Off the Grid: Why I’m on a Facebook Cleanse
Last weekend, I did the unthinkable: I got off the world’s largest social network.
My sister changed my Facebook password, so for at least 30 days, I’ll be off the grid. This means no status updates, no news feeds or even Instagram integration.
It’s a social experiment I’m conducting to understand the value that Facebook brings to the way people connect with each other.
As Facebook gets ready to go public, Mark Zuckberg wrote a letter to prospective shareholders, sharing his mission and ambitions for the company. One of his goals is “to strengthen how people relate to each other.” To what extent can Facebook actually do that?
Malcolm Gladwell argues that “the platforms of social media are built around weak ties.” While I disagree with Gladwell’s critique of social media’s ability to create social impact, there’s some truth to what he says. The people I really consider my friends communicate with me through email, IM, text message, or in person. Of course, if you’ve lived in many places, Facebook is an effective way to keep in touch with friends who live in other parts of the world. Or, if you are seeking to promote your personal brand, it’s useful for staying on top of mind for your former bosses, clients, coworkers and employees. If you’re not on Twitter or Tumblr, it’s also useful for keeping track of news and inspiration through the pages you like.
But the user value tapers off there. If we are really honest with ourselves, we spend a lot of time on Facebook seeing people on our feed we really don’t care about: the middle school classmate we haven’t talked to in 10 years, ex-boyfriends and girlfriends, your old boss you never got around to de-friending. Even by curating your friends’ list, it’s impossible to game the Facebook newsfeed to see the friends you really want to see.
I thought getting off Facebook would be the equivalent of quitting smoking, but surprisingly, I don’t yet feel like I’m suffering from FOMO (“fear of missing out”).
My questioning of Facebook’s social value is actually part of a larger trend in the world. What I’ve observed is that the backlash against the “weak ties” we maintain on Facebook and other social media platforms has led to a demand for channels that create more meaningful, personal connections. We’ve recently seen this manifest itself through online communities like Path, a more personal network that limits your friends to 150, and Stamped, a sort of “stranger-less Yelp” that lets you keep track of the restaurants, books, movies, and other things your close friends have stamped with approval.
As people increasingly turn to other online networks and activities to keep “close ties” with the people they really care about, I know I’m not alone in questioning where Facebook currently belongs in my life. I’m not suggesting that people will soon stop using Facebook—last year Americans spent more time on the social network than any other website out there. But with its purpose and role in people’s lives always changing, it’s important that Facebook now focus on growing with its users and not against them. If it doesn’t, it could lose them, potentially for more than 30 days.
I’ll write a follow-up post once I’m back on Facebook, so stay tuned for post-fast thoughts.
Melissa Andrada is a brand and content strategist at Wolff Olins New York. She’s passionate about the intersection between technology, social good and brand. @themelissard
Image via Francois Coquerel
