Breaking Unnecessary Emotional Attachments

How hard would it be for you to go into your settings on Facebook and delete your account at this very moment? That’s a question I recently asked myself and I think I am just a little too attached to that silly little online “presence.” Yes, it has proven useful in the past. I’ve been able to stay connected (somewhat) with people that I have met and befriended over the years but there certainly other ways to keep in touch, ways that require more effort on my part. I think my strongest attachment to Facebook is really some sick emotional bond/need that I have to update my status and to reload my news feed. Staying connected with people may be the rationale for having an account but perhaps that it is not usually the reason that I find myself drifting on the endless sea of Facebook statuses. With that being said, I will be collecting non-Facebook contact info (via Facebook) of those friends that are geographically distant in order to remain in touch via other means. After this I will be deleting my Facebook account.

As for a means for you to keep in touch for me, this blog will remain in use. You may also note my other “personal sites” on the sidebar to the right. My Twitter account will also remain active, though I only tweet sporadically. You will also note that I have created a Google+ account (perhaps I will explain my move to this service in another post). While, at first, it might seem hypocritical for me to shut down one social networking service only to remain on others, remember that the true reason I am shutting down my Facebook account is due to my unnecessary emotional attachment to the site (which is probably partly due to the sheer length of time that I have had the account). I have nothing against social network sites in general. In the future I may reach a point that I would need to consider shutting down other services for the same reason.