A 12-step program to eliminate Facebook from your life.
[UPDATE: Dec/2019 — I deactivated my Facebook account]
Despite Facebook run-ins with Privacy, I believe most people don’t care (yes, those who care are loud but they are in the minority).
However, people care about their needs, and more and more people realize the impact of their addiction to Facebook in their mental and social health. Facebook, keeps turning the dial on engagement to keep you coming back to the site. That’s the goal of most consumer tech companies, to capture your attention (so they can sell it to advertisers).
I̵ ̵d̵o̵n̵’̵t̵ ̵p̵l̵a̵n̵ ̵o̵n̵ ̵d̵e̵l̵e̵t̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵m̵y̵ ̵F̵a̵c̵e̵b̵o̵o̵k̵ ̵a̵c̵c̵o̵u̵n̵t̵.̵ ̵I̵’̵m̵ ̵w̵o̵r̵k̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵m̵y̵ ̵w̵a̵y̵ ̵t̵o̵ ̵s̵i̵g̵n̵i̵f̵i̵c̵a̵n̵t̵l̵y̵ ̵r̵e̵d̵u̵c̵e̵ ̵m̵y̵ ̵i̵n̵t̵e̵r̵a̵c̵t̵i̵o̵n̵ ̵w̵i̵t̵h̵ ̵t̵h̵e̵ ̵s̵e̵r̵v̵i̵c̵e̵,̵ ̵p̵u̵r̵e̵l̵y̵ ̵o̵n̵ ̵t̵h̵e̵ ̵b̵a̵s̵i̵s̵ ̵o̵f̵ ̵h̵a̵v̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵a̵ ̵b̵e̵t̵t̵e̵r̵ ̵l̵i̵f̵e̵.̵ ̵F̵r̵i̵e̵n̵d̵s̵ ̵o̵f̵ ̵m̵i̵n̵e̵ ̵a̵r̵e̵ ̵g̵o̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵a̵l̵l̵ ̵i̵n̵ ̵(̵e̵r̵r̵,̵ ̵a̵l̵l̵ ̵o̵u̵t̵)̵,̵ ̵a̵n̵d̵ ̵d̵e̵l̵e̵t̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵t̵h̵e̵i̵r̵ ̵a̵c̵c̵o̵u̵n̵t̵.̵
Considering all the product design and behavioral science that goes into Facebook, I thought what would take to unwind all that addiction and triggers created in our brain. I put this list together to slowly get you out of the Facebook drug. You don’t have to go all the way to the end. You can find the step that you consider a healthy amount of engagement with this service.
You can take a few days in each step and see how it feels, or do it for a few weeks. I guarantee this will work, or you’ll have your money back.
Step 1:
Disable Facebook Push Notifications on your phone. This way you’ll not keep receiving external triggers to open the app.
Step 2:
Disable Facebook badge counter in the app. This way you don’t know if you have pending messages or comments.
Step 3:
Move Facebook to the last screen of your phone. This way you are not reminded to open the app each time you unlock your phone.
Step 4:
Disable all email, SMS, and desktop notifications from Facebook. Just turn it as many off as possible. Unless you convince yourself you must have one notification on, turn it off. Then, go back next week, and turn more of them off. This lets you control when you want to see things, not them. Also, disable the notification sound on Desktop.
Step 5:
Disable Cellular Data for the Facebook App. This way, you are limited to access and post Facebook when you are on Wi-Fi. For most people, this will mean access from home or the office.
Step 6:
Stop posting “Happy birthday.” Prefer using email, text message, Twitter, WhatsApp, or Instagram (yes, the last two belong to Facebook, but this post isn’t about the company, it’s about the product).
Step 7:
Stop Liking content on Facebook. React with “Love” or “Hate,” and if it’s neither, don’t do it. It will reduce the noise you are creating to your friends, and reduce the burden on your shoulders to feel like you must tell your friends you “care” about them. (“Like” is not caring by the way)
Step 8:
Delete the Facebook App from your phone. It might be hard since many of us use Facebook to sign in to other Apps, but you’ll overcome it. (Also, start using 1Password or LastPass to manage your passwords).
Step 9:
Stop posting photos & sharing updates on Facebook. This will help reduce the addiction to Likes, Reactions, and comments (social proof). For thoughts, you feel comfortable sharing online, use Twitter. If you feel like sharing photos with a limited set of friends & family, use Instagram with a Private account (notice that Instagram allows you to have multiple accounts on the same device), or, better yet, Instagram Stories, so they are gone after a few days.
Step 10:
Limit your access to Facebook to a single computer at home and no more than once a night. You free yourself while on vacation, at work, or on a business trip. Which definitely will prepare you for the next step.
Step 11:
Check Facebook only once a week, at home, on a home computer, on a Sunday night. Think of it as “did I miss something important from my friends this week?”
Step 12:
For the bold and the brave. Do a backup of all your Facebook data and delete/deactivate your Facebook account.
I̵’̵m̵ ̵o̵n̵ ̵S̵t̵e̵p̵ ̵4̵ ̵w̵o̵r̵k̵i̵n̵g̵ ̵m̵y̵ ̵w̵a̵y̵ ̵t̵o̵ ̵S̵t̵e̵p̵ ̵1̵1̵.̵
I’m on Step 12. Done.
