Could You Close Your Facebook Account?

[zh97]

I have a friend on Facebook who just recently advised everyone that she would be closing her facebook account in a few days and reminded everyone of her contact info.

The thought made me think, "is she nuts?!" She is about to have a baby in 2 months and won't everyone want to see pics/ want to know when the baby has arrived, etc.

But, on the other hand, I'm envious. Wouldn't that free up so much time? Do I really need to look through 96 pictures of my old work friend who went to the pumpkin patch with her family? Maybe I should close my account too. Maybe I am TOO attached.

So, I'm considering it. I am on the fence about whether it is a helpful networking tool or life drainer.

How about you??

[mamabella23]

It crosses my mind everyday! I think my husband would love it if I did!

[HeatherAtHome]

I never really got into FB. It seemed like such a time suck and it was boring. All those little game things people kept sending. Blah.

[sunanthem]

I got into it for a little bit, then our computer died and it just took 6 weeks to get it back from being fixed. I checked in to FB and found it quite boring. I could do w/o it. Especially b/c most of these people I don't really stay in touch with anymore, and b/c I did get alot more accomplished and more living done w/o the internet in general.

[midwestmom]

I only check in 2 times a week or so and have hidden all of the stuff that junks up my page, like mafia wars. It really isn't a time suck for me that way and I can still keep up on friends I don't get to see alot. I just don't look at pics of people I am not particularly interested in or just glance through quickly. I have never done a quiz. Those are stupid time sucks too, IMO. Just pare down what you are doing on FB. I think if you delete completely, you will regret it.

[Asiago]

You can only 'deactivate' it, not close it. Seems like the accounts are there, no matter what.

[fruitfulmomma]

I honestly don't get fb, but I don't put any pics online so maybe that is it. I do have an account with like 3 friends but I hardly ever get on there.

[limette]

No way, we use it for letting people know what events we have coming up (theatre).

[Theoretica]

I was really frustrated with facebook until I started hiding and ignoring crap I'm not interested in. Now I can use it to keep up with friends/family etc but not deal with the 'crud' that can come with it.

I think its only a time suck if you let it be one, otherwise I think it makes it easier to stay connected to people.

[AnalogWife]

No, and I don't think it sucks up "that" much of my time, I have always been more computer-touchy than IRL-touchy anyways.

[2cutiekitties]

Originally Posted by HeatherAtHome

I never really got into FB. It seemed like such a time suck and it was boring. All those little game things people kept sending. Blah.

Yep. My time is better spent with my tot, or when I get downtime, SIMS baby

[2cutiekitties]

Originally Posted by midwestmom

I only check in 2 times a week or so and have hidden all of the stuff that junks up my page, like mafia wars. It really isn't a time suck for me that way and I can still keep up on friends I don't get to see alot. I just don't look at pics of people I am not particularly interested in or just glance through quickly. I have never done a quiz. Those are stupid time sucks too, IMO. Just pare down what you are doing on FB. I think if you delete completely, you will regret it.

I do agree, it is what you make it!

and bolding the most annoying thing about FB! My brother is so addicted to Mafia wars that he has literally dropped off the face of the earth.

[sedalbj]

I never got an account, woo hoo! I do know people who regret getting one. For me, it just seems like a bad thing to demonstrate for my kids, having all those 'friends'. It isn't the number of 'friends' you have in life, it is the quality of the relationships. I just can't do quality over the computer. And I already have enough friends, I don't need to be friends with people from 10-20 yrs ago, if we lost touch, we probably don't need to reconnect.

I will have to get one when my kids are older to try to keep track of them. ugh.

[Ola_]

I don't know if I would ever close my account. I don't do much on Facebook but I'm connected to a bunch of friends and family who I don't really talk to often. I only log on every week or two, scroll through the list to see what everyone has been up to, and log off. If someone has a picture album I usually look at it in thumbnail mode, click on a couple that look interesting, and that's about it.

Now if I could stay away from all the message boards and blogs I follow, I would have a LOT more free time!

[4evermom]

You just hide all the games and quizzes. Then hide the people you've reconnected with that annoy you. Or defriend them if you really want to forget about them. There's one "friend" that is just so self absorbed and anti-child that I don't want to read every little update. I hid her while I decide whether I want to do something more permanent. Then when you log on you just have a page to skim. If I wasn't on FB, I'd have no clue what my siblings were up to and I'd probably rarely see pics of my nieces and nephews. I just check in when I'm checking email.

[newbymom05]

I'm another person who doesn't want to be on FB--I thought I was the only one! I waste enough time online, I don't need to add to it. Plus, honestly, if I haven't talked to someone for more than 5 years, I'm really not interested, y/k?

[Hedgehog Mtn]

I could.....if I could remember how to login. Guess it's been a while.

Sara

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by newbymom05

Iif I haven't talked to someone for more than 5 years, I'm really not interested, y/k?

The internet was very new when I was in high school, as in no world wide web or email. And when I graduated college, it still wasn't like now with everyone keeping in touch with email. So FB has been nice for reconnecting with college classmates that couldn't quite manage letter writing or moved a lot, especially those first few years post grad. I thought it was great finding out certain people are doing well, not homeless or living out of their car, as I sometimes feared over the years. And it's been interesting seeing which college classmates I have a ton in common with now although we were just acquaintances at the time.

[Drummer's Wife]

No, I don't have any urge to de-activate my facebook account.

I don't do any of the games, and hide them from my newsfeed (plus, if you want to only see your friends' status line, click on Status Updates on the left hand side of the screen -- should be like the forth row down).

I wouldn't call it a time suck any more than anything else I do online (mainly MDC) but I guess if you were really popular and had numerous people msg'ing, commenting, and IM you on FB constantly I could see see it being hard to keep up with. My brother disabled the ability to write on his wall so he didn't feel like he had to get back to people who chose this method to communicate with him.

No drama + no addicting games = a positive way to keep in touch with family and friends who all live far away from me.

ETA: and if someone's hundreds of pumkin patch pictures don't interest me, I have no guilt what-so-ever not even clicking on them to begin with. I also don't expect everyone (or even more than a handful) of my friends to look through all of our vacation pics. I know that my mom, sister, dad, BFF and such enjoy them, though.

[ParisApril]

I de-activated my account a few weeks ago. I don't miss it. I have more time for MDC now!