So you’ve decided to quit wasting your time on mindless social media. Good for you, you sonuvagun!
But…now what? Maybe you, like me, have been on Facebook pretty much daily for the majority of your adult life, and you don’t really know what a grown-up day looks like without it. (That’s kind of a scary thought, actually.)
Never fear, I’m here to help you take the plunge.
But first, a caveat: I have not done this personally. In fact, chances are high that you actually found this article via a link I shared on Facebook. I confess I feel hypocritical when typing that. However, the distinction is whether my time on Facebook (or any social media outlet) adds value to my life, or actually detracts from more important things. Right now, I’m trying to use Facebook only in ways that legitimately add value to my life and the lives of others.
For example: my current mission is to spread the Zero Waste message as widely as possible. Not because I want to be rich and famous (if indeed such a quest could ever provide riches or fame, which is unlikely). Instead, my hope is actually to improve lives and improve the world. And whether I like it or not, the fastest and most effective way to spread a message today is via social media. So it doesn’t make sense for me to cut all digital ties right now. However, I’m being thoughtful and intentional about the time I do spend online. If I ever revert back to my old wasteful ways, I will reassess.
So. Call me a hypocrite. But only after you read this list (and share it with your friends).
How to Quit Facebook in 10 Easy(ish) Steps:
- Decide whether you really want to quit Facebook. Maybe your job depends on your Facebook contacts. I don’t want you to lose your income. So before you go any further, please carefully consider the impacts of quitting Facebook. It’s possible you only need to reassess your digital priorities. If so, I’ve got you covered: read this post.
- Purge your friends list. If you’re sure that quitting Facebook won’t negatively impact your livelihood (or something else beneficial to your life), then purging your friends list is a great place to start. You needn’t necessarily be vicious: remember that Facebook offers the “unfollow” feature, so you can quietly stop seeing annoying posts of people you actually love. Then again, if there’s anyone on your list who consistently raises your ire, consider whether that person’s values align with yours at all anymore. Maybe de-friending them will give you the courage to cut their toxicity out of your real life, too. You can always apologize later and blame me, or your crazy minimalist phase, if that person confronts you face-to-face.
- Unfollow superfluous groups or pages. A huge portion of the articles and links that show up in my Facebook newsfeed are from groups or pages I’ve liked over the last 12 years. Some of them I actually enjoy reading. Others I joined for a giveaway (silly), or because I was added by friends against my will and felt guilty removing myself. Whatever the reason, be ruthless here. You’ll be amazed at how positive Facebook becomes if you intentionally curate the information you see.
- Turn off notifications. If you’ve made it to this step and feel happy with your progress, you should have no problem turning off notifications. Again, this is just a matter of taking control of Facebook, rather than letting Facebook control you. You be the one to decide when to check your phone for updates. Don’t give Facebook the power to pull you away from whatever important task you’re currently using your phone for—or worse, from whatever important life event is happening in front of you right now.
- Set specific times for social media. This is the point in the list I’m currently working on. There are a lot of apps out there that can help you with this. One with high ratings that I’m using is Moment. It tracks your usage of various apps and allows you to limit the ones that are problematic. Or there’s the old-school way, which is simply setting a schedule for social media time, and not veering from it. This could be “I only check Facebook between the hours of 9 to 5,” or “I only check Facebook when I’m pooping.” Go crazy.
- Delete the actual Facebook apps off your phone. Then delete your bookmarks. I’ve done this with varying degrees of success. At first I told myself that deleting the apps would make me less likely to check Facebook quite so often. But then I got smart (or dumb, depending how you look at it), and started just checking Facebook from the internet browser on my phone. It was clunkier and much more annoying to do it that way; plus, I couldn’t access my messages at all. Eventually I became so frustrated I just downloaded the apps again. So when you do it, make sure to delete your Facebook bookmarks from your internet browsers as well, and force yourself to stick to your schedule from item #6.
- Take an official hiatus. Go off Facebook for a day, a week, or a month. Make sure to track of your emotions, moods, activities and productivity during this time. Do you feel more rested? Less anxious? Great! Enjoy your extra time to read actual books and like actual people.
- Don’t give an explanation. When you take your sabbatical, resist the temptation to announce it beforehand. Not only does this “vague blogging” annoy the followers you’re leaving in the dark, it will also make you more tempted to sign back on and see those inevitable farewell comments. In the end, most people probably won’t even notice you’re gone. It’s the sad truth of the Facebook newsreel: when you leave, ten more posts are ready to take your place (and this is why I encourage you to make time for the real relationships in your real life; these are the humans who will actually notice if you disappear). Trust me: those friends who love you enough to notice your absence? They already have your phone number. They’ll text you.
- Deactivate your profile. If your sabbatical was successful and you loved your Facebook-free life, take the next step by deactivating your profile. This is not goodbye forever: it simply makes your profile information hidden from the outside world. You can reactivate whenever you want, but people won’t be able to see your timeline or search for you. It will give you a taste for what it’s really like to live a Facebookless life. And finally, when you’re ready…
- Delete your profile altogether. This is it. The sum of all your efforts. If Facebook no longer adds value to your life, and you’re happier without it, then why are you hanging on?
Go, my friends! Be free!