On leaving Facebook

In 2009, five years after Mark Zuckerberg started the social media platform, I joined Facebook. I did so to start Pages for Khiri Travel and for Tad Fane Resort (the lodge in Southern Laos that I founded back in 1999). My first personal posts appeared a few months later.

In 2010, I commented on a link to this prescient article in The Guardian on Facebook - "So, there, established is that FB is a good way to find old friends (read: drink buddies). That said, there are more than a few things creepy about this US mogul. Good, if not slightly paranoid, article."

Well, that paranoia turned out not to be misplaced after all. Facebook's may simply have profits at core, but the power of information about users that is shared for commercial purposes, has not gone unnoticed to political and ideological movements who used it - knowingly, unknowingly or maliciously - to influence public opinion. By now, even those who were involved in the start of Facebook, like Chamath Palihapitiya and Sean Parker, plead for us to log off. There is much out there on solid reasons to leave Facebook (and other digital social media for that matter). Or take a moment to view the below excellent TedX talk.

So how to overcome the addiction and log off forever? About half a year ago, I deleted the Facebook app from my phone. A partly conscious decision to battle the mindless scrolling every free minute and instead read more, and partly to conserve battery life. That decision proved to be a crucial step in my action to delete Facebook for good: first because I did not miss it at all and second, whenever I logged in on my computer, I felt it often as a waste of time after just the first 10 seconds. In short, it made me lose interest and uninspired to share anything.

I had been planning to leave Facebook anyway, and Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before congress did not weaken that resolve. However, the very recent news on the social media's next step, to deploy facial recognition technology (check your settings, it's already switched on) made me fast-track my intentions.

So, how about other digital social networks, like Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin? The jury is out. For starters, I find Twitter, and Linkedin in particular much more useful networks.

Finally, there is messaging. Facebook has been the master in making their Messenger app to most fun to use. But at the same time, they use all of that info that you post to complete the profile they have on you for third parties. However, there are plenty of other messaging apps out there, including Facebook's own Whatsapp that is secure (for now). After reading this article, I did also download Signal, though. So besides email, there remain many ways to stay in touch with your friends. Plan that next meeting in the pub, coffeeshop, office, jungle, or noodle shop and swap life stories face-to-face. Or better yet: join the upcoming YAANA Corporate Challenge in Chiang Mai for some real networking.

Look forward to meet you in real time!