Deleted my Facebook account a week ago -- crazy how addictive it was

[PatSeg]

22. I guess everyone's experience with Facebook is different

I know some people who have left or have threatened to leave and I do understand why. I've been thinking about why it hasn't affected me the same way. I believe one of the biggest differences is the smartphone. I don't have one, not because I am technology averse, but because at this point in my life, I really have no need for one. Meanwhile, I've watched gatherings of intelligent, personable individuals sitting around staring at their phones when they could be engaged in conversation.

How you use Facebook, what you expect from it, and who you choose to "friend" could affect the overall experience. I accept very few friend requests and I keep my politics primarily in private groups. One is a handful of friends I met at Democratic Underground years ago and another is actually called Democratic Underground. I don't discuss politics in my newsfeed and don't engage with relatives who want to debate politics. I have unfriended or blocked a few friends who's politics I found offensive or racist.

My friends list is well under 100, many are long lost cousins and friends that I would not have found any other way. I have a quote from an Audrey Hepburn movie on my page, "I already know an awful lot of people and until one of them dies I couldn't possibly meet anyone else." Reggie Lampert, Charade. Sadly, some of my friends have passed away and their pages have become sort of a memorial to them.

I spend more time as a rule on Flickr than I do on Facebook, but my Vintage Photos in Color page on Facebook gets far more traffic. Even if I chose to quick using Facebook, I wouldn't want to give up that page, as photography is such a big part of my life right now and I've engaged with a diverse group of people, I'd have never met otherwise. That's long story for another time.

I am not defending Facebook. I wish there was a better alternative for people like me or that Facebook were better regulated, but I don't see it ever going away. So in the meantime, I use it very consciously, do a lot of fact checking, correct false narratives when I find them, and keep any personal identifying information minimal. Being it will probably always be there, it would be better to work to change it through legislation and public pressure, at least from my perspective.