On leaving the social network.

After a year being away from the blog atmosphere, I can't help but see a little bit of nostalgia going on in my mind. I am a little nervous about becoming a dedicated blogger, but I feel as though I will now have a little more control over what people hear and how they understand what is going on through my life.

My decision to leave Facebook was not a decision made in haste. It wasn't directly/indirectly connected to the "timeline" feature either. No. I am leaving Facebook because it has become little more than a distraction, an excuse to keep up with things that really are none of my business in the long run. It has changed from a way to find old friends into a way to probe into the deepest aspects of someone's life without fully being able to understand them for yourself. In other words, there is no need for Facebook, and I feel like a better person for being able to remind myself of that. Now I will not ask anyone to leave Facebook because of my own decisions, but here is some food for thought. With a new "download" feature that has become available on all pictures in Facebook, how many times do you think someone has stolen your likeness already? With all of the information that is present and available for you to fill out, how many people do you think know how many children you have, what their names are, how old they are, where you work, where you live, and what your phone number is? It's a lot to think about, and it was this thinking that led me to conclude that Facebook has done more harm than good.

Overall, it's a personal choice. I am leaving Facebook because of a decision I have made for myself, and I think that my reasons are not someone else's reasons. Maybe the pros of Facebook outweigh the cons for them. Maybe it's the other way around. But this blogger has made it clear that a social network has become a little bit too much about pettiness.