Is It Time to Close Your Facebook Account?
I was quoted recently in a CBS Moneywatch article on why someone should close their Facebook account. It was a thought provoking article – so much so that I realized there are some very good reasons that some people should consider it. Here’s 5 smart reasons it might be time to close your Facebook account:
1. You’re addicted. You may laugh, but some psychologists are pushing to have “Internet Addiction” broadly classified as a clinical disorder. If you’re checking, re-checking, and triple-checking your Facebook page again and again over the course of the day, it might be time to let it rest.
2. You don’t understand privacy. I don’t have my phone numbers, home address, or other private information on Facebook for a reason. There are simply too many horror stories out there – some from stalkers and others from social media’s notoriously bad security flaws. If you can’t keep it private, you shouldn’t be online.
3. You trash the company or the boss. As I told CBS Moneywatch – It’s baffling, but millions of employees across America assume their boss doesn’t use Facebook. Vent your frustrations about your “idiot boss” or the “crazy CEO” and guess what? They’ll find out. If you can’t play nice on social media, stay out of the sandbox.
4. You can’t say “no” to past relationships. An attorney told me recently that the word “Facebook” appears in a shocking number of divorce proceedings today. If you’re in a good relationship and discover your old high school flame is suddenly divorced and trolling, don’t even THINK about clicking “like.”
5. You have trouble with FOCUS. In my book “One Big Thing: Discovering What You Were Born to Do,” I discovered that human beings are simply wired to focus on one thing at a time. Study after study reveals the only thing multi-tasking does is help us do a lot of things badly. But Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms are the epitome of distraction – and keep millions of people frittering away their time instead of accomplishing something important. If you have trouble focusing on what’s important, you may need to close the account.
Do you struggle with any of the options above? Are there other good reasons to close a social media account?
Phil Cooke, PhD. has been called “one of the most innovative communicators of our generation.” As a media producer, writer, speaker, and consultant, his client list includes major film studios and TV networks as well as major Christian organizations like Voice of the Martyrs, The Museum of the Bible, The Salvation Army, and others. He’s also coached and consulted with many of the most influential churches and nonprofit organizations in the world, helping them use media to tell their story. You can hear his podcast here.
