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I liked and agreed with the thesis of the article.. until I saw the tweet graphic at the bottom. I "got" facebook in 2005 as a freshman in college, and deleted

I liked and agreed with the thesis of the article.. until I saw the tweet graphic at the bottom. I "got" facebook in 2005 as a freshman in college, and deleted (not deactivated) my account in early 2009, as an experiment, and have been off ever since. I wanted to see if it would have a positive or negative effect on my social life. 1000% positive. Now, if I want to know about one of my friends, I call them, text them, email them, or hang out with them. If someone wants to communicate with me, they do the same. I get texts all the time that start similar to "hey, facebook-challenged friend, theres X going on next weekend, come hang" or a phonecall/email saying the same, which leads into actual personal communication. People might call it selfish, but my response would be: why am I obligated to use facebook to organize my social interactions? I don't make anyone contact me, and if they don't want to, they won't. Also, I became really sick of baby pictures.

AndreasFrom 14y ago
I've had the opposite experience. I also deleted my profile and was off for a couple of years, but when starting school it proved a needed tool for studying. I have been a lot more selective with my friends the second time and find that I'm having a lot of very good conversations with people I wouldn't talk to otherwise.
- irishcoffee 14y ago
  I am not surprised for this reason: initially it was designed as a tool for networking in college. It works very well for that purpose. I graduated, and this function was almost useless when not in the school bubble.
shocks 14y ago
> and deleted (not deactivated) Can you explain this further? I wish to delete my Facebook account permanently, but I'm under the impression you can (these days) only deactivate it. Do you know another way? Thanks!
- bcoates 14y ago
  I was getting nag emails from facebook on a test account. I did a password recovery and then went to the delete page listed here: http://www.facebook.com/help/224562897555674 http://www.facebook.com/help/224562897555674 When I try to login or do account recovery with the email address linked to the account it, I get No Accounts Found The email you entered does not belong to any account. The account didn't have any "friends" so I'm not sure if the account vanished or is just not usable now. This was in September 2012.
- irishcoffee 14y ago
  So, when I did this, it was a while ago and the URL I've found is different than the one I used but: https://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account https://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_a... And I found this here: http://www.techlicious.com/how-to/how-to-delete-your-facebook-account-permanently/ http://www.techlicious.com/how-to/how-to-delete-your-faceboo...
pav3l 14y ago
>If someone wants to communicate with me, they do the same. I get texts all the time that start similar to "hey, facebook-challenged friend, theres X going on next weekend, come hang" or a phonecall/email saying the same, which leads into actual personal communication. So, the change is 1000% positive because people now contact you personally about facebook events? I don't really get it. Facebook is a tool, and it can definitely be helpful as long as you're in control. I only use it as an extension of my email (because of facebook some of my friends only check their personal email once every few days). I never post things, like things, or comment on things. If I were to delete my account now, I would simply lose a lot of contacts that I don't want to lose.
- irishcoffee 14y ago
  To expand and clarify: I always say this (and mean it) facebook is a great tool, its just not for me. I don't know everything about my social circles/family because I get it from a website newsfeed or because I browse pictures on a website. I know because I have personal communication with the people involved. I know someones birthday because I remember it, not because facebook told me about it. My friends/family will share with me when they get an SO/engaged/married/divorced, not a website. I don't wan't a layer between me and people. For some people it works very well, and good for them, I mean that, it just isn't for me.
prostoalex 14y ago
> Now, if I want to know about one of my friends, I call them, text them, email them So you traded Facebook dependency for telephone dependency?
- irishcoffee 14y ago
  Sure didn't, thanks for asking. I had a phone and email long before facebook, the ways I used them never changed.

AndreasFrom 14y ago

I've had the opposite experience. I also deleted my profile and was off for a couple of years, but when starting school it proved a needed tool for studying. I have been a lot more selective with my friends the second time and find that I'm having a lot of very good conversations with people I wouldn't talk to otherwise.

irishcoffee 14y ago
I am not surprised for this reason: initially it was designed as a tool for networking in college. It works very well for that purpose. I graduated, and this function was almost useless when not in the school bubble.

shocks 14y ago

> and deleted (not deactivated) Can you explain this further? I wish to delete my Facebook account permanently, but I'm under the impression you can (these days) only deactivate it. Do you know another way? Thanks!

bcoates 14y ago
I was getting nag emails from facebook on a test account. I did a password recovery and then went to the delete page listed here: http://www.facebook.com/help/224562897555674 http://www.facebook.com/help/224562897555674 When I try to login or do account recovery with the email address linked to the account it, I get No Accounts Found The email you entered does not belong to any account. The account didn't have any "friends" so I'm not sure if the account vanished or is just not usable now. This was in September 2012.
irishcoffee 14y ago
So, when I did this, it was a while ago and the URL I've found is different than the one I used but: https://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_account https://www.facebook.com/help/contact.php?show_form=delete_a... And I found this here: http://www.techlicious.com/how-to/how-to-delete-your-facebook-account-permanently/ http://www.techlicious.com/how-to/how-to-delete-your-faceboo...

pav3l 14y ago

>If someone wants to communicate with me, they do the same. I get texts all the time that start similar to "hey, facebook-challenged friend, theres X going on next weekend, come hang" or a phonecall/email saying the same, which leads into actual personal communication. So, the change is 1000% positive because people now contact you personally about facebook events? I don't really get it. Facebook is a tool, and it can definitely be helpful as long as you're in control. I only use it as an extension of my email (because of facebook some of my friends only check their personal email once every few days). I never post things, like things, or comment on things. If I were to delete my account now, I would simply lose a lot of contacts that I don't want to lose.

irishcoffee 14y ago
To expand and clarify: I always say this (and mean it) facebook is a great tool, its just not for me. I don't know everything about my social circles/family because I get it from a website newsfeed or because I browse pictures on a website. I know because I have personal communication with the people involved. I know someones birthday because I remember it, not because facebook told me about it. My friends/family will share with me when they get an SO/engaged/married/divorced, not a website. I don't wan't a layer between me and people. For some people it works very well, and good for them, I mean that, it just isn't for me.

prostoalex 14y ago

> Now, if I want to know about one of my friends, I call them, text them, email them So you traded Facebook dependency for telephone dependency?

irishcoffee 14y ago
Sure didn't, thanks for asking. I had a phone and email long before facebook, the ways I used them never changed.