Dear Facebook, I’m Just Not That Into You

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I stopped visiting Facebook about 2 weeks ago. It wasn’t a conscious declaration, it was just that I felt like Facebook was becoming a crutch to distract me, and it wasn’t something I enjoyed. I probably would have drifted back sooner, but Facebook has been inundating me with emails like a needy ex, and it’s starting to creep me out enough to not want to return.

Honestly, I didn’t realize I hadn’t been on Facebook until the emails started. First, it was an email asking if I’d seen a friend’s post. Then less than an hour later, I got asked if I’d seen that same friend’s photo. Followed by an email telling me all the notifications I was missing. In total, since 8-15, I’ve received 30 emails from Facebook attempting to give me severe FOMO. Instead, it’s made me wonder why I bother with Facebook at all.

Here’s the thing: it tells me I’m missing out on updates from a friend from college. All that did was make me want to contact my friend directly, not stalk her Facebook page. I don’t need to see every update my great-aunt or ex-sister-in-law posts, despite what Facebook’s algorithm might claim. And it really bothers me that Facebook is pushing me to see what I’ve missed on private, moderated, invite-only groups; that’s just a reminder that even if your friends can’t see what you wrote, Facebook sure can, and they notice when you’re less active. Also, it sort of defeats the purpose of a private group if Facebook is sending emails that state the name of the private group in the subject, along with the names of members and snippets of their posts…that’s a little scary if you’re part of a group that you don’t want someone to see — even if they can’t get into your Facebook, an email slip could give them all sorts of details. So much for “private” groups, though in hindsight why I ever thought Facebook gave a crap about my privacy is clearly a lack of judgment on my part.

I get that Facebook needs people logging in, that’s their lifeblood. But if I were away on vacation for a month, I’d be pretty angry to come back and discover Facebook spammed me 30+ times while I was gone (that’s an average of TWO EMAILS A DAY). Facebook, I’m sorry, but I’m just not into you that way anymore … please take the hint and back off before I unfriend you!

 

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About the Author

Zek
Zek has been a gadget fiend for a long time, going back to their first PDA (a Palm M100). They quickly went from researching what PDA to buy to following tech news closely and keeping up with the latest and greatest stuff. They love writing about ebooks because they combine their two favorite activities; reading anything and everything, and talking about fun new tech toys. What could be better?