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I "fixed" myself many years ago. I have sinkholed everything-FB. I suggest to anyone that wants to use FB, do so for 10 days, locate the ones they want/need, an

I "fixed" myself many years ago. I have sinkholed everything-FB. I suggest to anyone that wants to use FB, do so for 10 days, locate the ones they want/need, and then continue their dialogues in a more meaningful manner away from FB and whatsapp (also FB) and keep their comm channels open, without the cancerous environment of FB, with all their tests and manipulation tactics.

amelius 9y ago
Another option is to "unfollow" everybody except for a selected few.
- jdavis703 9y ago
  I actually did this a few months ago. Today I realized I had gone 7 days without logging into Facebook or even thinking about it. The good thing about unfollowing everyone is that I can still participate in Facebook Events and Groups, both of which many of us still need to coordinate meatspace activity.
  - JoshMnem 9y ago
    I think that most people don't really need Facebook Events and Groups. If people tell you to join an event of group, tell them you don't use Facebook (for ethical and personal reasons) and that they should provide another method for people to participate so that it doesn't lock out non-Facebook users. I block all of their sites in my hosts file so can't even view a Facebook event page or group. It has only provided benefits, and I haven't missed out on anything. Productivity is up. Social life is better.
    - amelius 9y ago
      Sadly, as I'm not that popular, that would make me miss all the events except for the regularly recurring ones.
      - JoshMnem 9y ago
        It can take a while (years) to transfer one's social life out of Facebook, but I think it's worth the effort of doing it in small steps.
    - dingaling 9y ago
      > and that they should provide another method for people to participate Ideally that would be perfect. Realistically, the people running the groups and events have 99% of their time dedicated to non-communication activities and standing-up a mailing list or website is outside their time-capacity AND experience. As an example here in Ireland we have a group called Airliner Experiences that organise enthusiast flights on rare and interesting aircraft. They exist only on Facebook, I have asked why and it's because they "don't have time" to run a website for the few non-Facebook oddballs. So I've missed many potentially-interesting experiences but they haven't missed my money because there is such a huge audience in Facebook.
  - jsemrau 9y ago
    What do you think if event discovery tools like drop!in (http://www.idrop.in http://www.idrop.in) would this solve your problem with events?
    - matte_black 9y ago
      No. This is undesirable for people looking to break the habit of joining platforms to go to events.
- matte_black 9y ago
  This is such a simple solution I fear one day Facebook may no longer allow it. I unfollowed everyone years ago and it has made a huge difference in how I think of Facebook. Without the persistent feed and flood of ads, it’s just another tool for communicating with people, one that is seldom used when faced with other alternatives. Facebook is now mostly harmless, and I only spend maybe a minute or two on it every few days.
  - Yetanfou 9y ago
    Harmless? Every page which has anything Facebook-related on it will be fed your Facebook-related cookies on every visit. Any Facebook-related code on such pages will have access to anything Facebook-related stored in your profile (cookies, local data, etc). Since everyone and his dog felt the need to add 'social' buttons to their sites this includes a sizeable portion of the 'net. You might not use Facebook much but rest assured that Facebook uses you. You are part of their product after all...
    - matte_black 9y ago
      I'm a fairly shitty product.
- sandebert 9y ago
  I did this a year or so ago - can't recommend it enough.

amelius 9y ago

Another option is to "unfollow" everybody except for a selected few.

jdavis703 9y ago
I actually did this a few months ago. Today I realized I had gone 7 days without logging into Facebook or even thinking about it. The good thing about unfollowing everyone is that I can still participate in Facebook Events and Groups, both of which many of us still need to coordinate meatspace activity.
- JoshMnem 9y ago
  I think that most people don't really need Facebook Events and Groups. If people tell you to join an event of group, tell them you don't use Facebook (for ethical and personal reasons) and that they should provide another method for people to participate so that it doesn't lock out non-Facebook users. I block all of their sites in my hosts file so can't even view a Facebook event page or group. It has only provided benefits, and I haven't missed out on anything. Productivity is up. Social life is better.
  - amelius 9y ago
    Sadly, as I'm not that popular, that would make me miss all the events except for the regularly recurring ones.
    - JoshMnem 9y ago
      It can take a while (years) to transfer one's social life out of Facebook, but I think it's worth the effort of doing it in small steps.
  - dingaling 9y ago
    > and that they should provide another method for people to participate Ideally that would be perfect. Realistically, the people running the groups and events have 99% of their time dedicated to non-communication activities and standing-up a mailing list or website is outside their time-capacity AND experience. As an example here in Ireland we have a group called Airliner Experiences that organise enthusiast flights on rare and interesting aircraft. They exist only on Facebook, I have asked why and it's because they "don't have time" to run a website for the few non-Facebook oddballs. So I've missed many potentially-interesting experiences but they haven't missed my money because there is such a huge audience in Facebook.
- jsemrau 9y ago
  What do you think if event discovery tools like drop!in (http://www.idrop.in http://www.idrop.in) would this solve your problem with events?
  - matte_black 9y ago
    No. This is undesirable for people looking to break the habit of joining platforms to go to events.
matte_black 9y ago
This is such a simple solution I fear one day Facebook may no longer allow it. I unfollowed everyone years ago and it has made a huge difference in how I think of Facebook. Without the persistent feed and flood of ads, it’s just another tool for communicating with people, one that is seldom used when faced with other alternatives. Facebook is now mostly harmless, and I only spend maybe a minute or two on it every few days.
- Yetanfou 9y ago
  Harmless? Every page which has anything Facebook-related on it will be fed your Facebook-related cookies on every visit. Any Facebook-related code on such pages will have access to anything Facebook-related stored in your profile (cookies, local data, etc). Since everyone and his dog felt the need to add 'social' buttons to their sites this includes a sizeable portion of the 'net. You might not use Facebook much but rest assured that Facebook uses you. You are part of their product after all...
  - matte_black 9y ago
    I'm a fairly shitty product.
sandebert 9y ago
I did this a year or so ago - can't recommend it enough.