A year without Facebook: three reasons why you can’t avoid it

This is delusional and a little spooky.

I deleted my facebook account around the same time my Aunts began creating accounts. I have never looked back. It is repulsive how superficial and political the social network has become. A tool as powerful as a social network connecting the globe should not be publicly owned on the stock market. It shouldn't even be profit driven.

I still get laid, and stay in close contact with good friends from school and university. But I suspect my relationships now are more meaningful and genuine. I would rather get 1 written birthday card, than 50 chintzy public and identical birthday wishes written on my "wall". </rant>

Then maybe they weren't that "close."

2. I lost touch with many people. There are people I have so much in common. We used to talk and hang out often, but all our online discussion was based on Facebook. I realized I didn’t have their phone number, nor email. Facebook was the only channel to talk to them.

There's a pretty simple cure for this, actually: "I'm actually not on FB / I'm on it but I don't really use it that often. How about I just email you?"

3. Facebook has the best news stream. Period.

I give up. This one's just too weird.

I've stayed abreast of events in the lives of close friends because....I talk to them in real life.

I stayed in touch with people....because I used the phone or email.

I stayed up-to-date on news...because I followed several different news sources directly.

People who won't communicate with you because you're not on Facebook aren't your friends. If you can't be bothered to exert the minimum effort to keep in touch with people (a problem that is far, far older than Facebook), you probably don't need to stay in touch. And if you aren't motivated to make the time to keep abreast of world events outside of a curated soundbite machine, chances are that it doesn't make much of a difference.

I hate to sound so damn curmudgeonly, but I don't understand why so many folks are hellbent on creating a symbiotic (some would say parasitic) relationship with a large data-gathering corporation.