Why I Am Cutting Out My Time On Facebook

Posted on | February 11, 2013 | No Comments

As any reader of this blog will know, I’ve always been a big proponent of Facebook. Hell, I’m even the unofficial inventor of the word “unfriend”. I’ve spoken at various jewelry trade shows about social media and Facebook, and even national shows like Etail2009 about my Facebook Fan Page, which is now at 1.5 million likes. Back in 2008, I was amazed and enamored with the site. I thought it was crucial to building new connections, getting back in touch with old ones, and getting your name and personal brand out there. And it was…and maybe it still is. The PR I received from it probably helped my career in some way. However, at this point in my life I feel like Facebook is a huge distraction for me both personally and professionally. And this is probably more of a personal thing, nothing more, nothing less. Frankly, I would deactivate but two things hold me back.

1) The DiamondFans Page of which I am an admin and creator. As stagnant as it may get, it’s still a big traffic driver and a valuable asset.

2) If people want to get in touch with me, whether it’s business related or personal and they don’t have my email/phone number, I feel like I should still be available through Facebook and vice versa.

However, the reasons for me to try and stay away outnumber the pros:

1) It’s a bad habit. Going on my phone and refreshing my feed on the Facebook app means that I am not spending time with other people, mainly my family, or concentrating on more important things, like work or driving a car! It becomes a routine on my phone and one my computer and it’s one that I would like to break.

2) On a personal note, I can’t deal with seeing other friends/acquaintances or random people (who I don’t even know) having the time of their lives while I’m stuck at home. Let’s be honest, the only time most people are sharing their pictures and checking in is when they are on vacation or at a great event. The Super Bowl was an example of adding fuel to the fire of me missing out on something great. It’s not healthy to feel envy, jealousy and regret. And it’s not cool to brag about how great your life is at a certain time. Tell me about it over dinner one night and I just may be happy for you.

3) Facebook in it’s nature is extremely narcissistic and self serving. Five years ago, I when I was in the WSJ about Facebook and being referred to as some kind of expert, it was perfect. I got a lotta free trips to Vegas for it. Maybe I am not as into myself as I once was, or maybe I have just outgrown it.

4) Facebook is very childish. In what real social circumstance do you act like such an attention seeking yutz? If you went to a party and showed everyone pictures of your kids, vacations, and also updated them on what you did every day and your random personal thoughts, they would think you were really annoying. Think about it.

5) I don’t think it’s ok for children to be on there, and when my kids get to be teens I don’t want to set an example that’s it’s ok to be on Facebook all the time. There are a lot of scary people out there which brings me to my next point.

6) Remember when you didn’t even want to put your name online, and ESPECIALLY your kid’s names? Now it’s open season. That is a scary thought. Someone coming up to your kid and knowing what they look like and their name and asking them to get in their car. I don’t like it. How about people knowing when you are on vacation so they can rob your house? Paranoid, maybe. Cautious, yes.

So you may ask. What about updating your business pages? Well, I may do that once in a while and I’m hiring a marketing company to do that. You may also say, “Ron, there is no way you can do this.” Now that may be true. But I haven’t checked today so like an addict, I’m gonna take it one day at a time.

What do you think about this subject?