Hi,

I have been thinking about this for probably a year or so. I don’t think that Facebook itself is necessarily evil, although I don’t like some of their practices. I think it is natural for people to want to communicate with each other, and Facebook is just an extension of that human expression.

However, I have noticed that I spend an excessive amount of time on the site when I am standing around, waiting for something, watching a commercial, etc. The issue that I have with this excessive usage is that I am constantly comparing myself to others, thinking about whether a post or photo a friend has posted is genuine or exaggerated, etc. Not only that, but combining what my friends post and “like” along with the specific pages that I follow naturally changes my perception on certain issues. Often these perceptions aren’t bad, but I know that there are negative effects that I am not necessarily aware of at the moment.

This is all very unhealthy. In fact, the Economist ran a story about how “Facebook is bad for ya”. Of course, I think that someone who casually uses Facebook is fine, because it is a great way to stay in contact with people from different parts of our lives (it seems no one wants to bother with e-mail these days). For myself, I have completely removed my account and will create a new one when I feel that I am in a healthier part of my life. For now, I will be the strange < 40 without a Facebook profile.

http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21583593-using-social-network-seems-make-people-more-miserable-get-life