For those who quit Facebook, how has it helped you since you stopped using it?

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roamingnomad7@reddit

I deactivated it last year and haven't looked back.

Quite a few people consider not having it a big deal, weirdly. I went on a date and the woman mentioned she couldn't find me. When I told her that I didn't have Facebook, she said it was a 'flag', which struck me as odd.

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quellflynn@reddit

nevermind the girl searching around for you, giving stalker vibes... and then, seeing as this is now normal, accusing you of something nefarious.

close call imo!

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PaulMancUK@reddit

Notice it’s not creepy when a girl does it double standards

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quellflynn@reddit

I said it IS creepy that the girls stalking, just as creepy as a guy stalking!

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RefuseAny139@reddit

Should have been more honest and said i no longer have facebook . If it deactivated last year and its been running since 2007 approx then maybe just explain , for obvious reasons its rare you meet people who dont have a FB account

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Floyd_Pink@reddit

To be fair, that experience is a "flag." For you!

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ashisanandroid@reddit

Yep, first date and looking for reasons to mistrust is not ideal

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RefuseAny139@reddit

The date was not looking for a reason to mistrust , they pointed out it was a red flag after being told their date didnt have facebook rather than he no longer has facebook there is a difference

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PaulMancUK@reddit

Either way it’s not mandatory to have Facebook loads of people don’t use the site anymore and not really uncommon for people to be on there I would have asked the female on the date whether she is on only fans

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roamingnomad7@reddit

That’s exactly how I see it too.

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AdTotal9674@reddit

I’d call that a green flag.

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OstrichRealistic5033@reddit

Yeah, I’ve had a similar experience. Some people still treat Facebook like a background check tool, which is wild to me. I’ve moved away from platforms like that mostly because of the way they handle data. Anyways If you're into something a bit more privacy-focused, MeWe’s actually a decent alternative.

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banedlol@reddit

Surely self discipline and actively trying to improve your mental is a massive green flag?

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roamingnomad7@reddit

I guess others have different perspectives and priorities?

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RefuseAny139@reddit

you only deactivated it last year , perspectives and priorities change clearly

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RefuseAny139@reddit

Well the date was told i dont have facebook rather than i no longer have facebook and its been running since 2007 approx and the account was deactivated last year.

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redunculuspanda@reddit

The thinking being that you are attempting to hide the fact that you are married/cheating or have some other weird thing going on.

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roamingnomad7@reddit

I understand the thinking, just not sure when social media became so pervasive in society. Why a lack of it is considered a negative and not a positive?

Their insecurity shouldn’t be my cross to bear, should it?

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RefuseAny139@reddit

Maybe if you had been clearer , or told the truth and just said i no longer have facebook it would have been easier. Facebook has been pervasive in society for decades and has 3billion users, you obvs know that. Reasons why a woman would be wary should have been obvious to you.

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redunculuspanda@reddit

It’s not your fault that you happen to be doing something that a lot of people who are cheating also happen to do.

But it’s not unreasonable for someone that doesn’t know you to be wary.

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roamingnomad7@reddit

I'm all for being wary about meeting someone new; not having social media isn't something I considered to be 'flag' worthy though and gives me just as much food for thought about them, from my own perspective.

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nathderbyshire@reddit

Not having one social shouldn't be a flag but having none can be, it's seen as what you trying to hide, serial killer streak or a girlfriend

So can having all selfies indoors, none with friends, family pets (guy post pictures of/with dogs, apparently it's a green flag) ect. Although if anyone knew me I don't take pictures when I'm out, maybe a couple and that's it and I'm probably walking away from a camera unless forced to be in it

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-FangMcFrost-@reddit

Not having one social shouldn't be a flag but having none can be, it's seen as what you trying to hide, serial killer streak or a girlfriend

I don't use any but it's not because I'm trying to hide anything. It's because I'm a really boring person so I have nothing to add to Facebook or whatever and I also don't care what other people get up to in their lives.

My Facebook profile can still be found if someone searches for me but it's not seen any activity since around 2018.

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nathderbyshire@reddit

Yeah same and anyone who knows me could vouch for it, but that's the general consensus because it's just popular to have social media now more than it isn't, people find it weird to not have accounts.

My friends don't delete accounts, they just delete the apps that's it. They've no concept of security and privacy, but are slowly learning, they're using password managers now!

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Sure-Dish-6859@reddit

There's 2 kinds of people without is why and it's very ingrained in our society now. It's like brushing teeth for a lot of people

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horbu@reddit

What are the 2 kinds?

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Sure-Dish-6859@reddit

The cheats and the ones that have dealt with them. Not that I'm speaking from experience but that's what I think

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horbu@reddit

I feel like there’s probably a lot of people that don’t fit into those two categories that also don’t have FB

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MolassesZestyclose96@reddit

And are there also 2 kinds of teeth brushers?

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thatscotbird@reddit

Yeah I met a guy on a dating app once and we went on a few dates, told me he doesn’t have social media. Imagine my shock when his long term partner messaged me on Facebook asking who I was after seeing my name on his phone. Then imagine my shock when her profile lead me to his profile… it’ll always make me suspicious.

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roamingnomad7@reddit

I appreciate that those experiences happen.

There's nothing I can do in that situation to allay those fears though.

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NumeroRyan@reddit

I haven’t had it since 2016, I was told that once. When I asked why it’s because you could have a girlfriend’s or family and trying to hide it.

I guess that makes complete sense to be fair.

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roamingnomad7@reddit

Heaven forbid the reason is you don’t want to live your life out loud on social media, eh?

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More-Magician4492@reddit

Jesus

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Arthorius2024@reddit

Stopped using FB 7 years ago, you find out who your friends are and no one knows when your birthday is. Just goes to show it’s just a place for nosey bastards to spy on you. I don’t miss it at all and life has been better without it.

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PaulMancUK@reddit

When you have 1,000 friends on Facebook 40 of them are family and only 4 wishes you happy Birthday lol

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JDoE_Strip-Wrestling@reddit

Does anyone actually still even ise Facebook?? Lol

**I remember using it from like 2007-2010... But since then, I legit don't know anyone who still uses it. *

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PaulMancUK@reddit

That was way back when the site was fun and at its peak it’s like a soulless ghost town now

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flyingokapis@reddit

It has something like 2.1billion active users a month.

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ZookeepergameHot8339@reddit

How many of those users are bots though?

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Future-Mood1283@reddit

In secondary school I had an account for a few years, going into college I was on and off with having an account

I remember being picked on more in college, so I decided to say no to having a Facebook account as the comments where getting me down

I lost count of how many accounts I got rid of through different milestones in life

It's useful for work and can make small talk easier chuck a like someone's way when they achieved something or when they post a holiday pic and try to keep a feel good connection going

Thst being said I'm on the verge of deleting it because I felt less pressure

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OkBlackberry6173@reddit

I got off of it after a bad breakup 4 years ago. I am much happier. I’ve realized that I am OK with not knowing what is going on with people from my past. I’ve lost touch with people who I never really truly liked to be honest. A lot of people from high school and my college years. Now being off Facebook I can just focus on what’s important who is right in front of me. My family, my partner and my true friends who don’t need to get in touch with me via social media. It really streamlines your relationships and helps with mental health. It’s nice being off the grid. You’ll get used to it and I think if it was bothering you it will provide you such a benefit.

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Emergency_Clerk_7828@reddit

A shared past isn’t a good reason to maintain relationships when there’s nothing else holding them together. I realised this with former work colleagues—people I don’t socialise with at all, yet whose silly, boastful posts I kept reading out of habit. Meanwhile, everyone I actually cared about stopped posting on Facebook long ago, which made the decision easy: I deactivated the whole thing. If I want to stay in touch now, I just text or use WhatsApp.

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NiceScreen3562@reddit

Just deleted mine this year. One less social media platform to doom scroll on.

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Commercial_Stick_760@reddit

Je suis arrivé sur Facebook relativement tard, le 17 mars 2021... alors que je n'en avais jamais voulu jusque là. On ne dira pas que je n'ai pas tenté l'expérience et que j'ai jugé sans savoir !

Je connaissais déjà le côté stupide et superficiel de Facebook bien avant d'y être : la réalité est encore pire que ce que j'imaginais...

Ce réseau social comporte quand même du bon, malgré les apparences : sans quoi, je n'y serais pas resté plus de 4 ans (avec de salutaires périodes d'interruption néanmoins).

Le 10 octobre 2025, j'ai mis un point final à l'aventure Facebook en supprimant définitivement mon compte. À 42 ans, j'ai senti l'urgence de faire de la place sur mon smartphone, dans ma tête et dans ma vie : de préférence, en rompant avec cette vitrine de voyeurisme et d'exhibitionnisme bas de plafond. Facebook est devenu un temple de la bêtise humaine, du narcissisme maladif et de l'ineptie : plus c'est débile, plus ça plaît !

Il y a 8 mois, on m'a diagnostiqué un cancer de stade 1 (typiquement masculin) pour lequel j'ai subi une intervention chirurgicale, qui a été suivie de quelques complications quelques mois plus tard. Rien de trop méchant a priori, la chirurgie semble avoir réglé les choses sans devoir passer par la radio ou la chimiothérapie... Reste la surveillance active sur quelques années.

Après cela, j'ai redéfini mes priorités : Facebook n'en faisait plus partie. Je ne veux plus être l'acteur, ni le spectateur passif de cette ultime étape de la déchéance humaine : les uns et les autres qui étalent leur petite vie aux yeux de tout le monde, comme si toute la planète avait besoin de savoir à quelle heure ils ont tiré la chasse d'eau ; les selfies compulsifs du soir (comme si on avait oublié à quoi ils ressemblent depuis le matin...), la généralisation de l'IA, les débats stériles sur tout et n'importe quoi, etc... Ce n'est pas moi, tout cela : ce sera donc sans moi désormais.

Depuis maintenant 2 mois, je réapprends à vivre sans Facebook : ça fait un bien fou de ne plus voir ni entendre cette entité malsaine, addictive et chronophage. Quelques groupes d'intérêts spécifiques me manquent un peu quand même, en particulier ceux où l'on n'était pas tenu de montrer sa tête et de raconter une vie personnelle dont tout le monde se fiche : mais c'est un moindre mal pour un plus grand bien, et je n'y reviendrai plus jamais.

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HyenaPlane4834@reddit

So I haven't used it for a few months now. I was never really big on Reddit. I now use Reddit more. I would say reddit is less brain rot and seems like a better group of people imo. So I think I'm doing better.

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Effective-Gas1674@reddit

The privacy issues, tracking goggle searches and unwanted rando feeds to my page lead me to delete fb. Don't want anything to do with any of the metaverse tbh. All seems a bit Orwellian. Life is better, though I do miss some fb friends and marketplace. My real friends can pick up a phone or send an email if they want. Those ones always did anyway. There may be better alternatives out there, that don't track your searches, breach your privacy etc. Haven't found them yet. People seem reluctant to leave fb, because of the connection it offers, but for me the cost was the equivalent of offering up my "private" soul. Happier without fb.

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Excellent_Ant_7154@reddit

I no longer see ridiculous ads or reels, which is a huge plus. I installed the app from my phone, kept my account, and occasionally check FB on a computer with a url to only show friends updates.

I did have a family member assume that I must have been in a terrible accident because I didn't like their photos within a few hours of them posting. I reminded them that I'm not on fb all the time.

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Safe-Opportunity3301@reddit

I just quit facebook permanently. I do not regret the decision. I originally joined to keep in touch with friends and relatives. It was really fun. Boy has that changed and not for the better. It’s constant bombardment with stuff I don’t want and ads I don’t want. Pornography and scams and people who don’t identify themselves on “Facebook” allowing for scams. I’m done

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KeyWeb3246@reddit

I'm glad I quit. I'd never go back since I've been on Bsky.

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Candid-Stay-2397@reddit

Deactivated all things Meta the day of the inauguration.

I’ve never looked back. I prefer Reddit because there’s none of that “friend” bs to make you reliant on external validation. I always had an issue with the word “friend” being used for everyone from a high school friend, to your dog walker, to some rando you met at a party who sends friend requests to everyone they meet. I also prefer what seems like more intelligent dialogue on Reddit, but maybe it’s just the groups I’ve joined attract those kind of people.

My fb feed had turned into AI pictures of houses and advertisements for athletic wear for women with fake AI bodies. It was getting bizarre.

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Lanky_midget@reddit

less arguements for sure, i was sick of meta feeding me rage bait.

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Tourniquet_91@reddit

Me too, I finally deleted the app yesterday, I used to scroll for hours and after the election cut it down to 10 to 15 minutes a day, got so tired of feeling depressed, angry etc after the posts I would see.

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cgknight1@reddit

Did you spend a lot of time posting "too many snakes on here - just me and the kids now"?

Facebook is a lot of things but stressful????

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Lanky_midget@reddit

depends on the feed you get given, My was lots of rage bait after a while, very overwhelming.

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cgknight1@reddit

My feed consists of people i know who aren't mad.

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Lanky_midget@reddit

So because it doesn't happen to you, that means it doesn't happen? i dont think you know what ragebait means.

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cgknight1@reddit

I'm an adult and use a thing called willpower not to engage with it.

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Flat_News_2000@reddit

Aren't you perfect

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Lanky_midget@reddit

Good for you? I don't get why you're being like this, downvoting my comments as (must be that big boy willpower) you're more than likely the reason to get off Facebook, hence why you don't see why people leave.

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cgknight1@reddit

you seem to be very worked up - it all becones clear.

I bid you good day.

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Much-Fall-9515@reddit

No need for that.

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I_want_roti@reddit

Pm me hun x

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Gold_Dust_0709@reddit

Pm me hun xoxo

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Common-Atmosphere765@reddit

FB is Big Brother tracking as many people as it can do as to manipulate society.

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NorthbyFjord@reddit

I quit back like 15 odd years ago and my god, it was the best choice of my life lmao

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Dnny10bns@reddit

Not doom scrolling and getting stuff done. I barely use it anyway.

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banwe11@reddit

It always baffles me how people here slag off Facebook and act like Reddit is much better. Reddit is full of moaning and negativity, and I seriously think a lot of people here are trapped in a depressive cycle of doom scrolling and doom posting. So people say "yeah but it's all about following the right subs" - sure, totally agree. But Facebook also allows you to follow only the things/people you like (you can unfriend/mute people or leave groups if you don't like what they are posting). Also Facebook has a lot of good interest groups - just like subreddits. I'm not trying to say Facebook is any better than any other social media, I just don't think it deserves the hate it gets here.

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Have_Other_Accounts@reddit

So people say "yeah but it's all about following the right subs" - sure, totally agree.

The thing is this used to be the case, but even the small niche subs are just echo chambers and full of negativity now (only truly tiny subs feel like real forums). But hey, that's what humans do, we're complaining right here.

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Have_Other_Accounts@reddit

I haven't used Facebook for about a decade...

I didn't delete it or deactivate it or anything. I just purged it and I guess it's handy to have just because everyone's on there.

I also stopped using other social medias like Instagram a couple years back. I don't miss anything and after a while I don't really feel any effects. I guess it's nice to not give a shit about others??

The downside though is reddit just took over even more. And the truth is I'd like to decrease my usage but it's like the hub of everything, news, culture, gaming, sports etc

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lavayuki@reddit

I didn't know people still used it. No one I know uses it, so I stopped using it years ago.

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Agitated_Ad_361@reddit

5 years sober and 5 years without Facebook. Not sure which one has been better but both made me miserable.

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No_Sign6616@reddit

Not been on Facebook in over a decade but got rid of my instagram account late last year and my bluesky account a couple of months ago. Its nice. Reddit is now all I have.

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apaperbagprincess@reddit

Signed out and deleted my account 3 years ago and haven’t missed it at all. I was wasting time and energy and I still have contact with the people and things that matter.

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Hayesey88@reddit

I deactivated mine and literally don’t feel any difference…

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CatsCoffeeCurls@reddit

Purged the usual suspects years ago and am currently only on LinkedIn, which doesn't get much use outside a job hunt, and this. Only positives to report.

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KeyLog256@reddit

I still use it occasionally because I have to keep an eye on things for work, but largely now it seems your feed is just full of crap you don't even follow. I don't get why they made that change, it's just turned people off it in droves.

Pretty much everyone friend/work wise has now migrated to Whatsapp over Messenger, the latter being much more common about 5 or more years ago. Oddly my wife's Vietnamese family still much prefer Messenger and I've no idea why.

Younger people barely use Facebook anymore, it is considered something for "old people". Mate had a kid when relatively young and when she was about 12/13, she said "only old people use Facebook" and no one at her school did. She's now 17 and same story, none of her age group use it.

I work in the dance music industry and was telling people about 5-6 years ago to switch marketing focus from Facebook to Instagram and TikTok, as no one going to dance festivals in a few years will be using Facebook, which turned out to be correct.

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Tao626@reddit

I still use it occasionally because I have to keep an eye on things for work

Basically, yea. I make money on my hobbies, music and art, and cutting out Facebook is kicking myself in the balls when it comes to promotion.

That said, I only really go on it to do that. I'll scroll through a few posts out of curiosity, see they mostly adverts and groups I don't even follow before closing it until next time I have something I have to do.

It's also filled with braindead idiots.

A couple of weeks ago my girlfriend's guitar was stolen. We knew who stole it and what they did with it, sold it for drugs at Cash Gen. We wanted to find who BOUGHT the guitar and see if we could hopefully buy it back from them, making it very clear that's what we wanted. Posted on a local Facebook group hoping the buyer may see it or somebody might know them to put us in contact with them...Yea, apparently Facebook is primarily for illiterate morons. Got loads of replies, 95% of them being people giving (incorrect) "advice" on how to catch the thief, the other 5% being people calling them idiots. I had to triple check what I wrote to make sure I wasn't at fault, but no. If something happens where casting a wide net to the local community would be a helpful tool, I won't be doing it on Facebook again. Total waste of my time.

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RegularStrength4850@reddit

I think there might be logic for some people to use Messenger. One guy I know who arranges a lot of sport on a weekly basis knows literally about 200 of us, and imagine having to store everyone's phone numbers or update changes constantly. Messenger lets you use the "social" side well, many mutual friends often indicate a shared hobby, so the network can expand without always relying on people inviting other people, etc

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gyroda@reddit

Yeah, I just didn't install the app on my phone and didn't miss it. Every time I look at it (very rare nowadays) it's just shite.

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Nedonomicon@reddit

Quite a couple of years ago and do not miss it at all it’s horrible

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KrungThepMahaNK@reddit

Deactivated 2yrs ago. The only thing I miss is keeping in touch with news/updates from my hometown (been working abroad for a long time).

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Maleficent_Beach85@reddit

I left facebook 18 months ago, left instagram 10 months ago. I feel lighter. I don’t care for any of it, I actually enjoy having a conversation with people about what they’ve done, no longer being in a position to say “I saw on Facebook you did such and such”. It’s freeing. And equally, the sense of being off grid is delightful. No one knows where I am or what I’m doing and I don’t feel obliged to tell anyone either. I’m more present in my own life.

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apocalypsebrow@reddit

I logged out of it recently, thought that I had mybow feed as drama free as possible but I kept looking at local groups which were just pits of doom and aggro and the final straw was that I was in a page for a local swimming lake which was lovely until a couple of posts cropped up where it was a bit of mud slinging and judgemental shite and it's turned sour which affected my feelings on being a regular there. So I logged out to save temptation, went on holiday and didnt log back in. Now I'm feeling much more happier going to the lake and I'm finding the love of swimming again. I think it's getting easier not to be on it now.

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Hoth617@reddit

I'm attempting to remove it right now, but it gets it's tendrils into everything. Not to mention I use messenger still.

But anyway I did delete instagram and tiktok and that's been nice.

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sprogg2001@reddit

I use Facebook to contact people, not for people to contact me, don't look at posts either, all notifications off, if I open it once a month that's alot. There are DM's in there that are years old still unread, I'll get to them eventually.

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RefrigeratorApart544@reddit

I have Facebook but have about 7 friends on it. I've literally blocked anyone I know, I only use it for marketplace

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paulust2002@reddit

Have more time to waste on other social networks.

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Andi_Lou_Who@reddit

I feel a lot better. I haven’t had it for almost 2 years, fully deleted after keeping messenger for a while. I deactivated instagram about 1 year ago. I’m in two minds about fully deleting that.

All my feed was full of stupid ads or awful posts showing animal cruelty and worse. Each time it would come back how it didn’t violate facebooks terms of conditions when I reported it.

I’d never see anything from friends anymore and if I did it was just drama.

I don’t miss it.

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tizz66@reddit

I deactivated it several months ago. I’m happy to have lost the junk “recommended” posts, crappy videos and occasional arguments, but I also feel like I’m missing out on occasional updates from old school friends, acquaintances and other interests I followed. It’s a shame those didn’t make up more of my feed to begin with - I might have kept it active.

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Proper_North_5382@reddit

I only use Facebook to look on local Facebook groups and for one of my interests where Facebook groups are actually useful.

I've unfollowed some of the people that would constantly post about their lives and what they're doing and who they're doing things with. It got on my nerves.

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tonio776@reddit

I feel so much better, social media and smart phones ruined the world

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bsensikimori@reddit

Stopped over 6 years ago, was addicted to the 'like'

It helped me enormously, started chasing real world Satisfaction instead of online validation from strangers.

Life greatly improved, compared to Facebook time sink, time actually became a valuable commodity, instead of something to waste.

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-are_you_on_email-@reddit

I got rid of it about 5/6 years ago. Literally not a day goes by that I think about it let alone miss it.

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Bownzinho@reddit

I only use it for birthdays and that’s it. Personally I don’t understand how you can get stressed by anything on Facebook but my feed only has random sporting things on it

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Ok-Tiger1269@reddit

I deactivated my account for a month and it was great. There's a few slightly controversial topics in our area just now and there's always someone either moaning without providing any kind of solution (even just a hypothetical one), one just spewing incorrect information to turn opinions. Felt great for my head! Less anger and contempt for people within the first week. Had to turn it back on when I got an email to say someone was trying to change my log in details. Local clubs my kids attend also only post info on FB so needed that too. Now it is kept off my home screen, and I've unfollowed every group I was in. Only have the clubs for my kids and actual friends on it.

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melanie110@reddit

My life is so much better now I got rid. I tested it at first and I deactivated it for 6 months. When I logged back in, I noticed the same people were moaning about the same things they were 6 months ago.

I used to compare myself to a lot of people. I worked hard and couldn’t afford half the stuff that others were showing and deep down I knew they were in a mountain of debt, but I always wanted more. That’s when I realised it was unhealthy and deleted the lot. Plus getting banned quite a few times for arguing with my racist FIL

The only thing I miss now are the memories that used to pop up.

Like you, my mid is clearer and my MH is loads better

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Enough-Ad3818@reddit

I missed a couple of social events because they were only really advertised and arranged on Facebook, but otherwise, it was sweet release.

I did a full backup of all the photos I was interested in, and then it was gone. That was about ten years ago, and I don't miss it in the slightest. The more I hear about the state of it now, the more I'm justified in my decision.

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melanie110@reddit

💯 agreed

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Torrential-Villa15@reddit

Very similar experience here! I deactivated around two years ago and like you, I feel my mental health is better for the same reasons. I also did lots of comparing and used to get really deflated with people’s moaning and the horrible views of a small minority! All of those things still happen, but I don’t see it now and therefore it doesn’t drain my energy!

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Early-Intern5951@reddit

Mainly by not being contacted by people who use faceboot

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Zak_Rahman@reddit

I find I am exposed to much less bigotry and misinformation.

It's also nice not having to witness the slow decay of people going down the right wing pipe line. Seeing people you once considered smart posting absolute garbage was depressing.

Basically, exactly the same as you just from a different angle.

Leaving facebook was something I wish I had done earlier. I left it a good 10 years ago. It made life better.

I think I would go a step further than your post and feel that we have enough evidence to conclude that social media is detrimental for our species. I think that social media could be a positive thing, however as long as capitalism runs rampant, this will always be a hypothetical.

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Over_thinker123@reddit

I got rid of fb, insta and WhatsApp last year Never looked back Feel much happier

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LopsidedLoad@reddit

Deactivated mine nearly a decade ago and never looked back, I don’t know how it has helped me long term but I had a very specific reason back then and it helped with that

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Ok_Host7639@reddit

Lol where you all been, I deleted mine 15 years ago.

Just stupid how many things rely on it, events and whatnot, makes a lot of stuff seem unprofessional IMO

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mrsilver76@reddit

I turned off push notifications and log in only about once a month now.

It’s made absolutely no difference to my life.

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djnev@reddit

I had an issue where with no warning at all, my Facebook account got closed because I “repeatedly violated their posting terms”. I hardly ever went on there and really don’t know what happened to cause that. The main thing I miss is access to all the photos I had on there and the comments friends and family wrote when my Dad died. I don’t miss it day-to-day but it would have been good to have taken off the photos and stuff before it got closed.

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BaseballFuryThurman@reddit

I deactivated it (I'd delete fully if I could keep messenger) about 6 years ago and it's not that it was a big deal having it, but it had become incredibly miserable and toxic because all people were using it for was a place to sound off. Whereas Instagram can be preachy and full of opinions, it isn't mostly that, at least not in my experience. Facebook had become that and just everyone hating each other because of political stances.

On the couple of occasions I've logged in briefly to look for old photos, the feed seemed even worse with a load of suggested posts and barely anything from people I actually know. Definitely not something I miss. And why both deactivating instead of just ignoring, you might ask? The truth is that if it's there, I'll look at it. Same reason my Twitter is deactivated. I'll end up scrolling and getting wound up. If it's not there, I can't.

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dreistreifen@reddit

Deleted FB and haven't been on twitter for months and feel 100% better. No manufactured drama, no shaking my head at friend's embarrassing posts, no political dog whistles..

I don't understand why others don't just ditch them as it will turn their lives around and stop FB algorithms fucking with your head.

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WALL-G@reddit

Stopped using it in like 2017. Meta as an entity should get fucked to death.

They have what, 50,000 data points on you? More? They literally know you better than you do.

Let's throw a wild concept out there - Metabook detects you're depressed, let's say you're incredibly low and need support.

What if, (stick with me here) maybe you could nominate 2 contacts that the machine could reach out to and suggest they drop you a line or to hang out?

OR, we stick with the current model where Facebook detects that you're low, sells that data on and you get slammed with makeup and junk food adverts.

They even came out recently and said they don't connect friends anymore. For the love of that's good in the world, please stop feeding them your time.

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soverytiiiired@reddit

I debated deleting for a while, so I just got rid of the app and didn’t bother with it. Decided to go back on to download the photos I wanted and then delete. When I logged in my feed was:

Advert Sponsored page Page I don’t follow Celebrity I don’t follow Racist guy from school Advert Page I don’t follow Sponsored page Advert Someone else from school I don’t like Advert Page I don’t follow Conspiracy theorist cousin

Yeah. I don’t miss it

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SuuperD@reddit

Change the feed to friends.

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GandalfsNozzle@reddit

Stopped using Facebook during lockdown, but had to keep it for the connected account (oculus account) I occasionally get sent something that uses Facebook so I will browse for less than 30 seconds before realising that not a single post is from someone I know.

It's advert after advert and advert or pages I don't follow being suggested to me.

I do occasionally get messages from family about why I haven't wished someone happy birthday on Facebook, shockingly I will contact them directly and speak over the phone.

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SuuperD@reddit

occasionally get sent something that uses Facebook so I will browse for less than 30 seconds before realising that not a single post is from someone I know.

You have to change the feed to 'Friends'

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Itallachesnow@reddit

Im off FB 2yrs, IG 1 year and Twitx 3 years and haven't noticed any losses in my life apart from the loss of aggravation cause by being fed all sorts of crap I don't have the slightest interest in or its bogus fakery and scams. Anything good on SM can be found elsewhere!

I don't have any immediate neighbours apart from farmers and people I know so neighbourhood groups are superfluous .

I enjoy reddit for the variety and range of stuff and YT premium for vids that relate to hobbies and interests. WA groups provide my main source for chats with people I know.

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_InvisibleGirl_@reddit

I got my lunch break back. I used to spend lunch break just scrolling Facebook. I started going for a walk instead, really benefitted my mental health. I didn't realise how much time I spent on Facebook, so much more time without it

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Actual_Banana_1083@reddit

Facebook, whats that? Is it what old people used around the same time as horses and carts?

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Youtalkingtomyboobs@reddit

I have it, but use it mostly for a couple of groups that I’m a member of. Strict rules about who I "friend" no work colleagues, and no people who aren’t actually in my life. I do enjoy the memories.

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porrig1@reddit

I wasn’t in any crazy nut job groups or anything so on the face of it it hasn’t made any difference to me other than getting a bit of time back, but thinking about it I no longer see some of the nonsense family members post so it helps me forget their politics and pretend they’re still normal people. So from that perspective I guess it has been positive-ish. 🙃

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Substantial-Chonk886@reddit

I’m still on it because it’s a useful way for me to feel connected to my different friend groups who are dotted about geographically. It was the main sm option when I made those friends and it’s just kind of cemented in as that being our way.

I don’t use it to scroll or discover and I rarely post.

I did fully delete my twitter account though and that has made me feel a lot better!

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Floyd_Pink@reddit

It's been so long since I quit Facebook (2018), that I actually cannot even remember anything about it or what it was like to have a FB profile. I have not missed it or even thought about it one single time.

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r_keel_esq@reddit

I haven't quite quit, but I've disabled the mobile app on my phone (can't uninstall due to it being unremoveble bloatware), signed out the mobile site on my phone, and the only PC I have is my work one, so I'm time-limited when I can browse.

I retain it for two reasons - I'm involved in running a sport club and FB messenger is one way that people can get in touch with us. - Marketplace is actually quite handy in my area. We've bought and sold a fair number of things via this method

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random_username_96@reddit

I haven't missed it at all. I no longer ever saw posts from friends or family, only ever posts from groups and adverts. It was just irrelevant junk. I tested the waters by deactivating it for a while, so that I could keep the messenger feature. But this year I just deleted it entirely.

It's a bit frustrating when e.g. a business doesn't have a website, only a FB page, but there are ways around that. I don't miss the groups, I have reddit for that! And anyone who has cared about staying in touch has reached out via WhatsApp.

I wouldn't say it's helped me per se, though, because it wasn't a particularly negative space for me to be in - just a boring one! I've noticed FAR more mental benefits from unfollowing news/political subreddits and drastically cutting down my Instagram use.

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NVision92@reddit

Got rid of Facebook and insta a few years back. It’s been good. But Reddit equally can have negative effects with the views in comments and if you get sucked into the likes publicfreakout etc

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BeeOnYouAt@reddit

Yeah I don’t really see the benefit of cutting out just one site when they’re all the same thing really with each one offering a slight shift in the popular opinion.

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Amzy29@reddit

I only use Facebook for some of the groups. I don’t actually use it for anything personal or to keep up to date with people I know. My algorithm knows I want to see the groups.

I’ve never experienced any drama on facebook when I use to actually use it as proper social media. I only had my friends on there anyway, and none of them posted random crap. I never accepted my dad’s friend request and I 100% know that he shares all sorts of random stuff.

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fords42@reddit

The only Meta app I use now is WhatsApp, but only because so many of my friends and family members still use it.

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MissWiggleNjiggle1@reddit

I deactivated facebook 10 years ago, best decision I made.

Was going through a separation, had “friends” constantly inboxing me about seeing my ex husband with this woman and that woman. Affected my work and mental health so i deactivated and I’ve never looked back.

Been looked at strange by a few people when i tell them i don’t have FB, insta, twitter, snap and whatever else is out there but it doesn’t impact my life.

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Wishmaster891@reddit

I don’t have it on my phone. Do have a lookn when i go on my pc. Theres a lot of crap but some good stuff plus messenger is good to chat to friends.

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ThePolymath1993@reddit

Ditched it the moment we managed to get my nan onto Whatsapp. Keeping up with the olds was the only reason to keep it.

It didn't make much difference tbh, I never really used the feed full of far right conspiracy slop anyway.

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barriedalenick@reddit

It makes zero difference to me either way. I still have an account and drop in once in a while but never found FB to be stressful or really have any effect on me one way or the other.

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cnstnsr@reddit

I deleted my Facebook account in 2018, around the time the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke. Before that, I’d regularly deactivate for long stretches, but that was the final push. I wasn’t a heavy user but even that felt like complicity. Leaving was the right move, and I’ve never gone back.

I honestly don’t remember what I “lost” by quitting, only that it was a net benefit. The only real drawback has been losing access to Facebook Marketplace. It’s frustrating that such a core part of local community life is locked into a single Meta platform. I’ve considered making a burner account just for that, but haven’t bothered.

I’ve also tried to drop WhatsApp for similar anti-Meta reasons, but it’s impossible. Nobody’s going to switch just for me, and it’s too deeply entrenched to avoid without cutting off real-world connections.

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UlsterManInScotland@reddit

My daughter convinced me to come off Facebook for a two month trial period years ago & it was the best decision I’ve ever made for my mental health, I was a moderator for a could local community pages and was constantly dealing with complaints and petty disputes, spam etc… that was three years ago and I seriously wouldn’t go back on Facebook for any reason, ever

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LemmysCodPiece@reddit

I have it, but I only use it for keeping in touch with actual friends, marketplace and local community groups. I have FB Messenger on my phone, just in case someone wants to get hold of me.

A while ago I removed all of the shit I was following and just got it down to actual friends and the few local groups I am in, my life feels so much less cluttered.

I might go on there once a week at most.

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Legitimate_Impact@reddit

I still use it but I use an adblocker and I am carefully pruning the content, so what I see is mostly relevant content or friend updates.

Frankly I find Reddit a lot more stressful 😂

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buy_me_a_pint@reddit

I rarely use Facebook

I had a Myspace account years ago, and got bored after like 5 seconds

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Rasputin-69@reddit

Like you I came off Facebook to declutter the drama from life. My MH is much better .

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BrickAcceptable4033@reddit

I quit fb in 2020, it was hard at first because I felt like I didn’t have a clue what was going on with family and friends and in my community but honestly, it’s freedom from constant scrolling, paranoia when people didn’t like my posts, feeling less than others when they were posting about their amazing lives etc. It’s also great for privacy, only the people who are important to me get to know what I’m doing. I’ll never go back to fb

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WelshBen@reddit

To me it seems like Facebook is just a cycle of trolls and weirdos and the attention whores. It's actually a pretty damn grim place.

I've never enjoyed going on there for more than 5 minutes here and there.

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Head_Lie_1301@reddit

I still have Facebook, but only use it for local community groups from where I live. If it wasn't for them, I'd delete Facebook.

How was it making you stressed? No hate- just curious.

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OverTheCandlestik@reddit

I only use Facebook to promote productions my theatre puts on. I never found it stressful in the first place tbh unless you actively take part in drama or try to keep up to date with trends or gossip

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