How I Attempted to Quit Facebook But Failed Miserably

Ever looked at your FB profile and asked yourself why you still have it? I did too, but I couldn’t quit.

The urge to stay active on a social media platform is borne out of peers. (Photo: The Quint)

Mark Zuckerberg may have envisaged Facebook as a medium to connect with college friends, but it has evolved and taken on a life of its own – bigger than one could have imagined.

We share our thoughts, pictures, locations (with airport and restaurants topping the lot), and even relationships – just about everything that defines us – in our respective profiles.

The prime purpose of Facebook was to stay connected with friends and family, no matter where life takes you. However, it has now moved beyond just being a social media platform.

Time to Move on?

(Photo Courtesy: Imgflip)

When I look at my Facebook newsfeed these days, I generally get the feeling that everyone is living it up, except me.

Along with all the updates sharing ‘life’s joys and sorrows’, comes a ‘Hide Post’ option, suggesting that the post may disappear if you’d like it to. Then there are times when you fail to explain your existence in the virtual world and wish to disappear.

Researchers at the Cornell University have made an attempt to understand and study this so-called addiction to stay socially active. Their results have reiterated the overarching fear that seems to haunt us these days – of missing out on what the world is up to.

You Want to Quit and Facebook Knows It

(Photo Courtesy: Imgflip)

Cross your heart and tell us how many times you’ve visited the ‘Settings’ page in order to ‘Delete Your Account’, but clicked on the harmless ‘Deactivate’ option instead. Isn’t it interesting how the mind-reading Facebook spoils you for choice only to have you come back, crawling.

I have thought of quitting Facebook a number of times, and each time I’ve tried, Facebook has wickedly displayed faces of my closest friends, saying ‘so-and-so will miss you’. And I dump the idea of making an exit.