I gave up Facebook. It was hard because there was a lot of history there that I was hanging on to. My mom’s memorial page, my former colleagues from Bellin, a few acquaintances who I really only know through our online presence, but have been there during the worst times in my life. Why give it all up? Because I have real issues with the operations of Facebook and the future it envisions. I also gave away years of my life mindlessly scrolling through mostly ads while missing the posts I actually want to see. I also found myself sucked into ads that only took my money here and there while targeting me with things I never needed. Besides Facebook is just another annoying form of a popularity contest. How many “friends” can you get? I much prefer meaningful interpersonal relationships.

I will miss the memories that popped up of my children over the years, but I won’t miss all the sad stuff. I have also found myself asking why I would have posted this or that. Which I took to be a sign that it is time to move on to my post-Facebook life.

Next stop Instagram, since that is pretty much just Facebook in all but name.