Why I Left Facebook

Not more than an hour ago, I liberated myself from facebook. I was never really thrilled about it, but I was curious as to what all the fuss was about, so I joined to find out. Perhaps it's best to compare this curiosity with what I held for Vegas. I had always been dismissive and even derisive of both before I even had any direct experience, so in both cases, I bravely set out with an open mind to discover their respective allures. You can read about my utter disappointment with Vegas at my September 14, 2010, post, "Viva Las Vegas--For Somebody Else." Actually the city was worse than I figured it would be.

After more than two years of membership, the universal fascination with facebook remains a mystery to me. During my tenure, 99 percent of the messages I received were advertisements for friends' businesses, requests that I purchase "farm animals" or send "roses," and comments from strangers about things I knew nothing about. I also was treated to photos of people's breakfasts or lunches--nothing spectacular, mind you, just crackers or cucumbers.

Facebook takes me back to a time I was supposed to have experienced when I was in sixth or seventh grade, but avoided then too. I was never into goofy junior-high-school silliness like "I'm mad at you" or "If you're her friend, you can't be mine" or "My cute, pink socks are so much cuter than yours." I didn't want anything to do with that kind of time- and energy-wasting activity then, so why should I want it at age 52?

Now I'm sure that some people must get a lot more out of facebook than I could ever hope to. They build business empires by hitting up their friends first and hoping their friends will help them go viral. They may meet the loves of their lives on facebook. And, God bless the Tunisians and Egyptians, they may use it to start a revolution.

If the American use of facebook ever makes a radical shift and it is used to bring freedom and democracy to the USA, well, then, sure, I'll reactivate my account and join in the demonstrations and peaceful toppling of our corporate and government overlords. I don't see that happening any time soon, though, as long as most Americans are more concerned with sharing what they had for a snack this afternoon and acquiring more "livestock" for Farmville than they are about preserving the Constitution or thwarting the onslaught of the police state..