I’m not sure of the exact date, but it had to be at least two years ago, maybe three.
I decided it was time to stop using Facebook.
I removed all the friends I had on the service. My wife did make me keep my account so we could have the relationship of engaged at that time and now married.
But other than my wife I don’t have any connections on Facebook and I don’t check it very often.
Why I Stopped Using Facebook
I have this friend who has never had a Facebook account. A few years ago I realized this and couldn’t believe it. Everybody I knew had a Facebook account even people in their 50s, 60s, 70s and up.
I remember when Facebook came to my college in the spring of 2005. All the kids were excited even though we had no idea what Facebook was. Then it started to explode over the next couple years.
But over time I got kind of…tired of Facebook.
I was always pulled into seeing what other people were doing. I was compelled to try to post things that would get a reaction from my friends.
I found myself starting the day by opening the Facebook App on my phone or always having it open when I was working.
And that’s kind of where I wanted to step back and take a look at things.
As Entrepreneurs, there is only so much time in the day. I let myself get pulled into a few distractions and the more I can try to remove myself from that temptation the better I can focus and get value out of each day.
It also has to do with emotions. I wouldn’t say I ever got negative vibes from Facebook, but it seemed to be that way subtly and I’ve seen it happen to people. They see what friends are doing and feel down that those things aren’t happening to them.
So the two big reasons I stopped using Facebook are:
- Time Savings
- Emotional Savings
Hangups About Leaving Facebook
I don’t miss it. I think that’s one of the things people might think would happen, but for me I don’t really miss it. You might think you’d miss the connections, but it was almost too much for me. It makes me write an email or schedule a time to meet with a good friend.
Now, I have to admit I’m not the best at that either, but it does lead to make connections with your good friends in different ways.
For getting information I primarily use Twitter to get some news, but I really only follow 10-15 people on Twitter at any given time so my news stream is pretty defined.
I also have specific sites I check out every morning. Some are business related and others are interest related like golf sites and occasionally some football news although I’m trying to get away from that too. I check some country music sites because that’s an interest of mine. You’ll always have interests and that’s good, but you can get your fix in other ways than Facebook.
Final Thought
It’s been good for me to stop using Facebook. I don’t feel that everyday temptation to see what’s going on. That saves me time to focus on other things whether it’s business or a personal interest. And it seems like my emotions are a little better. It’s pretty drama-free, which is always good.
If you’re feeling crunched for time or if you’re feeling emotionally drained as an entrepreneur I would recommend stepping away from Facebook. Try it even for a few weeks. Take it off your phone and get out of the habit.
See if you really need to use it and think about what you think you’re getting out of using it and if that’s worth the emotion and the time investment.