Why I Quit Facebook…Sort Of

I quit Facebook.  Well, sort of.  Before social media became a marketing tool, I was an avid user on the personal side of things.  Like most, I bounced from network to network as they were created and became popular.  Myspace, CollegeClub, and a bunch more that escape my memory at the moment…sad, I know.  When I first landed on Facebook, it was actually after it had been opened up to non-college students.  I had tried to sign-up when it was for students only, but was unable to, because I had graduated and lost access to my .edu email account.  When it was opened up to everyone, I jumped on board.

Fast-forward to now and the current social media revolution as a tool for personal, marketing and professional uses.  I have continued my social media hop, but now I hop and stay for a while.  Also, when I hop, the purpose has changed from being purely personal, to being for business/marketing reasons.  I am on Pinterest, Twitter, Google+, Instagram and Facebook with my freelance business (follow me).  What I am finding is that I enjoy the other social media networks more.  I enjoy them more, in my opinion, because the connections I share also share more content that is in line with my interests.  If I follow someone, but later decide I do not like the content they share, I unfollow them…and I do not feel guilty about doing so.

Facebook is a different story.  My personal account is filled with connections from people I have interacted with or encountered at various points of my life.  Some I have worked with, gone to elementary school with, attended college with, etc.; you get the picture.  Although I personally have met or known more people I am connected with on my Facebook profile than on the other social media networks, I feel less connected to them.  Just because I have met or known them, does not mean we share the same interests, thoughts and/or values.  I also feel guilty to “unfriend” people because it feels more personal than unfollowing someone I do not know on another network.

Instead, I have taken a passive aggressive approach and hide posts from certain people from my timeline.  I have started to come to a point where I feel like why bother.  If I did not need the personal account to keep my business page, I would close my account.

So for now, I sort of quit, I keep the account open and only pop in for business reasons.  Does anyone else feel this way?