Committing Facebook Suicide

When I first joined Facebook, it was exclusively for college students and the only ‘fun’ aspect of the site was poking your friends. Over the years, I’ve watched it grow into the social networking machine it is today.

Lately, Facebook has made some changes to their site that has resulted in criticism. Facebook has had privacy issues for some time now, and those who disagree with their methods are starting to speak out en masse.

These critics are accusing Facebook of selling their users’ profiles to the company that pays the most to create specialized advertising targeting said users. Another point of contention comes from Facebook’s open cooperation with law enforcement, regardless of whether a proper search warrant has been filed, allowing them to search for member’s information.

But the most controversial of Facebook’s actions has surrounded its policy on user ownership. Facebook essentially ‘owns‘ your profile and everything that goes along with it – from your photos to your status updates. This information can be sold to whomever Facebook pleases – while they rake the benefits you get nothing.

I don’t really mind the idea of a company trying to make money, and I’m not that upset with specified marketing; after all, Google does it all the time. My main issue is that I don’t like the idea of not owning what I perceive as rightfully mine. And as far as your status updates are concerned, I’ve heard that these are now searchable on search engines.

That brings me to today. While checking out Reddit, I came across an article dubbing May 14, 2010 National Kill Your Facebook Day. This got me really thinking about Facebook and what impact it’s had on my life.

While I don’t have an exact figure, I’d say I spend about 15 hours a day checking my Facebook for updates and playing games. If I’m bored, I automatically check my Facebook for something, even if only a few minutes have passed. When you really get down to it, having a Facebook hasn’t connected me to friends it’s made me nosey and has wasted my time.

So I’m going to do it. Today, at noon, I am going to delete my Facebook profile. No more Flash games. No more status updates. No more pokes or likes. Just… nothing. Instead of wondering what my friends from high school are up to, or how old neighbors I never really knew are doing, I’m going to focus on myself.