http://getrather.com/
      - frik 11y ago
        It scans only for keywords, no face/children detection
- deleted 11y ago
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- deleted 11y ago
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- lazzlazzlazz 11y ago
  I did the same thing for three years, and really didn't regret it. I reactivated Facebook after I realized I had lost touch with a few people. After reactivating, I think I have a much healthier attitude about Facebook and genuinely enjoy using it in a limited, high-utility way. I wish the News Feed could be modified significantly, though. It's terrible - so terrible.
- unclebucknasty 11y ago
  Call them, shoot them an email, or pay them a visit. Not only can you stay in touch, it will also likely be a more satisfying interaction than browsing a feed.
  - icebraining 11y ago
    Lots of us live far away from our extended families, and phone calls don't really replace seeing pictures of your nephews. Email might, but in my experience since FB came around, people aren't all that interested in regularly sending emails just for you - I'm told that I should just join FB like everyone else.
    - unclebucknasty 11y ago
      That is partly my point: I don't tend to think of replacing one-on-one interaction with a "broadcast" pub/sub model as being more conducive to building and maintaining intimate, fulfilling relationships.
      - icebraining 11y ago
        I think you're painting a false dichotomy, though. Using Facebook as a way to keep track of your family's pictures stream doesn't prevent you from interacting with them one-on-one - in fact, it might enhance it!
        unclebucknasty 11y ago
        It's definitely possible, and I'd guess it does enhance for some. But, I don't believe it's generally the case, as it's not a format that encourages it. Instead, I believe it discourages more focused one-on-one relationship-building in favor of a bi-directional consumption model. People don't interact as much as publish and consume. Knowing what people are doing is not a real substitute for intimacy, but I think the dependence on FB as the medium tends to relegate people to the former (i.e. just keeping up). In any case, I was responding specifically to an ancestor who stated that he/she was having trouble keeping in touch outside of FB. That makes my point: people tend to be so reliant on FB to manage their relationships, that those relationships evaporate sans FB to the point that people don't even communicate! But, of course, while on FB, people don't generally have meaningful, in-depth conversations. That pretty much says it all, as it doesn't leave much space for real relationships. Not saying this is absolute, but that it is a net negative.
- bitbuilder 11y ago
  Seeing family/friend photos (as well as sharing mine with family) is one of the few reasons I keep Facebook around. I've found it's not tough to get things setup to minimize the annoyances: 1) If someone is consistently filling your feed with crap, just unfollow them. It's as easy as clicking an arrow on their post. 2) Go to the profiles of people you want to keep tabs on (family, close friends, etc), click on the "Friends" button up top, and select "Get Notifications". Now you can pretty much ignore your news feed, and only pay attention to Facebook when you receive a notification. 3) I just discovered this and haven't tried it: click the "Following" button (next to the above mentioned "Friends" button) and select "See First". I assume this prioritizes their posts in your news feed. Neat.
- hiq 11y ago
  The simple solution for me has been to unfollow everyone in my friend list. You then have an empty news feed, apart from the birthdays which apparently are really important on fb, for some reason. And, of course, a good ad blocker. That still doesn't make fb enjoyable from my POV, but it's still an improvement.
  - a3voices 11y ago
    Thanks, just did this! Great solution.
- rodgerd 11y ago
  I wonder if you could set up a private Flickr group for photo sharing and encourage family to participate there.
- rottyguy 11y ago
  What's the best way to delete everything from your fb wall these days? I know they keep crippling the tools.
- alexandrerond 11y ago
  Thank you anon for updating us in the state of your growing family, that your niece does ballet and that your nephew goes to kindergarten. You may want to rejoin and put this on FB, where someone might be interested :)
  - brickmort 11y ago
    hahahah :)
mpg33 11y ago
It's a form of real time "keeping up with Johnson's".
- 7Figures2Commas 11y ago
  Except for the fact that most of what the Johnson's appear to have is contrived.
  - teddyh 11y ago
    Was it ever not thus? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMwYNX5qUk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMwYNX5qUk
    - 7Figures2Commas 11y ago
      To a large extent, yes, but social media has made faking a lifestyle you don't lead even easier. Anybody with a smartphone and a desire to portray themselves in a particular light can do so pretty effectively with very limited intelligence and skill required.
7Figures2Commas 11y ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y This is social media.
nommm-nommm 11y ago
The big reason why Facebook depresses me is extreme narcissism.
- lazzlazzlazz 11y ago
  Unfollow those people and engage more closely with those who enrich your life.
  - adamnemecek 11y ago
    Facebook is kind of a bad medium for that as it's not very private. And if you are going to have a 1-on-1 convo with some people, you might as well use IM.
    - lazzlazzlazz 11y ago
      Messenger is actually my primary use-case for Facebook. Talking one-on-one, contextualized by whatever each other are doing publically, is a great way to engage with someone meaningfully. There's always some fodder to initialize a conversation.
  - nommm-nommm 11y ago
    I have a core group of about 6 people one facebook I care about. Unfortunately some of them are very narcissistic online and one baits with political bullshit. All are very pleasant to hang out with in real life. None do that kind of shit in real life. The internet can bring out the worst in people. I basically go on there once a week or once every two weeks to catch up on the "news" or if I get a message from someone (usually extended family, I have a lot) or an event invite. Unfortunately the narcissism is prominent because its "like" and "comment" bait. :| You could say these people aren't really my friends but, whatever, they like to use facebook to announce things (new job) because its easier than messaging everyone directly. Its also nice to get event invites from people you don't know very well who may otherwise not invite you because they don't know your phone number. Those are opportunities to make new friends. The barrier to getting to know someone better is low. That's nice. Over the years we've spread out geographically so I can't see them face to face very often but I do as much as I can. (every few months) Its easy to say only engage people who "enrich your life" in all aspects of it and are 100% perfect but humans are not perfect and facebook caters to a deep human need for attention/group acceptance. I also believe that surrounding yourself with people exactly like you in every way isn't very healthy. There's a lot of people that I don't like at all and I avoid if possible but for the people I do like I tolerate the differences we may have. I don't have a use for pages or whatever they call them or anything like that. I could get rid of my facebook but its alright for the amount I use but I couldn't stand being on that shit every day.
untog 11y ago
Agh, this thread is just full of people boasting about their immunity to interest in Facebook. Congratulations, you're fantastic, oh that we could all be as enlightened as you. Personally, I find that Facebook has become my address book - while I still text people I see every day, Messenger group chats are often used instead. Plus the voice and video calls have been a great way to keep up with people further afield. Yes, Skype exists, but Facebook is easier - which is huge with older relatives. That said, this study doesn't surprise me. In terms of public posts everyone projects their "best life", so you're browsing through a catalogue of amazing experiences while you sit at home feeling a little fat. I'm not sure what the answer to that is. Some say Snapchat is a much better place for people to be their true selves - I can believe it.
- cortesoft 11y ago
  Seriously. My lack of desire for lots of social interaction is just a feature of my personality, it isn't something to be proud of or brag about.
  - untog 11y ago
    (This is off topic but) there's probably something fascinating to be studied about it. The assumption I've heard a number of people make is that their anti-socialness means that they read more, code more, and as such it's actually a positive quality that elevates them above others. Even as someone who can be antisocial themselves, I think it's a load of bunk, and it's sort of interesting to see human interaction being dismissed as frivolous.
    - meric 11y ago
      human interaction being dismissed as frivolous. I'm not sure it's entirely frivolous... http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2008/11/12/why-loneliness-is-bad-for-your-health http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and...
      - 11y ago
musesum 11y ago
Same goes with TV: http://lifehacker.com/5095892/happy-people-watch-less-tv-study-shows http://lifehacker.com/5095892/happy-people-watch-less-tv-stu... Is it about social status? Or is it the ADs? ADs seek out holes to fill with product. Ad-support-media use analytics to more effectively show me my particular holes. After a while, I begin to feel empty.
- cortesoft 11y ago
  It might also be the passive nature of the two activities.... browsing facebook and watching TV are very passive activities. You do not use your creativity or skills to do them; happy people tend to do more creative and constructive things.
  - TeMPOraL 11y ago
    A lot depends on the way one uses it. Personally, I (and many of my friends) use it the same way I use HN - I post interesting stuff and engange in long, asynchronous discussions that sometimes span many days.
- hightechlowlife 11y ago
  It's the medium, not the message. I would suggest that it's excessively stimulating and this causes maladaptive neurochemical changes. The same applies to computers. Of course, no one seems to understand the precautionary principle. If something is potentially implicated in health issues, the rational reaction is to exercise caution. Instead, it's full-steam-ahead, and before we know better it's too late.
Kronopath 11y ago
Note that the study only tracked people for a single week, so it's likely that while it does show a positive improvement on moment-to-moment happiness, it neglects other longer-term effects like, possibly, social isolation from cutting yourself off from a major communication medium.
- hawkice 11y ago
  I noticed I started sending a lot of personal, narrative, long-form emails a couple months after deleting my facebook. It turns out some people are bothered by this, or have no idea how to communicate this way. YMMV
- developer1 11y ago
  This "study" isn't a study at all. One week provides factually meaningless data. You'd need a minimum of 3 months just to register a new baseline, and another 6-12 months to see if those participants who originally found a higher baseline at 3 months maintain it or fall back to previous levels as the novelty of the situation wears off. You want to know why people reported feeling better? Because they changed a habit. When you change anything in your life for a single week, you will feel better because you have pulled yourself out of your everyday routine and are experiencing something NEW. This is the result of a change; what changed - Facebook in this case - does not matter. The novelty of a change in habit for a single week does not even begin to offer evidence of anything. This isn't even a case of "not enough evidence", but rather "no evidence whatsoever". This novelty is similar to the kind of high you get from buying a new expensive toy/gadget. A temporary boost of "happiness" that quickly fades as the new item just becomes another object in your day-to-day life.
DKnoll 11y ago
I deleted my Facebook account and I believe doing so did (marginally) increase my quality of life. It has forced me to focus more on real-world interactions with people. I also find it emotionally draining to be in constant contact with people you never actually see... it feels as if Facebook allows fake or weak friendships to continue that would naturally die off without it. The only thing I do miss is the ubiquity of Facebook Messenger and the features it provides over SMS, which I have now reverted to for communicating with friends.
- pconner 11y ago
  > I also find it emotionally draining to be in constant contact with people you never actually see... it feels as if Facebook allows fake or weak friendships to continue that would naturally die off without it. I agree. One of the reasons I left is because constantly checking FB (ironically) made me feel really lonely.
swang 11y ago
"How do you know if someone doesn't use Facebook? Don't worry they'll tell you" should be the new, "How do you know if someone doesn't own a TV..." joke.
FussyZeus 11y ago
Every time I see one of these studies I just laugh. As if Facebook is something that is used universally in a single way and can be determined to be good or bad. Speaking as someone who has a ton of friends (actual friends) who I only get to see once or twice a year, Facebook is a godsend. It let's us stay in touch with people we care about who live on the other side of the planet. Yeah, if you use it as a meterstick on how "good" you're doing at life, of course it's going to make you depressed. Same goes for if you watch HDTV and do that. If you spend all your time looking at the things and lusting after the things you DON'T have, how the hell could you possibly be happy!? And to the people complaining about clickbait, the simple fact is Facebook wants you to stay on Facebook which means if you get a shitload of clickbait, you're probably clicking a shitload of clickbait. I dedicated about a month of my daily use and deliberately hid every single clickbait-y link, photo, etc. as well as unliked pages that posted that shit at ANY time. This culled me down to a selection of pages that actually post interesting stuff, and to the friends (and what they post) that weren't clickbait. Sure, I get one every once in awhile but I'd say it's down to about 1 in 40 posts are something crummy, and every time I get it, I hide it. Facebook's news feed is actually extremely well curated, it's just designed to give you things that you will pay attention to, positive or negative attention counts. Just my two cents of course, your mileage may vary, etc.
subpixel 11y ago
I deleted my FB account almost a year ago for a couple reasons. One of which is the sheer insanity of a single corporation knowing so much about us all and our relationships. Another is that checking Facebook all the time became a bad habit, like a twitch, something I felt the urge to do but then got no relief through doing. Another is probably spite - a rejection of the idea that having a FB account is necessary, something to be taken for granted. Some observations: - I have no idea what's going on in the lives of many people I'm not in close contact with. I have no problem with this. - My wife tells me about extended family stuff, and shows me the occasional photo. I'm okay with this. - Instagram has replaced FB to a great degree, for me. But instead of being built around a growing social graph, my Instagram experience is built around a handful of friends and networks of interest. But my usage is nothing like the way I used FB. I post only when I have something to share, and I open the app probably once a week to peruse. I miss tons of stuff, and I'm okay with that. - I'm involved with a bunch of athletic groups that use FB for events and communication. This is a problem. The degree to which FB has replaced email in this regard is crazy to me. I hope Slack etc. will prove effective at minimizing this. - I'm launching a business soon and I was concerned that I'd _need_ to be on FB in some commercial capacity. But I honestly think that era is over. Other companies in my industry have anemic feeds that point to the low, low level of engagement through that channel. - When I feel the need to waste time, some remnant of the FB 'twitch', I look at old faves like englishrussia.com or subject-matter porn like landandfarm.com or everydaycarry.com - I call/FaceTime my mom more often.
finalight 11y ago
as much as you are right (or suppose to), but sorry, I not leaving facebook for real facebook is where i learn more things in than any other places. okay fine, there's wikipedia and youtube too
- ionised 11y ago
  I would be more than a little concerned if Facebook, Youtube and Wikipedia is where you gain most of your knowledge. Wikipedia is slightly understandable but it should not be any more thnan a quick reference guide on a given topic, but taken with a grain of salt. It certainly shouldn't be taken as gospel truth.
smegel 11y ago
Is Facebook one of those social networking sites? Meh.
pamelafox 11y ago
I used to think I should stay off Facebook, because I knew of such studies and felt the effects myself. But I now view Facebook as an exercise in internal self-worth: Can I browse through everyone's posts of their 'best life' and be genuinely happy for them? Can I take in their stories without comparing my life to theirs? I know that I would likely feel better if I didn't put myself through that exercise, but I think it'd be valuable for me if I can actually get to the point where I can browse Facebook and remain as happy, if not more. I'm not there yet, so time will tell.
- intopieces 11y ago
  There are a few people I barely knew in High School that I follow on Facebook specifically because their posts include many about how they are struggling. "Today I tried to not drink, but I failed. I need help and I never knew how badly until today." I am grateful for these people. They remind me of what it is to be human. I comment from time to time, or send them messages both on that topic and off.
credo 11y ago
The qz report suggests that users were more happy and less worried/sad if they stayed off Facebook, but it doesn't mention the (imo) more important part of the study. The study says that most people "post their good sides on Facebook" The study also says that many facebook users "envy" the amazing, happy and success related notes posted by their friends on facebook. So it seems like you can stay happy on facebook and not feel worried if you (a) understand that you should not envy your friends or/and (b) understand that you shouldn't take all facebook posts as face value and understand that you shouldn't assume that these posts represent your friends lives in entirety. You shouldn't assume that life is a bed of roses for your friends just because they posted the best parts of their life. It is likely that they have just as many problems and troubles as you do even thought their facebook posts may not capture all of these problems.
quacker 11y ago
Facebook was a great form of communication in high school and college, for events and meeting up with classmates and things. Afterwards, people drifted apart and it became kind of an empty place - hundreds of friends but only a handful I kept in touch with. As time went on and as my friends list stagnated, facebook kept me attached to the past ("that was so much fun, wasn't it?"). It covered some 7-8 years of my life. Logging on was a bit like falling backwards in time. It makes me remember mistakes I can never undo and moments I can never relive. I was following the events of very old friends I'll most likely never see again. I decided this was not very valuable, so I stopped using facebook. Deactivating facebook brought my attention back to the present and the future. I'm a bit less distracted. There's no more thoughtless, routine clicking of the facebook link in my bookmarks. I focus a bit better at work. I've put better effort into my proximate relationships (family, friends, coworkers). I've put a bit more effort into my own health and fitness. These are all small changes, mostly due to a change in my own mindset. But, while it was easy because my close friends and I post very little, deleting facebook was a good first step.
- frame_perfect 11y ago
  How old are you? I'm 21 and feel the same way, although it was the tail end of middle school, all of high school, and freshman year of college. So around 2008-2013.
- tdkl 11y ago
  > Afterwards, people drifted apart and it became kind of an empty place - hundreds of friends but only a handful I kept in touch with. Welcome to real life as it always was. It's actually healthy to not keep touch with all the people you've ever known.
fouadf 11y ago
depends on how you're using facebook, as long as it's not voyeurism you should be fine
trz 11y ago
Why not have a third group of people that never had facebook and compare their outlook too? Comparing against only people that use facebook regularly doesn't provide an adequate control group.
sridca 11y ago
By making Facebook a scapegoat humans have once again conveniently avoided talking about an uncomfortable truth about themselves. People give off inauthentic expressions all the time -- take women putting on makeup for example -- and this tells us more about human nature than Facebook or corporations.
deleted 11y ago
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atrust 11y ago
I wonder, how many people shared it on Facebook?
tatx 11y ago
Browsing Facebook, or for that matter any other similar network (including HN :)), is like anti-meditation. They rattle your mind with so much information in such quick succession that it becomes almost impossible to think through or about any one particular thing. Like alcohol, it is simultaneously addictive – the mind craves information – and depressing – numbs the mind preventing it from engaging in deep rational thought. I think we can have the best of both worlds – enjoy our whiskey and discuss philosophy too :) I think there is a future for a social network that can slow things down a little, maybe also summarize, organize and filter an apparently disparate group of things, allowing the user enough time to digest and process the information before moving ahead in leisure.
tn13 11y ago
Value of Facebook to me has eroded over last 2 years or so primarily because of messengers such as whatsapp and privacy concerns. I use linkedin to stay in touch with colleges, WhatsApp to stay in touch with close friends and family, share pictures etc. and I ignore most other people in my life. Facebook remain the source of news and interesting links that people share but I am pretty sure someone will fill that need better than facebook sooner or later. P.S. I use Facebook extensively to run ad campaigns for my apps. But I am not counting that as use.
tn13 11y ago
Also, based on the research as noted in the "Rational Optimist" one of the keys to remain happy is to simply withdraw from competition and set your own goals for happiness. Example given is of a Doctor who always dreamed of becoming an amazing doctor healing people and succeeded but one day happened to attend a conference where many of his past batchmates were also present who were making insane amount of money by working for insurance companies. This doctor now felt unhappy and jumped the same bandwagon making even more money that before but the cost of happiness. While the example is anecdotal, the research does show that competition for social status makes people unhappy. There is nothing wrong about Facebook and our need to use it but the fact that it might make us unhappy might be true.
CrazyCatDog 11y ago
But how fraction of the (happier) non-users have returned to Facebook?
dymk 11y ago
> "That said, the results are based on self-reported answers" Uhuh. I'm gonna go ahead and take this whole article with a massive chunk of salt; this breaks one of the main rules of how to do a statistically meaningful survey, so I don't see much value in the numbers.
- mabcat 11y ago
  What is the main rule, exactly? The only way to measure happiness is self-report. Most psych studies in general are self-report. Very hard to get at people's mental states without it.
orthoganol 11y ago
Pretty polarizing thread. I deleted FB two years ago. I'm a social 20-something. It hasn't impacted my social life at all, actually, and I do feel happier. I18n friends, my family, or college acquaintances or x-coworkers who I care about are on WhatsApp, Gmail, or Skype. Close friends or dating prospects I text. YMMV. No need to crucify people for leaving FB. No need to act like you're superior for leaving FB. I'll reiterate, I am happier two years later after leaving FB and I feel like I got more time back.
cpplinuxdude 11y ago
Quitting for a week, and quitting forever are two different things. Life off facebook has its own challenges too. How does a 1 week study draw such categorical conclusions?
Roritharr 11y ago
I found Facebook to really affect my moods in a distressing manner. I use Facebook occupationally and like its Messenger and Groups a lot so leaving was out of the question. So I bit the bullet and unfollowed all of my friends. Now Facebook is a glorified News Feed for me and I am noticably more serene.
deleted 11y ago
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hopfog 11y ago
I love Facebook. Definitely makes my life a lot better. I use it to: * stay in touch with friends * know what events are up (my group of friends create events even for very small gatherings) * find out about new music from the artists I like * find interesting links and news about programming/tech (from a group I follow) * read interesting discussions about programming/tech (same group) * see interesting posts about indie games and indie game development in general (another group) * see what people I've long lost contact with are up to nowadays
- bigbugbag 11y ago
  It's scary how facebook managed to replace the internet in the language as if those people thought that it was facebook that making all this happen when it actually is the internet. This is a dangerous confusion to make for people born in the internet era.
arvinsim 11y ago
I just simply unfollow all my friends and keep the ones that I want to follow in groups. That way, my newsfeed is not polluted and it is up to me to decide who I want to check up on. I could never totally give it up because it has become an indispensable hub of communication with people I know with Messenger.
chriszhu12 11y ago
Maybe its not so much getting off Facebook as it is a change in lifestyle. I'm curious if someone conducted a study to see the effects of a group of people who have never used facebook use it extensively for a week. Maybe their happiness levels also increase.
ionised 11y ago
I still have an account, but I only check in maybe once or twice a week now (via Tinfoil for Facebook) for a less than a minute to see if I have any private messages or invites to events from friends. Feels like one less thing to think about that didn't actually offer me anything of real value in the end.
amelius 11y ago
I wonder what would happen to our collective happiness level if people posted their bank-account balance on a daily basis to facebook. (All those nice vacation pics must be financed somehow.)
HugoDaniel 11y ago
I have stayed 1 year away from facebook. I restarted using it about 6 months ago. I can't evaluate if I was happier during that year as it is very hard for me to quantify being "happy". Although there are a few points i take from that time: + loads of free time + more focus on stuff that i think is more productive + no need to manage so many events + spent time talking to relatives instead of typing with them (in person and/or in phone) - loss of conectivity with friends (if you are not on facebook you won't get invited to many events) - not being aware of small trends (like the new meme or the current 'internet localized scandal' as in 'the host of the show x was caught drunk') - lost track of certain creative friends that only publish stuff on facebook ~ being regarded as a anti-social by certaing groups ~ not caring about stuff that are not that important and is not actually worth the time ~ looking at people using facebook and thinking "i once was a zombie just like you"
neogodless 11y ago
It's a sort of drug, isn't it? I went perhaps 6 months without Facebook a few years ago, and I was very happy. I went to less social events, which were actually mostly events where I drank to feel more socially adept. I did not really miss those events. I was also working on a side project regularly. I created a Facebook Page and new account to try to spread the word of my side project with people I knew... and I ended up going down the rabbit hole. I haven't really been able to leave it, and I never did make any more progress on that side project.

283 points by vidyesh 11y ago

I deleted my Facebook account after realizing that every time I would go on it, the clickbait and mindless minutia would irritate me more than entertain me. between the advertisements, there would be 'you'll never guess what happens next!' posts, then political propaganda, then children/marriage updates on people I hadn't interacted with in years. At a certain point, I realized that it wasn't even fun to me anymore, so I bid farewell to everyone, backed up my contacts & pictures, then deleted my facebook. It's been about two years since I left and, for the most part, I don't really regret it. With that said, what I do regret is missing out on my growing family. My cousins from out of state as well as my siblings are getting married and having kids. I was helping my mom log into her facebook the other day and I saw pictures of my niece's first day of ballet class and my nephew's first day of kindergarden. It made me light up and think "Ah shit, I'm kind of missing out on these things." Although I see them every now and then, stuff like that is the only reason I would even consider getting back on FB. I find it funny that it's for a completely different purpose from when I first joined in college.

dottenad 11y ago
I just found News Feed Eradicator the other day and it has changed my Facebook habits drastically. It lets you use all of the useful features of FB (messages, groups, pages, etc.) and replaces the newsfeed with a quote about procrastination or productivity. 10/10 would recommend - https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicator-for/fjcldmjmjhkklehbacihaiopjklihlgg https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicat...
- mrchess 11y ago
  I used this for a while but noticed it greatly slowed down my Facebook in general. Ended up uninstalling it after a few days. Wish they had a lighter weight one.
  - ldd 11y ago
    I know this might sound like a really non-efficient thing to do, but you can individually unfollow every single one of your contacts. I only have around ~200 friends so unfollowing them wasn't that hard. Nowadays, I love going to Facebook. My news feed is completely empty.
    - georgemcbay 11y ago
      I don't go to that extreme, but I did find Facebook was much more manageable when I started just unfollowing anyone whose posts/reshares annoyed me more than a couple of times. I've probably only unfollowed about 10% of my total friends list, but the difference is immense, a lot of the noise tends to come from a small subset of the people, in my experience.
      - firebones 11y ago
        This is a missed opportunity. As Shirky points out, social media is "publish, then filter", and you've found a powerful filter that lets you reap the benefits. (And he also points out power laws--10% of the people in your feed post 90% of the garbage.) While I don't log in to Facebook more than once every six months, your observation gives me hope that I might be able to find some utility in it.
    - jupiter90000 11y ago
      I love this approach personally. Unfollowing almost everyone (except for a few I actually want to see) has it so I usually am OK with going on there now without feeling exasperated. I'm learning a foreign language so I began following people I don't even know who use that language so I can get practice reading it. I'm trying to make it work for my needs instead of completely checking in or out of the whole thing.
- enraged_camel 11y ago
  It seems to me that the parent would still miss out on what he would like to see the most: pictures of his extended family's (cousins and niece) daily life. The nice thing about the News Feed is that it shows them to you unprompted. Otherwise you'd have to go into each and every single profile and check to see if they have posted anything. Don't get me wrong, I love the News Feed Eradicator, but it doesn't always change the "Facebook experience" for the better.
nommm-nommm 11y ago
Pictures are nice when they are once in a while. Most FB parents post so many pics you get sick of them quickly.
- throw_away 11y ago
  Seriously, I wish there was a baby face detector/blocker extension. Usually, when I know a friend is having a baby, I just unfollow them for about a year.
  - Domenic_S 11y ago
    Here ya go: http://getrather.com/ http://getrather.com/
    - frik 11y ago
      It scans only for keywords, no face/children detection
deleted 11y ago
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lazzlazzlazz 11y ago
I did the same thing for three years, and really didn't regret it. I reactivated Facebook after I realized I had lost touch with a few people. After reactivating, I think I have a much healthier attitude about Facebook and genuinely enjoy using it in a limited, high-utility way. I wish the News Feed could be modified significantly, though. It's terrible - so terrible.
unclebucknasty 11y ago
Call them, shoot them an email, or pay them a visit. Not only can you stay in touch, it will also likely be a more satisfying interaction than browsing a feed.
- icebraining 11y ago
  Lots of us live far away from our extended families, and phone calls don't really replace seeing pictures of your nephews. Email might, but in my experience since FB came around, people aren't all that interested in regularly sending emails just for you - I'm told that I should just join FB like everyone else.
  - unclebucknasty 11y ago
    That is partly my point: I don't tend to think of replacing one-on-one interaction with a "broadcast" pub/sub model as being more conducive to building and maintaining intimate, fulfilling relationships.
    - icebraining 11y ago
      I think you're painting a false dichotomy, though. Using Facebook as a way to keep track of your family's pictures stream doesn't prevent you from interacting with them one-on-one - in fact, it might enhance it!
      - unclebucknasty 11y ago
        It's definitely possible, and I'd guess it does enhance for some. But, I don't believe it's generally the case, as it's not a format that encourages it. Instead, I believe it discourages more focused one-on-one relationship-building in favor of a bi-directional consumption model. People don't interact as much as publish and consume. Knowing what people are doing is not a real substitute for intimacy, but I think the dependence on FB as the medium tends to relegate people to the former (i.e. just keeping up). In any case, I was responding specifically to an ancestor who stated that he/she was having trouble keeping in touch outside of FB. That makes my point: people tend to be so reliant on FB to manage their relationships, that those relationships evaporate sans FB to the point that people don't even communicate! But, of course, while on FB, people don't generally have meaningful, in-depth conversations. That pretty much says it all, as it doesn't leave much space for real relationships. Not saying this is absolute, but that it is a net negative.
bitbuilder 11y ago
Seeing family/friend photos (as well as sharing mine with family) is one of the few reasons I keep Facebook around. I've found it's not tough to get things setup to minimize the annoyances: 1) If someone is consistently filling your feed with crap, just unfollow them. It's as easy as clicking an arrow on their post. 2) Go to the profiles of people you want to keep tabs on (family, close friends, etc), click on the "Friends" button up top, and select "Get Notifications". Now you can pretty much ignore your news feed, and only pay attention to Facebook when you receive a notification. 3) I just discovered this and haven't tried it: click the "Following" button (next to the above mentioned "Friends" button) and select "See First". I assume this prioritizes their posts in your news feed. Neat.
hiq 11y ago
The simple solution for me has been to unfollow everyone in my friend list. You then have an empty news feed, apart from the birthdays which apparently are really important on fb, for some reason. And, of course, a good ad blocker. That still doesn't make fb enjoyable from my POV, but it's still an improvement.
- a3voices 11y ago
  Thanks, just did this! Great solution.
rodgerd 11y ago
I wonder if you could set up a private Flickr group for photo sharing and encourage family to participate there.
rottyguy 11y ago
What's the best way to delete everything from your fb wall these days? I know they keep crippling the tools.
alexandrerond 11y ago
Thank you anon for updating us in the state of your growing family, that your niece does ballet and that your nephew goes to kindergarten. You may want to rejoin and put this on FB, where someone might be interested :)
- brickmort 11y ago
  hahahah :)

mpg33 11y ago

It's a form of real time "keeping up with Johnson's".

7Figures2Commas 11y ago
Except for the fact that most of what the Johnson's appear to have is contrived.
- teddyh 11y ago
  Was it ever not thus? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMwYNX5qUk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFMwYNX5qUk
  - 7Figures2Commas 11y ago
    To a large extent, yes, but social media has made faking a lifestyle you don't lead even easier. Anybody with a smartphone and a desire to portray themselves in a particular light can do so pretty effectively with very limited intelligence and skill required.

7Figures2Commas 11y ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVZYiJKl1Y This is social media.

nommm-nommm 11y ago

The big reason why Facebook depresses me is extreme narcissism.

lazzlazzlazz 11y ago
Unfollow those people and engage more closely with those who enrich your life.
- adamnemecek 11y ago
  Facebook is kind of a bad medium for that as it's not very private. And if you are going to have a 1-on-1 convo with some people, you might as well use IM.
  - lazzlazzlazz 11y ago
    Messenger is actually my primary use-case for Facebook. Talking one-on-one, contextualized by whatever each other are doing publically, is a great way to engage with someone meaningfully. There's always some fodder to initialize a conversation.
- nommm-nommm 11y ago
  I have a core group of about 6 people one facebook I care about. Unfortunately some of them are very narcissistic online and one baits with political bullshit. All are very pleasant to hang out with in real life. None do that kind of shit in real life. The internet can bring out the worst in people. I basically go on there once a week or once every two weeks to catch up on the "news" or if I get a message from someone (usually extended family, I have a lot) or an event invite. Unfortunately the narcissism is prominent because its "like" and "comment" bait. :| You could say these people aren't really my friends but, whatever, they like to use facebook to announce things (new job) because its easier than messaging everyone directly. Its also nice to get event invites from people you don't know very well who may otherwise not invite you because they don't know your phone number. Those are opportunities to make new friends. The barrier to getting to know someone better is low. That's nice. Over the years we've spread out geographically so I can't see them face to face very often but I do as much as I can. (every few months) Its easy to say only engage people who "enrich your life" in all aspects of it and are 100% perfect but humans are not perfect and facebook caters to a deep human need for attention/group acceptance. I also believe that surrounding yourself with people exactly like you in every way isn't very healthy. There's a lot of people that I don't like at all and I avoid if possible but for the people I do like I tolerate the differences we may have. I don't have a use for pages or whatever they call them or anything like that. I could get rid of my facebook but its alright for the amount I use but I couldn't stand being on that shit every day.

untog 11y ago

Agh, this thread is just full of people boasting about their immunity to interest in Facebook. Congratulations, you're fantastic, oh that we could all be as enlightened as you. Personally, I find that Facebook has become my address book - while I still text people I see every day, Messenger group chats are often used instead. Plus the voice and video calls have been a great way to keep up with people further afield. Yes, Skype exists, but Facebook is easier - which is huge with older relatives. That said, this study doesn't surprise me. In terms of public posts everyone projects their "best life", so you're browsing through a catalogue of amazing experiences while you sit at home feeling a little fat. I'm not sure what the answer to that is. Some say Snapchat is a much better place for people to be their true selves - I can believe it.

cortesoft 11y ago
Seriously. My lack of desire for lots of social interaction is just a feature of my personality, it isn't something to be proud of or brag about.
- untog 11y ago
  (This is off topic but) there's probably something fascinating to be studied about it. The assumption I've heard a number of people make is that their anti-socialness means that they read more, code more, and as such it's actually a positive quality that elevates them above others. Even as someone who can be antisocial themselves, I think it's a load of bunk, and it's sort of interesting to see human interaction being dismissed as frivolous.
  - meric 11y ago
    human interaction being dismissed as frivolous. I'm not sure it's entirely frivolous... http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and-behavior/articles/2008/11/12/why-loneliness-is-bad-for-your-health http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/brain-and...
    - 11y ago

musesum 11y ago

Same goes with TV: http://lifehacker.com/5095892/happy-people-watch-less-tv-study-shows http://lifehacker.com/5095892/happy-people-watch-less-tv-stu... Is it about social status? Or is it the ADs? ADs seek out holes to fill with product. Ad-support-media use analytics to more effectively show me my particular holes. After a while, I begin to feel empty.

cortesoft 11y ago
It might also be the passive nature of the two activities.... browsing facebook and watching TV are very passive activities. You do not use your creativity or skills to do them; happy people tend to do more creative and constructive things.
- TeMPOraL 11y ago
  A lot depends on the way one uses it. Personally, I (and many of my friends) use it the same way I use HN - I post interesting stuff and engange in long, asynchronous discussions that sometimes span many days.
hightechlowlife 11y ago
It's the medium, not the message. I would suggest that it's excessively stimulating and this causes maladaptive neurochemical changes. The same applies to computers. Of course, no one seems to understand the precautionary principle. If something is potentially implicated in health issues, the rational reaction is to exercise caution. Instead, it's full-steam-ahead, and before we know better it's too late.

Kronopath 11y ago

Note that the study only tracked people for a single week, so it's likely that while it does show a positive improvement on moment-to-moment happiness, it neglects other longer-term effects like, possibly, social isolation from cutting yourself off from a major communication medium.

hawkice 11y ago
I noticed I started sending a lot of personal, narrative, long-form emails a couple months after deleting my facebook. It turns out some people are bothered by this, or have no idea how to communicate this way. YMMV
developer1 11y ago
This "study" isn't a study at all. One week provides factually meaningless data. You'd need a minimum of 3 months just to register a new baseline, and another 6-12 months to see if those participants who originally found a higher baseline at 3 months maintain it or fall back to previous levels as the novelty of the situation wears off. You want to know why people reported feeling better? Because they changed a habit. When you change anything in your life for a single week, you will feel better because you have pulled yourself out of your everyday routine and are experiencing something NEW. This is the result of a change; what changed - Facebook in this case - does not matter. The novelty of a change in habit for a single week does not even begin to offer evidence of anything. This isn't even a case of "not enough evidence", but rather "no evidence whatsoever". This novelty is similar to the kind of high you get from buying a new expensive toy/gadget. A temporary boost of "happiness" that quickly fades as the new item just becomes another object in your day-to-day life.

DKnoll 11y ago

I deleted my Facebook account and I believe doing so did (marginally) increase my quality of life. It has forced me to focus more on real-world interactions with people. I also find it emotionally draining to be in constant contact with people you never actually see... it feels as if Facebook allows fake or weak friendships to continue that would naturally die off without it. The only thing I do miss is the ubiquity of Facebook Messenger and the features it provides over SMS, which I have now reverted to for communicating with friends.

pconner 11y ago
> I also find it emotionally draining to be in constant contact with people you never actually see... it feels as if Facebook allows fake or weak friendships to continue that would naturally die off without it. I agree. One of the reasons I left is because constantly checking FB (ironically) made me feel really lonely.

swang 11y ago

"How do you know if someone doesn't use Facebook? Don't worry they'll tell you" should be the new, "How do you know if someone doesn't own a TV..." joke.

FussyZeus 11y ago

Every time I see one of these studies I just laugh. As if Facebook is something that is used universally in a single way and can be determined to be good or bad. Speaking as someone who has a ton of friends (actual friends) who I only get to see once or twice a year, Facebook is a godsend. It let's us stay in touch with people we care about who live on the other side of the planet. Yeah, if you use it as a meterstick on how "good" you're doing at life, of course it's going to make you depressed. Same goes for if you watch HDTV and do that. If you spend all your time looking at the things and lusting after the things you DON'T have, how the hell could you possibly be happy!? And to the people complaining about clickbait, the simple fact is Facebook wants you to stay on Facebook which means if you get a shitload of clickbait, you're probably clicking a shitload of clickbait. I dedicated about a month of my daily use and deliberately hid every single clickbait-y link, photo, etc. as well as unliked pages that posted that shit at ANY time. This culled me down to a selection of pages that actually post interesting stuff, and to the friends (and what they post) that weren't clickbait. Sure, I get one every once in awhile but I'd say it's down to about 1 in 40 posts are something crummy, and every time I get it, I hide it. Facebook's news feed is actually extremely well curated, it's just designed to give you things that you will pay attention to, positive or negative attention counts. Just my two cents of course, your mileage may vary, etc.

subpixel 11y ago

I deleted my FB account almost a year ago for a couple reasons. One of which is the sheer insanity of a single corporation knowing so much about us all and our relationships. Another is that checking Facebook all the time became a bad habit, like a twitch, something I felt the urge to do but then got no relief through doing. Another is probably spite - a rejection of the idea that having a FB account is necessary, something to be taken for granted. Some observations: - I have no idea what's going on in the lives of many people I'm not in close contact with. I have no problem with this. - My wife tells me about extended family stuff, and shows me the occasional photo. I'm okay with this. - Instagram has replaced FB to a great degree, for me. But instead of being built around a growing social graph, my Instagram experience is built around a handful of friends and networks of interest. But my usage is nothing like the way I used FB. I post only when I have something to share, and I open the app probably once a week to peruse. I miss tons of stuff, and I'm okay with that. - I'm involved with a bunch of athletic groups that use FB for events and communication. This is a problem. The degree to which FB has replaced email in this regard is crazy to me. I hope Slack etc. will prove effective at minimizing this. - I'm launching a business soon and I was concerned that I'd _need_ to be on FB in some commercial capacity. But I honestly think that era is over. Other companies in my industry have anemic feeds that point to the low, low level of engagement through that channel. - When I feel the need to waste time, some remnant of the FB 'twitch', I look at old faves like englishrussia.com or subject-matter porn like landandfarm.com or everydaycarry.com - I call/FaceTime my mom more often.

finalight 11y ago

as much as you are right (or suppose to), but sorry, I not leaving facebook for real facebook is where i learn more things in than any other places. okay fine, there's wikipedia and youtube too

ionised 11y ago
I would be more than a little concerned if Facebook, Youtube and Wikipedia is where you gain most of your knowledge. Wikipedia is slightly understandable but it should not be any more thnan a quick reference guide on a given topic, but taken with a grain of salt. It certainly shouldn't be taken as gospel truth.

smegel 11y ago

Is Facebook one of those social networking sites? Meh.

pamelafox 11y ago

I used to think I should stay off Facebook, because I knew of such studies and felt the effects myself. But I now view Facebook as an exercise in internal self-worth: Can I browse through everyone's posts of their 'best life' and be genuinely happy for them? Can I take in their stories without comparing my life to theirs? I know that I would likely feel better if I didn't put myself through that exercise, but I think it'd be valuable for me if I can actually get to the point where I can browse Facebook and remain as happy, if not more. I'm not there yet, so time will tell.

intopieces 11y ago
There are a few people I barely knew in High School that I follow on Facebook specifically because their posts include many about how they are struggling. "Today I tried to not drink, but I failed. I need help and I never knew how badly until today." I am grateful for these people. They remind me of what it is to be human. I comment from time to time, or send them messages both on that topic and off.

credo 11y ago

The qz report suggests that users were more happy and less worried/sad if they stayed off Facebook, but it doesn't mention the (imo) more important part of the study. The study says that most people "post their good sides on Facebook" The study also says that many facebook users "envy" the amazing, happy and success related notes posted by their friends on facebook. So it seems like you can stay happy on facebook and not feel worried if you (a) understand that you should not envy your friends or/and (b) understand that you shouldn't take all facebook posts as face value and understand that you shouldn't assume that these posts represent your friends lives in entirety. You shouldn't assume that life is a bed of roses for your friends just because they posted the best parts of their life. It is likely that they have just as many problems and troubles as you do even thought their facebook posts may not capture all of these problems.

quacker 11y ago

Facebook was a great form of communication in high school and college, for events and meeting up with classmates and things. Afterwards, people drifted apart and it became kind of an empty place - hundreds of friends but only a handful I kept in touch with. As time went on and as my friends list stagnated, facebook kept me attached to the past ("that was so much fun, wasn't it?"). It covered some 7-8 years of my life. Logging on was a bit like falling backwards in time. It makes me remember mistakes I can never undo and moments I can never relive. I was following the events of very old friends I'll most likely never see again. I decided this was not very valuable, so I stopped using facebook. Deactivating facebook brought my attention back to the present and the future. I'm a bit less distracted. There's no more thoughtless, routine clicking of the facebook link in my bookmarks. I focus a bit better at work. I've put better effort into my proximate relationships (family, friends, coworkers). I've put a bit more effort into my own health and fitness. These are all small changes, mostly due to a change in my own mindset. But, while it was easy because my close friends and I post very little, deleting facebook was a good first step.

frame_perfect 11y ago
How old are you? I'm 21 and feel the same way, although it was the tail end of middle school, all of high school, and freshman year of college. So around 2008-2013.
tdkl 11y ago
> Afterwards, people drifted apart and it became kind of an empty place - hundreds of friends but only a handful I kept in touch with. Welcome to real life as it always was. It's actually healthy to not keep touch with all the people you've ever known.

fouadf 11y ago

depends on how you're using facebook, as long as it's not voyeurism you should be fine

trz 11y ago

Why not have a third group of people that never had facebook and compare their outlook too? Comparing against only people that use facebook regularly doesn't provide an adequate control group.

sridca 11y ago

By making Facebook a scapegoat humans have once again conveniently avoided talking about an uncomfortable truth about themselves. People give off inauthentic expressions all the time -- take women putting on makeup for example -- and this tells us more about human nature than Facebook or corporations.

deleted 11y ago

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atrust 11y ago

I wonder, how many people shared it on Facebook?

tatx 11y ago

Browsing Facebook, or for that matter any other similar network (including HN :)), is like anti-meditation. They rattle your mind with so much information in such quick succession that it becomes almost impossible to think through or about any one particular thing. Like alcohol, it is simultaneously addictive – the mind craves information – and depressing – numbs the mind preventing it from engaging in deep rational thought. I think we can have the best of both worlds – enjoy our whiskey and discuss philosophy too :) I think there is a future for a social network that can slow things down a little, maybe also summarize, organize and filter an apparently disparate group of things, allowing the user enough time to digest and process the information before moving ahead in leisure.

tn13 11y ago

Value of Facebook to me has eroded over last 2 years or so primarily because of messengers such as whatsapp and privacy concerns. I use linkedin to stay in touch with colleges, WhatsApp to stay in touch with close friends and family, share pictures etc. and I ignore most other people in my life. Facebook remain the source of news and interesting links that people share but I am pretty sure someone will fill that need better than facebook sooner or later. P.S. I use Facebook extensively to run ad campaigns for my apps. But I am not counting that as use.

tn13 11y ago

Also, based on the research as noted in the "Rational Optimist" one of the keys to remain happy is to simply withdraw from competition and set your own goals for happiness. Example given is of a Doctor who always dreamed of becoming an amazing doctor healing people and succeeded but one day happened to attend a conference where many of his past batchmates were also present who were making insane amount of money by working for insurance companies. This doctor now felt unhappy and jumped the same bandwagon making even more money that before but the cost of happiness. While the example is anecdotal, the research does show that competition for social status makes people unhappy. There is nothing wrong about Facebook and our need to use it but the fact that it might make us unhappy might be true.

CrazyCatDog 11y ago

But how fraction of the (happier) non-users have returned to Facebook?

dymk 11y ago

> "That said, the results are based on self-reported answers" Uhuh. I'm gonna go ahead and take this whole article with a massive chunk of salt; this breaks one of the main rules of how to do a statistically meaningful survey, so I don't see much value in the numbers.

mabcat 11y ago
What is the main rule, exactly? The only way to measure happiness is self-report. Most psych studies in general are self-report. Very hard to get at people's mental states without it.

orthoganol 11y ago

Pretty polarizing thread. I deleted FB two years ago. I'm a social 20-something. It hasn't impacted my social life at all, actually, and I do feel happier. I18n friends, my family, or college acquaintances or x-coworkers who I care about are on WhatsApp, Gmail, or Skype. Close friends or dating prospects I text. YMMV. No need to crucify people for leaving FB. No need to act like you're superior for leaving FB. I'll reiterate, I am happier two years later after leaving FB and I feel like I got more time back.

cpplinuxdude 11y ago

Quitting for a week, and quitting forever are two different things. Life off facebook has its own challenges too. How does a 1 week study draw such categorical conclusions?

Roritharr 11y ago

I found Facebook to really affect my moods in a distressing manner. I use Facebook occupationally and like its Messenger and Groups a lot so leaving was out of the question. So I bit the bullet and unfollowed all of my friends. Now Facebook is a glorified News Feed for me and I am noticably more serene.

deleted 11y ago

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hopfog 11y ago

I love Facebook. Definitely makes my life a lot better. I use it to: * stay in touch with friends * know what events are up (my group of friends create events even for very small gatherings) * find out about new music from the artists I like * find interesting links and news about programming/tech (from a group I follow) * read interesting discussions about programming/tech (same group) * see interesting posts about indie games and indie game development in general (another group) * see what people I've long lost contact with are up to nowadays

bigbugbag 11y ago
It's scary how facebook managed to replace the internet in the language as if those people thought that it was facebook that making all this happen when it actually is the internet. This is a dangerous confusion to make for people born in the internet era.

arvinsim 11y ago

I just simply unfollow all my friends and keep the ones that I want to follow in groups. That way, my newsfeed is not polluted and it is up to me to decide who I want to check up on. I could never totally give it up because it has become an indispensable hub of communication with people I know with Messenger.

chriszhu12 11y ago

Maybe its not so much getting off Facebook as it is a change in lifestyle. I'm curious if someone conducted a study to see the effects of a group of people who have never used facebook use it extensively for a week. Maybe their happiness levels also increase.

ionised 11y ago

I still have an account, but I only check in maybe once or twice a week now (via Tinfoil for Facebook) for a less than a minute to see if I have any private messages or invites to events from friends. Feels like one less thing to think about that didn't actually offer me anything of real value in the end.

amelius 11y ago

I wonder what would happen to our collective happiness level if people posted their bank-account balance on a daily basis to facebook. (All those nice vacation pics must be financed somehow.)

HugoDaniel 11y ago

I have stayed 1 year away from facebook. I restarted using it about 6 months ago. I can't evaluate if I was happier during that year as it is very hard for me to quantify being "happy". Although there are a few points i take from that time: + loads of free time + more focus on stuff that i think is more productive + no need to manage so many events + spent time talking to relatives instead of typing with them (in person and/or in phone) - loss of conectivity with friends (if you are not on facebook you won't get invited to many events) - not being aware of small trends (like the new meme or the current 'internet localized scandal' as in 'the host of the show x was caught drunk') - lost track of certain creative friends that only publish stuff on facebook ~ being regarded as a anti-social by certaing groups ~ not caring about stuff that are not that important and is not actually worth the time ~ looking at people using facebook and thinking "i once was a zombie just like you"

neogodless 11y ago

It's a sort of drug, isn't it? I went perhaps 6 months without Facebook a few years ago, and I was very happy. I went to less social events, which were actually mostly events where I drank to feel more socially adept. I did not really miss those events. I was also working on a side project regularly. I created a Facebook Page and new account to try to spread the word of my side project with people I knew... and I ended up going down the rabbit hole. I haven't really been able to leave it, and I never did make any more progress on that side project.