Facebookless February

A few years ago, I started taking a month at a time off of Facebook. In this blog, I write about my Facebookless February experience. While that might seem difficult, remember that February only has 28 days. If one is going to take a month off of something, I think it's good to start small.

So, what is it about Facebook that keeps us interested? As a behavior analyst, I would have to say that the thin schedule of reinforcement is what does it. However, at times on Facebook, that schedule of reinforcement shifts to an even thinner one, and sometimes becomes more complex with the addition of aversive events in the system.

As you have probably noticed, the newsfeed sometimes has interesting stories or updates. Sometimes it just does not. In any event, people scroll through the feed to find something interesting, finally hitting upon something (or settling on something) that is interesting. At the same time, there are a myriad of stories about the last time people went to the bathroom, my cats, and other events/people/events that are probably only interesting to a subset of people (or not).

Days 1-3 were the hardest to stay off of Facebook.  For one thing, some of my friends only message me through Facebook, and I needed to contact them. So, I will admit to logging back in to check my messages to find their email addresses on Day 1. That was unavoidable.

The other issue was that the apps on my phone and tablets automatically log you back in - even if you log out! Yes, that's right. You logout, and the next time the app loads, it automatically logs you back in. After some experimentation, I finally deleted the apps from these devices. I do not plan to add them back in. It was nice not to be tempted to open those apps when I was looking at email or reading the news.

By about Day 5, I realize what had to be done when I came back. I know that not everyone will agree with me, and may even de-friend me because of this, but it is the way that I feel. In my case, I needed to relocate past students who should really be linked to me through professional social networks, such as LinkedIn. Many of my local knitting friends need to be linked through Ravelry. I will remain friends with actual friends, family, and colleagues with whom I regularly communicate.

Now, don't misunderstand me: It's not that I do not cherish these various relationships. It's just that I need to keep my spheres in place.

Update 05/21/2015: I have replicated the "month off of Facebook" several times, and enjoy it more each time. I always go back, but over time my relationship with the experience has changed quite a bit. Be warned: Within a day or two, Facebook starts sending you messages about what you are missing. It must use some algorithm based on your logging-in behavior.