Before I write this I want to assure you that this is no plead for attention. For anyone that has been a part of my contacts on the aforementioned social network - you would know that I am mainly reposting articles that I read. So in a sense I use FB as another way to store articles.

The other day I was talking to a friend, and he said “Man, I’m going to leave this shit one day soon”. I didn’t pay much attention to him but at one point I asked myself “Why am I using Facebook?”. Reason - keeping in touch with people that are far away. And that’s the only reason. I use messenger primarily, and sometimes I go on a “waste my time spree” on the actual website. Not your power user for sure. So why leave? Aside the Cambridge Analytics scandal the reasons for me are many. In no particular order they are:

• This damn red button at the top right with the digits that makes you open the FB hour after hour and wait for someone to turn it on
• Advertisements in Messenger? Tailored to what you talk about with your friends! Someone has been eves-dropping (duh)
• Also, the fact that Messenger devours the battery on the phone like a mad
• The so called echo chambers created by FB so that we can continue to believe in what we say even if it is not true surrounded by like-minded people who repeat our words and deepen our opinion further without the possibility of a reply
• The meddling in the US elections
• Whose posts do I actually see? Only your closest people? Those I’m chatting with? Or the ones the algorithm in the sky decides? It does not matter, because even if I know what it is - tomorrow may be different. It all depends on what gets me to see more ads.
• Endless feed - this infinite stream of information limited to 7-8 bite-sized words to form a bombastic title of an article. This is not how I want to consume information.

So, yes, something like that. I will be happy to see how this goes. I think that being abroad and having a direct connection with people will be a bit harder but definitely not impossible. And in the end this is what I want to get - space for myself. I plan on exploring ways to stay in touch with friends e.g. email a friend I haven’t spoken to in a while once a week, write more posts on my website, use more Signal, etc…

All will be well!