To deactivate your Facebook account:
Click the "account" menu at the top right of your Facebook page
Select "Account Settings"
Click "Security" in the left-hand column
Click "Deactivate your account."
Done.
I'm free. Unfettered. Unshackled. I've removed the bonds of Facebook and can live a life unencumbered by the weight of reading about what colour Sally painted her nails or seeing pictures of what Bob is cooking on the barbecue.
Facebook has become the great abyss. The colossal time-suck. Open Facebook, and soon you'll find yourself reading about Mary's child's swimming class and Ted's vet bill; yet, our voyeuristic tendency seems to propel us deeper into the void.
There is something a little creepy about Facebook, and although still in early days, there really is something liberating about letting it go. I've learned things about people that I really shouldn't know because of postings I've read. I've also inadvertently shared things with people things they don't need to know. It sometimes seems that maybe we share a little too much.
If one of my "friends" wants to share something with me, I invite them to call, email, drop by, or ask me to meet them for a beer.
But with this freedom of being Facebook-free, comes a certain amount of isolation. In the few days since I've deactivated my account, it's become evident that I've become a cyber-hermit living in some virtual-grotto. I've been cut off from the news-feed of the modern world.
My mom called to ask if I had seen on Facebook that my cousin had been married. I hadn't, and may have remained completely ignorant without her passing on the information.
I guess Facebook has come to replace a wedding announcement by mail or in the newspaper. There's no need for the publication of "marriage banns" when we have Facebook. It's become the liturgy of the modern age:
If any of you know cause or just impediment why these persons should not be joined together in Holy Matrimony, ye are to click "like."
But I know that my self-banishment won't last more than forty days or so. Temptation has already reared its head. My daughter has told me that when she's travelling, she's going to share photos and stories of her adventures only through Facebook.
When that happens, I guess I'll find my way back. And like a prodigal son, Facebook will welcome me because to reactivate my account, I simply need to log back in.
