Farewell, Facebook!

I like to think I live leaning forward, peering into the
patterns and the shadows of this worldly existence to find some truth, some
passion, or some insight into this thing called life. Facebook has been a tremendous communications tool,and I've regained contacts with long lost friends and deepened current acquaintances.However I no longer see the benefits of Facebook outweighing its subtle costs. We are not the customer here, we are the product, we are the meat on the plate. I don't want my life to be the product anymore, but I think I can use Facebook as a link to my blog as a way to turn my writing into a product.

What changed my mind about Facebook? There were many factors which mostly highlight how Facebook seems to have aligned itself in direct opposition to some central values I gained from some of my favorite books. From a simple time management perspective, I found myself being mesmerized by this media channel. Having read DISTRACTED: THE EROSION OF ATTENTION AND THE COMING DARK AGE by Maggie Jackson, I recognize that attention is a rare skill and commodity. I've started deliberately weaning myself away from the distractions of television and radio and even music, and I'm consciously focusing on whatever task or activity was at hand. By examining the focus of my attention, I have found the constant flow of new content on Facebook (about my favorite subject: YOU!) to be my top distraction, thus I feel compelled to change and better manage my experience here. Additionally, I found the cultural trends revealed in Christopher Lasch's THE CULTURE OF NARCISSISM: AMERICAN LIFE IN AN AGE OF DIMINISHING EXPECTATIONS to be on full display (along with my active encouragement and participation) among the flow of postings on Facebook. I think I identified an unhealthy amount of pleasure in gazing incessantly into that multidimensional mirror of both you and me. Furthermore, if you know me at all, then you know that I am very cognizant of the encroachment of the nanny state upon our freedoms. I never would have predicted how Big Brother (as portrayed in George Orwell's NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR) would be something the populace would gladly and willingly adopt, tell him our every desire, show him pictures of our every act, and check in with our every movement. Lastly, I am redefining my roles (as taught in Stephen Covey's THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE) as well my long held intention to turn life itself into an art form (as taught in Julia Cameron's THE ARTIST'S WAY). For over 20 years, I've had this notion that I would lead a slightly unconventional path, share that journey in a public way ("pounding stages like a clown"), and educate anyone who would listen. This is no longer my mission, my job, or my role . Any legacy I may create will rest on the reflections on my experiences, not on the experiences themselves. It's subtle shift in my thinking, but I think the result will be profound in my sense of personal mission and the pursuit of my personal art.

The shift in my approach to Facebook reflects not only some changes happening within my own approach to the media and my own digital life but also my belief that Facebook's evolution to be disingenuous and disturbing. At its start, Facebook - as a tool - offered solutions to the common problems of our modern life: we are increasingly separated from family and friends by physical distance, with less time spent together, and by the demands of our multifaceted jobs and the busy pace of our personal lives. However, like many technological solutions, I think the appearance of seeming convenience actually masks subtle costs by introducing shallow and standardized norms of communication. Although Facebook has avoided and resolved some of the failing mistakes of MySpace (such as maintaining standardized profile templates), in the end, Facebook promotes the values in which quantity becomes a quality in itself. Numerous studies have shown that there is a limit to the number of meaningful network connections any one individual can successfully maintain. I've tried to limit and pare down my number of
interactions, but I find it's a hopeless task. This new approach represents my attempt to redefine the dynamics of my relationship with my network.

Another value of Facebook which I find offensive is its corrosive effects on relationships. Much has been written about the facade of online "friends", the accumulation of Facebook friends, and the drama of "unfriending" someone. For me, the apt analogy is what Facebook has done to friendships is what fast food restaurants have done to the traditional family dinner. This "fast food" form of friendship has taken away much of what friends traditionally do: listen, catch up, offer nonverbal support, commit time and space and attention, etc. I used to disdain those on the other side of the digital divide amongst my friends. I would lecture them that Facebook is "the new email" or even redefining the Internet itself; without it, you'd be making yourself irrelevant and out of touch. However, through time, I've found I highly value the time spent with friendships of those on the other side of the digital divide. It simply feels more "real". By leaving Facebook, I now accept the responsibility to stay in touch, to nurture and focus on my friendships.

Lastly, on Facebook I've failed to recreate the elusive sense of an active community that I have experienced in other online forums. I crave communities where there's an emphasis on critical thinking and the free exchange of ideas and opinions. I increasingly find that Facebook is not so much a conversation as it is a bulletin board of messages. The level of dialogue is meager, ethereal, and usually self-referential. Generally speaking I've found that people do not want to engage in think critically; instead they want to get through their day, safely and soundly, and comfortably enjoy whatever status quo they can maintain. I'm too restless for that type of conversation. I am in pursuit of a truth who is an elusive bitch. She will not just come sit in your lap, reveal herself in mundane observations, or expose herself via the mainstream media (whose talents for mimicry are only rivaled by circus clowns and trained parrots). I hope this new approach to my digital life will allow me to focus on that pursuit and predictably spark some critical thought.

So, what is the essence of my new approach? Blogging is my intended response: Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances (located here http://burtonanderson.blogspot.com) I can't say what frequency I will blog, but I hope a value will be placed on quality rather than quantity. I'll still be here and watching - albeit less often - but I hope you find extra value in my blogs rather than through this forum.

Enjoy!