Facebook has been a platform where we post emotional status to gain attention (yup i did that too), post not so cool photos and even annoying friends with embarrassing photos of them. Looking back at my old posts, gosh, that was embarrassing!

As I grow older, I become more private so I become less active on Facebook. Probably because I don't want any attention anymore, and also because I wanted to "disappear" from anyone that had known me before.

Facebook has been a way for me to find out how everyone is doing back at home. Living on the other side of the world, I thought that my family and friends would care about how I'm doing.
So, I haven't had the thought of deactivating my Facebook account until recently.

Surely, deactivating Facebook is not an easy decision. After doing a lot of thinking, I finally deactivated my Facebook account.

So what made me do it? Here are the 3 main reasons why I decided to deactivate my Facebook account.

Distraction

Although I haven't been posting, liking or commenting on anyone's post, I still reach out for Facebook whenever I can, scrolling through the timeline. I guess it has been a habit. Although it is not as dangerous as smoking or other dangerous activities, it definitely has its disadvantages. And one disadvantages that I now realized is that Facebook has taken up a lot of my time. And now is definitely not a good tim to waste time when I should have used the time I have to study for exams, read some good books, create more content on Steemit and learn different kind of skills.

Full of negativity

Facebook is full of negativity. It has not only been a website to stay connected with others, it has also been a medium to judge people. Something beautiful meant to be shared with the family members can turn into hatred and online bullying. Don't believe me? Scroll through the comments and you will find all sorts of negative people, thinking they are right. It makes me feel sad looking at ow people are judging each other, saying bad things about someone they don’t even know.

I also often found people sharing posts that are meant to spark hatred and sometimes even racisim. And it also comes from someone that I know well. Not wanting to hurt the person’s feeling, I can’t force myself to unfriend him. So I guess that best solution is to avoid Facebook altogeher.

True Friends

True friends are not the ones that like your posts on Facebook. In fact, they don't actually want to know what you do or how you are doing. All they want is for you to return the favor and like their posts. Before I even thought of deactivating my Facebook account, I actually went through my Facebook friends list and filter them. That's when I realized that I have never talked to more than half of these people.
But deactivating my Facebook account doesn't mean I'm cutting my old friends off. They will always be able to find me through Whatsapp and Instagram. So I believe that I am not losing friends just by deactivating my account.

It has been one day since I deactivated my Facebook and I must admit I am suffering from withdrawal syndrome. I still look for the Facebook icon in my phone even though it’s no longer there. But it’s not bad. I’m sure it’s temporary.

So now, I have more time on Steemit!