Facebook is the cigarette of 2013, the "bad habit" many are trying to kick. And the doubts seem to be stemming from Facebook's younger users.
See also: I'm on Facebook Because I'm Bored Beyond Belief
Mashable reached out to a few Millennials, in particular, to find out why they left Facebook — and why some returned. While the reasons for cutting the cord ranged from the practical to the existential, many former Facebook users cited the stress of maintaining their online appearances.
While half the users we questioned have returned to the site (albeit with a reduced presence), the other half consistently claim they're happy to be "free" of Facebook. They found that once they got used to it, life without social media wasn't as hard as they imagined.
The most common reason for going Facebook-cold turkey was the overwhelming nature of the site. To many, it just seems like noise. Among the mess of targeted ads, Instagram pictures and shared articles, there's very little room for real socializing between friends on the Facebook Timeline .
At least, that's the reason 23-year-old Facebook user Tom Barefoot, a graduate student at the University of Akron, cites: "I see Facebook and I just think, 'The only people I really care about are, like, 10 of my friends. Why do I need all this other social media?'"
Duquesne University graduate student Jordan Moore, 24, agrees. He's quit Facebook in the past but kept his account to stay in touch with a few close friends.
"A lot of the people I am connected with I no longer talk to," he says, calling Facebook a "soapbox" and "diary" for people to promote their opinions and frustrations, rather than to actually communicate.
With users amassing hundreds of friends and acquaintances, some they only met once or knew years ago, Jordan's sentiment is a common concern. Abandoning Facebook cuts out the obligation to keep track of your friend from grade school, and instead focus on real-life interactions with those you care most about.
We've all heard the warnings: Watch what you put on Facebook, because your future employers will go through your account with a fine-toothed comb to find that one picture of you holding a red Solo cup from 2004. And you will not be hired as a consequence.
It's part of the reason Facebook has introduced many privacy tools, but some users, like software engineer Albert Tackie, 26, aren't taking any chances.
"I left years ago, primarily so I couldn't have Facebook working against me as I was job hunting. My friends made my Wall far too incriminating, and it made me nervous," he says, "Now I just won't go back because I'm already free."
Image: Flickr, SethMacEntee
This desire to hide evidence from potential employers is causing many Facebookers to fly the coop, especially considering a recent Facebook privacy settings change has ensured no user can hide from search anymore. The fear is legitimate, as employers try harder and harder to gauge potential employees by their social media presences, some even going so far as to ask for candidates' Facebook passwords.
For some, removing one's presence entirely could mean the difference between getting or losing a job.
It's hard to get over an ex when you see her constant status updates or his weekend party pictures. Some members of the Broken Hearts Club find it's easier to avoid the social network entirely during their recovery periods.
Laekyn Sanders, 21-year-old undergraduate student at Seton Hill University, says she quit Facebook to avoid the distraction of her breakup. "I was going through a really bad breakup, and was tired of people asking me via Facebook why things ended with the guy I was dating," she says. "It got distracting enough to the point that I would find myself wanting to talk about it to those people, and it took me away from focusing on studying, which made my grades drop really quickly."
Katie Stopa, a 27-year-old New York University graduate student, says quitting Facebook meant she didn't feel forced to maintain relationships she no longer felt benefited her.
"I also think Facebook encourages keeping some relationships open that should naturally be closed ," she says. "That could include a relationship with an ex-boyfriend, or an ex-friend, or just a former acquaintance or schoolmate that you haven't seen in the better part of a decade. Facebook keeps them open."
Facebook makes dating (both the beginnings and ends) difficult. In a digital environment where every comment, relationship status update or photograph posted is relatively public knowledge, it's hard to avoid scrolling back through old romantic messages, cute Wall posts and photographs from happier days. And while some praise Facebook for its ability to maintain would-be lost ties, in a relationship gone bad, daily reminders that the other party still exists can be jarring.
Even if you avoid posting sensitive information online, social networks like Facebook make it challenging to confront the setbacks in one's life, for example, the loss of a job or that extra year at college. Many users feel they have to either acknowledge the problem to their entire network or pretend everything is fine. Either takes a psychological toll.
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A recent study from the Department of Behavioral Science at the University of Utah seems to confirm this. Over 400 students were questioned on their Facebook usage and lifestyle perceptions in relation to others. Of the students questioned, "those who have used Facebook longer agreed more that others were happier, and agreed less that life is fair, and those spending more time on Facebook each week agreed more that others were happier and had better lives."
Anna, 24 (last name withheld), a journalist, agrees. When she had Facebook, "I would compare myself and my own somewhat 'nerdy' (but absolutely lovable) friend group to others in my college, who seemed to have tons of fun being out and about, kept posting inside jokes and affectionate posts. You know, the usual stuff, pretty normal at hindsight, but I guess it bothered me somewhat that my friends never did that."
Looking back, Anna always had fun with her friends, but constantly comparing her group to her social networks made her anxious what she may have been missing elsewhere.
Seeing your friends' lives, curated to include only the most flattering tidbits, makes any perceived failure even more detrimental to your own well-being, a reason many Millennials are opting out of interacting online at all.
Some people can't really put their finger on why they feel so iffy about Facebook. At least, that's what writer and University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown undergrad student Max Zell, 23, says about his ex-girlfriend's several attempts to quit Facebook, most of which lasted only a month or two.
He insists that each of her refusals to participate on the social media site stemmed from a different problem with Facebook, for instance, its effect on society: "Sometimes it's tied into an angsty statement about the futility of social media. Sometimes it's a statement idealizing hermitage. I think sometimes it's just a straight up panic of 'IS THIS A DIGITAL REPRESENTATION OF ME?! THIS ISNT ME. I'M ME. THERE CAN'T BE MORE THAN ONE ME. I MUST DESTROY THIS.'"
Many of us have at one time admitted we are "addicted" to Facebook. The mindless scrolling, the joy of getting several "likes" on your status and the simplicity that comes with Facebook birthdays. The experience makes Facebook seem a lot like the Hotel California: You can sign out any time you'd like, but you're never really going to leave.
Eagles paraphrasing aside, Facebook has become so ingrained for millions of users that it's hard to imagine giving it up, but that's exactly what some twenty-somethings are trying to do.
What are your thoughts? Have you quit, or do you know someone who has? Let us know in the comments section below.
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