http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook Comments on 'delete my Facebook account' en-gb team@pledgebank.com 1901-01-01T00:00+00:00 2 hourly http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994694 I left fbook a few weeks ago. if anyone wants to write on my wall they're welcome to come over and I'll give them a can of spray paint. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994684 I deleted Facebook because I spent too much time looking into people's lives-- a type of "virtual voyeurism" as another user mentioned. I felt Facebook became a superficial space to show off, at least for my generation and younger (20-year-olds). Like Twitter, this consistent connection with people became about one's ego. I started thinking about why we constantly update our statuses through the internet-- and it really was about 'status'. I began looking around, literally, to see my friends and family always on their computers and phones. Life started becoming about living on the internet rather than living in real life. I feel disconnected without Facebook (it's been about a month now) but that is the point. I should not have to feel negative feelings because I am not signed up on a website. So, I raise my glass to making decisions for yourself. Real life is sweeter than any representation of it. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994637 I signed up to Waste Book last summer, and have found it utter silliness. Why anyone would want to be on it is beyond me. I have happily DELETED! http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994630 I can no longer in good conscience support Facebook. I've decided to leave Facebook on May 31st and have started a blog called LivingWithoutFacebook to document my experience and to provide hope to the rest of us taking part in this exodus. If anyone has good alternatives to discuss, please let me know. I would love to have helpful links on the site. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994622 It seems Google Friend Connect will be part of the solution now. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994616 All gone now. Took the preemptive measure of deleting all of my posts, all of my pictures, all of my links, and deleting all of my friends before going, just in case FaceHook thought they'd hang onto them in the event that somebody deletes there account, you know. Not that they couldn't hang onto them anyway, but because there may be something special in deleting a whole account rather than in just removing other things. Their little message at the end is pretty classy, as well: your account will be deleted 14 days from now, pretty much, unless you log back in, in which case they'll reactivate it. So, there's no way to make it go away any immediately, you just have to trust that they'll delete the information in 2 weeks. Right. Trust FaceHook. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994614 I, my mother and father have deleted our accounts http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994611 What a drama queen. If you wanna leave, leave! Why all the production over it. Seems like a catch22--if you want all this attention you should stay on it. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994610 I think that if you are stupid enough to put your information out there for everyone to see then you can't very well blame FB for that. Should they quit changing there privacy settings...HELL YES! but when it comes down to it, it's all about how much information WE give them. I myself have a specific e-mail account that I send all non-private information to, I never use my personal one. So in reality, if you put your info on there, then you are the one responsible for it, also as parents we are responsible to make sure that our children know what information is safe to put out there and what is not http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994607 It feels like spitting into the wind, but there is way too much of this "cyber-comms". I hope we shall learn to write and send hard copy.. to and from the intended participants, not the undefined and unknown universe. I quit fBook last week... if I were still aboard you'd have my pledge. Good luck http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994606 Veribu is a great alternative to Facebook. It's similar, doesn't have any of the privacy issues, new & fun, and also allows you to make video calls, phone calls, and send text messages through the web browser. It really has a shot to catch on I think. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994605 My wife and I became concerned that with every change in formatting you had to go back and opt out of having personal information made public. Even with everything personal, your listing of "friends" remains public. We have both deleted every bit of data out of our profiles and deactivated our accounts. I have helped two other people, so far, to do the same. All it took was a cyberstalker finding me... I wanted to be sure those with whom I corresponded did not become his next victims. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994602 Really... What ever happened to privacy? I'm as transparent in what I do as anyone, but I also have a LIFE! So many kids don't yet, and their perspective of what a "friend" is has been warped and rendered obsolete. Friends mean more to me than this... Meanwhile, being sucked into the void of "social networking" is just kinda gross. Come on people... Get out of the house and OFF the phone! http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994601 I've been on FB for a year, and on The Well (which I believe is the oldest still-existing internet community, celebrating its 25th year) for about ten years. I've had to change my privacy settings on FB four times already. I can't converse in depth; I'm constantly bombarded with advertising and visual gimmicks (no, I do not want to run a farm. I've worked on a farm, and it ain't cartoon animals and smiles 24/7!). I feel like for every benefit I've reaped - and there are some - I've spent hours looking over my shoulder wondering what's going to be taken from me next, and whether I'll even know. The Well meanwhile pumps along with few bells and whistles, but a vibrant, involved community where people know each other by name and engage in real conversations with no character limits. No ads anywhere, period. Nobody's information gets sold, period. Sometimes what's newer isn't always what's best. Having read this page and the stories linking to it, and having followed weeks of increasingly concerning news stories about FB, I'm on the verge of taking the pledge swearing it off. Meanwhile, I encourage everyone to look for alternatives - or help create them. For me, it's The Well, where you're welcome. If that's the wrong fit, try something else. But don't buy the idea the FB is the be-all and end-all of internet community. It's far from the first. It won't be the last. And we all need to vote with your keyboards, not blindly signing away our personal value. Disclaimer: I'm not employed by either FB or The Well, and receive no financial compensation from either. I'm just a fan of the latter and a reluctant, increasingly dissatisfied member of the former! http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994597 Why do you need 10,000 other people before you'll do the right thing? I deleted my account because FB is annoying and invasive. That was cause enough http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994596 quit linkedin, too, when i found out i was being stalked. their privacy controls are horrible. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994595 I have deleted my account. Its only a matter of time before someone is stalked and killed because of personal information gleaned from Facebook. I am sure that oppressive governments are already tracking Facebook users. I have no doubt that the US government is among them. Facebook is equivalent to virtual voyeurism. http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994594 I have never even been on bookface, let alone join. I always thought it was a government plot to get people to freely volunteer personal information. And I don't need virtual "friends". http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994593 Gone! http://www.pledgebank.com/leavefacebook#comment_2994589 I have deleted my personal and professional info from my profile, and changed my religious status to: "I believe in privacy." I rely too heavily on fb for community updates, but will delete my account as soon as viable alternative is active (e.g. Diaspora).