Facebook is a tremendous social media tool – perhaps the best tool to be ever developed. People can spend hours on their Facebook each day – socializing. However, this on-line activity can also lead to an addiction, as people get lost in the FB’s black hole, clicking through both posts, sponsored pages and, ultimately, ads and commercial offerings.
Joseph Hindy recently wrote about this destructive FB obsession in a great article posted on @LifeHack. He listed 10 things that will happen once you stop checking Facebook all the time. Here is Hindy’s insightful list.
1. You’ll Become less Braindead.
The term “Braindead” is used in this context when you are staring at a screen ignoring everything and everyone around you. If you get off of Facebook, many new opportunities could arise when you are not catching up with all your “friends”.
2. You’ll Get more Work Done.
“Checking Facebook” really means you are going to scroll through posts for potentially a half an hour. If people could get as much time in working and learning as checking social-media websites, the entire human race would be geniuses!
3. You Can Focus on Other Things.
Being on Facebook takes a lot of time. If you start being more productive with your time… you could spend more time with real friends, walk, bike, or run. Without the addiction of updates, you could put your mind to better things.
4. You Can Find Out Who Your Real Friends Are.
Someone who spends a minute liking all your posts and commenting on all your updates looks as if they really care about you, which of course in most cases is wrong. Hanging out as well as doing physical activities with a legitimate friend is a lot better according to the true meaning of friend.
5. You Will Learn the Word “Like” Has No Meaning.
Liking things on Facebook is no longer a matter of actually liking the post. It’s an obligatory action to show that you have seen the post and acknowledge its existence. The “like” button basically states you have seen the post, therefore, making the button useless in real life.
6. You Will Feel More Accomplished.
Constantly dealing with the never ending posts can be somewhat emotionally draining. Doing things like gardening, running, or putting in a load of laundry can make you feel like you have actually accomplished something.
7. You’ll Get Rid of the Stalkers.
Practically everyone who uses Facebook has a stalker… It is all there to see, your home life as well as your social life. If you leave Facebook, you’ll be totally immune to those kind of creepy people.
8. You Will Actually Feel Better About Yourself.
Studies have shown that Facebook makes you feel bad about yourself. When you post a status nobody likes or you find rude comments on something you posted, it can be quite depressing. Getting off Facebook will release the weight of depression from a couple of pointless posts.
9. You Will Feel Better About the Things You Own.
Studies have shown that people are jealous about how popular their friend is in social media. There jealous about comments, posts, etc. Facebook is an excellent place to brag about what you have or what you have done, so getting off of it can release the pressure of “keeping up with the Jones’s”.
10. You Will Realize That All You Ever Were To Facebook Was a Piece of Data That Viewed Advertisements.
We have no doubt that there are people on Facebook who legitimately care about you. However, we also have no doubt that Facebook itself couldn’t care less about you. Your job on Facebook is to buy games, view advertisements, and make new friends so they can get caught up in Facebook too. All you are is a piece of data that is earning Facebook money.
To read the full article by Joseph Hindy, click here.
(ed. – This article was first published in By George Journal in November 2014. After spending a weekend watching my older son lost in his FB stream, I was prompted to bring this excellent advice forward.)