6 ms·

Just delete it, it's not that difficult.

maskedSlacker 9y ago
It's incredibly liberating in fact. My life is so much better without it. And I'm not missing anything of value. The people who matter can get a hold of me if they want.
- chowchowchow 9y ago
  Agreed. Deleted last year and, despite all the incredibly disheartening news and current events, my well being has improved so much over the past 14 months.
nautilus12 9y ago
I can delete it for myself, but what about all the people that are addicted and don't know any better?
megy 9y ago
Sure, and then I miss the fact that a friend from overseas is visiting, because he would rather write on facebook then post to everyone/keep their details updated.
- lossolo 9y ago
  If he really wants to meet with you then he will find a way, even if you are not on facebook. You know there was no facebook 15 years ago, right? and my friends were always finding a way to contact me if they wanted to meet.
  - megy 9y ago
    Such a strange comment. He didn't expect to not find me on facebook, so had no idea I never saw his message. I still have an account, just do not check it. And yes, there was no facebook 15 years ago. That is great, 15 years ago everyone new to SMS or email you. Now, everyone expects you to be on facebook. See the difference?
    - jacquesm 9y ago
      So you use Facebook, once to let everybody know you are no longer on Facebook. I'm lucky in the sense that I made a FB account, tried it out for two weeks, realized it wasn't for me and then cancelled so I never got hooked. But I can see that once you are in it takes a bit more effort to get out. But being 'on Facebook' should not be a prerequisite for normal social interaction.
      - eropple 9y ago
        > But being 'on Facebook' should not be a prerequisite for normal social interaction. Why not? Collectively it's proven to be the easiest way for groups of loosely and moderately connected people to communicate and coordinate socially, so it's what virtually everyone I know uses. We all use Facebook for events and for Facebook Messenger. The set of friends who live within train/car distance who I communicate with via something other than Facebook Messenger numbers around...four? Out of dozens? And it's not because We Don't Use Facebook, it's because we share a Slack and had an IRC channel before that. By not using it, somebody my age and in my neck of the woods relies on making people who they ostensibly call friends treat them as a special case just to organize beers on a Friday. And it does make that person a special case: why would people use group-SMS anymore when Facebook chats are right there and you don't need to track down phone numbers to include everyone (and deal with sharded SMS threads if people are added, etc.)? The expectation that people special-case your edge-case life decisions has to be balanced against not being a pain in the ass for people you claim are your friends. So, yes, in many quarters Facebook is a prerequisite for normal social interaction (unless you're That Guy, and it's good life advice to never be That Guy). And, TBH? It works fine. It's nothing special. It works fine. I very rarely see a news feed (I use Social Fixer) so I have no real opinion on the way it does likes/shares/etc.; I did tag some people as "close friends" so when they post it does reliably surface, but I don't remember the last time I even scrolled down the news feed and its existence has no impact on the other features of the platform. It is just not that big a deal. It's certainly not worth the airs put on--not from you, but the I-don't-even-own-a-TV levels of smarm from people who don't use Facebook makes my eyes roll out of my head and bounce down the stairs--by people who don't use it.
- tinymollusk 9y ago
  So what? While I value each individual friendship I have, I have also found better life satisfaction with fewer, deeper, friendships. Is everyone else convinced that holding distant relationships, punctuated by infrequent in person, makes them happier/more fulfilled?
  - Scea91 9y ago
    Actually yes. I definitely enjoy keeping in touch with people I am not able to see on regular basis for various reasons.
    - tinymollusk 9y ago
      Is that healthy? Before I reduced social usage, I found myself spending time I 'enjoyed'. Now, I look back, and that time was unhealthy. (I believe seeing only other people's highlights helped trigger a depressive episode.) It's like time spent watching TV. I enjoy it; sometimes it provides value; it's tendency is to take over and create an unhealthy life for me.
      - genofon 9y ago
        why do you argue on this? it's totally a personal preference and totally OT, if he/she wants to use FB that way let it be
        tinymollusk 9y ago
        Because I am curious about the perspective and experience of another person.
- bigbugbag 9y ago
  FOMO and network effect. Just keep in touch with your friends as we did before facebook took over your social interactions and you'll know what they're up to. Anyways even if this friend posts about visiting on facebook, this is not guaranteed you will be shown this post, as demonstrated by the actual HN submission you're commenting about.

It's incredibly liberating in fact. My life is so much better without it. And I'm not missing anything of value. The people who matter can get a hold of me if they want.

chowchowchow 9y ago
Agreed. Deleted last year and, despite all the incredibly disheartening news and current events, my well being has improved so much over the past 14 months.

nautilus12 9y ago

I can delete it for myself, but what about all the people that are addicted and don't know any better?

megy 9y ago

Sure, and then I miss the fact that a friend from overseas is visiting, because he would rather write on facebook then post to everyone/keep their details updated.

lossolo 9y ago
If he really wants to meet with you then he will find a way, even if you are not on facebook. You know there was no facebook 15 years ago, right? and my friends were always finding a way to contact me if they wanted to meet.
- megy 9y ago
  Such a strange comment. He didn't expect to not find me on facebook, so had no idea I never saw his message. I still have an account, just do not check it. And yes, there was no facebook 15 years ago. That is great, 15 years ago everyone new to SMS or email you. Now, everyone expects you to be on facebook. See the difference?
  - jacquesm 9y ago
    So you use Facebook, once to let everybody know you are no longer on Facebook. I'm lucky in the sense that I made a FB account, tried it out for two weeks, realized it wasn't for me and then cancelled so I never got hooked. But I can see that once you are in it takes a bit more effort to get out. But being 'on Facebook' should not be a prerequisite for normal social interaction.
    - eropple 9y ago
      > But being 'on Facebook' should not be a prerequisite for normal social interaction. Why not? Collectively it's proven to be the easiest way for groups of loosely and moderately connected people to communicate and coordinate socially, so it's what virtually everyone I know uses. We all use Facebook for events and for Facebook Messenger. The set of friends who live within train/car distance who I communicate with via something other than Facebook Messenger numbers around...four? Out of dozens? And it's not because We Don't Use Facebook, it's because we share a Slack and had an IRC channel before that. By not using it, somebody my age and in my neck of the woods relies on making people who they ostensibly call friends treat them as a special case just to organize beers on a Friday. And it does make that person a special case: why would people use group-SMS anymore when Facebook chats are right there and you don't need to track down phone numbers to include everyone (and deal with sharded SMS threads if people are added, etc.)? The expectation that people special-case your edge-case life decisions has to be balanced against not being a pain in the ass for people you claim are your friends. So, yes, in many quarters Facebook is a prerequisite for normal social interaction (unless you're That Guy, and it's good life advice to never be That Guy). And, TBH? It works fine. It's nothing special. It works fine. I very rarely see a news feed (I use Social Fixer) so I have no real opinion on the way it does likes/shares/etc.; I did tag some people as "close friends" so when they post it does reliably surface, but I don't remember the last time I even scrolled down the news feed and its existence has no impact on the other features of the platform. It is just not that big a deal. It's certainly not worth the airs put on--not from you, but the I-don't-even-own-a-TV levels of smarm from people who don't use Facebook makes my eyes roll out of my head and bounce down the stairs--by people who don't use it.
tinymollusk 9y ago
So what? While I value each individual friendship I have, I have also found better life satisfaction with fewer, deeper, friendships. Is everyone else convinced that holding distant relationships, punctuated by infrequent in person, makes them happier/more fulfilled?
- Scea91 9y ago
  Actually yes. I definitely enjoy keeping in touch with people I am not able to see on regular basis for various reasons.
  - tinymollusk 9y ago
    Is that healthy? Before I reduced social usage, I found myself spending time I 'enjoyed'. Now, I look back, and that time was unhealthy. (I believe seeing only other people's highlights helped trigger a depressive episode.) It's like time spent watching TV. I enjoy it; sometimes it provides value; it's tendency is to take over and create an unhealthy life for me.
    - genofon 9y ago
      why do you argue on this? it's totally a personal preference and totally OT, if he/she wants to use FB that way let it be
      - tinymollusk 9y ago
        Because I am curious about the perspective and experience of another person.
bigbugbag 9y ago
FOMO and network effect. Just keep in touch with your friends as we did before facebook took over your social interactions and you'll know what they're up to. Anyways even if this friend posts about visiting on facebook, this is not guaranteed you will be shown this post, as demonstrated by the actual HN submission you're commenting about.