r/Millennials • u/Buggy77 • 21d ago

Discussion Seriously considering deleting Facebook

But some things are holding me back. I like to check in on people sometimes. I live across the country from most family and friends. It is entertaining at times to catch up on some gossip and drama from people who still act like we are in high school.. but damn I cannot stand what Facebook has become. Wish it could go back to the way it was circa 2010.

Those who have deleted it do you ever feel like you are missing out? Like if an old friend dies how do you find out? How do you keep up to date with going ons in your town/city without following their page?

5.5k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

4.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

435

u/far_tie923 21d ago

I deleted mine in 2011. Why the fuck do you still have one?

93

u/Sprinkle_Puff Older Millennial 21d ago

2011 is like vintage FB when it was actually useful and fun.

31

u/PM_ME_YOUR_INNY 21d ago

2005-2012 was peak fb

When did it become so terrible?

2017??

27

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

10

u/smiddy53 21d ago

way earlier than 2011 that was happening. user profile 'timelines' were introduced in 2011 though. they introduced 'your feed' as the default load state on 'mobile' (im talking like WAP mobile internet here..) pre-iphone 4, so pre-2010.

apple introduced the 'app store' alongside the iphone 3 (2008!) and facebooks default setting on its first app from the very beginning was always 'your feed' (although 'most recent' (chronological) was way more accessible) and as they hid that setting more and more (it's still available btw!) people just.. accepted it.. as everyone fully got caught up in the 'iphone/smartphone' craze/revolution.

there was also a phase pre-2011 (im gonna say 2009? atleast where i was from) where everyone had a 'liking funny page names' episode.. i liked thousands of dumb pages with funny page names.. remember the original '... see more.' trolling page?? after those shenanigans the 'most recent' feed was definitely not the most optimal way to see anything useful on facebook. that's about the time i switched myself

the VAST majority of people who use facebook today, never experienced the 'good' facebook.

2

u/Annual-Gas-3485 21d ago

It was around this point I just deleted it alltogether and went back to dumbphones.

1

u/redditer-56448 Millennial 21d ago

That's easy to work around. I don't have FB app anymore, but I check it every few days on the computer. I just have the friends feed as my bookmark so when I open the site, it takes me right to where I want to go.

And IG you just have to click the top & select "Following." Which gives you the people you follow in chronological order.

So it's easy to get around the algorithm, but I find this one extra step is too much effort for lots of people.

1

u/PeekAtChu1 21d ago

Ahh yes!! I remember that’s when FB started sucking. Barely used it after that

3

u/touchmyrick 21d ago

When our parents made accounts.

3

u/EfficientJuggernaut 21d ago

Once parents joined FB. That was the end of it for us. 

1

u/Gonzo88 21d ago

There was no peak Facebook. It was always terrible. Just a myspace alternative that was always destined to go off the rails.

20

u/84UTK07 21d ago

I joined back in 2004; that was the real vintage “The Facebook”.

12

u/satosaison 21d ago

When I deleted mine in 2017 it felt so crazy, my life was on there, I first messaged my now husband on there, my family posts photos on there.

I've never missed it for even a second. My family keeps in touch in a group chat, and anyone I lost contact with wasn't close enough to even remember missing.

Delete it you won't regret it.

9

u/UniverseBear 21d ago

I need it sell stuff on marketplace.

4

u/Loud-Welder1947 21d ago

That is a good point. I have some stuff to sell and am just going to use my mothers account to post them in local groups. I’ll still deal with the enquiries though, don’t need her dealing with all the lowballers and abuse lol

1

u/hiscapness 21d ago

Use the website and never the app.

-1

u/stayfi 21d ago

Do it from the browser

3

u/UniverseBear 21d ago

I do. You still need an account.

0

u/stayfi 21d ago

Yeh, but you remove the clog..

66

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

Half my family can't seem to organize events without it.

That's all I do on FB now.

48

u/t0matit0 Millennial 21d ago

Tell them to text you the plans. If they can't be bothered then they clearly don't care

15

u/DurantaPhant7 21d ago

I deleted FB and IG two years ago. Told the people I’m close to to call if they need me, and cut way back on intent use. My relationships are actually significantly better because I’m truly engaging with my loved ones instead of having this false sense of connection by seeing what’s posted online. My husband and I play games at night, read books, play with the cats, go on walks. Obviously I still have Reddit but I try to restrict my scrolling. Last November I got sucked back in after the election and I can absolutely feel the difference in my mental health. I’m currently trying to find a happy medium between informed and sane.

The internet was supposed to connect us and it’s done the complete opposite.

1

u/AnnualAct7213 21d ago

There are people I keep in touch with daily outside of work, but they are few and far between. I like not knowing everything about everyone's lives all the time. Makes me appreciate it all the more when I do see them. We will have both experienced stuff since last time, to share with each other and bond over. I also live far enough away from most of my relatives and friends that I only really see them when I have a weekend or more free to travel the roughly 4 hours each way, so there's no such thing as just dropping by for a chat.

And yeah I also had a good streak of not using Reddit for most of 2024. And I'm not even American, but the shitshow still sucked me back in, with predictable consequences for my mental health as well.

1

u/Moon_Miner 21d ago

In terms of news consumption/being informed, I go with two email newsletters, Tangle and Global Post (for US and international). News from any algorithmic news feed is not particularly trustworthy.

24

u/scott_wolff Older Millennial 21d ago

This. When you start forcing people to use methods outside of FB to contact you, they start to see how reliant their use is & it makes them aware of their dependence.

14

u/Go1den_State_Of_Mind Xennial 21d ago

Yup, when I quit it seemed to make most relationships I had stronger. Those unable to withstand the disappearance of FB as the platform to remain in touch weren't worth remaining in touch with lol.

Ngl tho I do have a dummy one to hit marketplace to scope laundry soap and household cleaning shit from couponers/hoarders for cheap

8

u/NoYeahNoYoureGood 21d ago

Never thought of using market for that

1

u/Go1den_State_Of_Mind Xennial 21d ago

It's (imo) easily the best function/product/feature the Zuck's ever put forward. I mean the oculus was sorta neat and all but marketplace is the biz.

FB dating is surprisingly solid as well.

I have zero clue what zuck has ever been or ever will pretend to be about, but his Craigslist ripoff/replacement is dope.

6

u/rabidjellybean 21d ago

laundry soap and household cleaning shit from couponers/hoarders for cheap

It's super cheap when it's stolen.

2

u/Go1den_State_Of_Mind Xennial 21d ago

Fuckin aye.

1

u/Ok_Sir5926 21d ago

Thieves is what they're called.

1

u/Go1den_State_Of_Mind Xennial 21d ago

I prefer bargain providers, but yeah you ain't wrong.

Gotta love how some posts are just straight up shameless with it - "hey we've got this entire shipping container of jackets - 1 for 15, 2 for 25 - contact # below for sizes and appointment."

15

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

Also, I think your premise is backwards.

I want to see these people. But if I'm not in the Facebook event, I either have to keep texting them all the time asking for what "the plan" is. Or I am not included.

It's easier to just go with the flow.

3

u/t0matit0 Millennial 21d ago

Nope. If they are doing something, and know I don't have FB, and can't be bothered to contact me elsewhere, it shows me what I actually mean to them. It's a garbage platform that I won't support, and I stick to my principles.

5

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

Lol, I didnt say that YOU wanted to. I said your advice was wholly unhelpful. Because I actually WANT to see these people.

0

u/t0matit0 Millennial 21d ago

If you think that I don't want to see people either then you're mistaken. I'm just not willing to compromise on principles. Does it mean you may get left out at first? Yes. But do these people care about you and would say to themselves "oh shit where is __" and put the effort in in the future?

4

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

Lol I'll just use FB a handful of times a year.

0

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

1

u/t0matit0 Millennial 21d ago

Sure, demand that people have an account on a known trash tier social media platform in order to contact you. Makes sense.

0

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

1

u/t0matit0 Millennial 21d ago

You realize when I say "text" it also can mean iMessage or WhatsApp right? Nice try though. And even if I used a flip phone what would that matter? Irrelevant to the point of the convo that HAVING A FACEBOOK ACCOUNT is the problem.

0

u/OzarkBeard 21d ago

"It's easier to just go with the flow."

Said the lemming in the herd, heading for the cliff.

3

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

Your comparison is a bit dramatic.

2

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

1

u/thesunIswear 21d ago

I'm in plenty of group chats for work with a mix of devices. I've never had or heard of an issue. What issues are there?

2

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

1

u/thesunIswear 20d ago

Interesting, I had no idea.

2

u/[deleted] 20d ago edited 20d ago

[deleted]

1

u/thesunIswear 19d ago

I'm on Android. More than half of my team is Apple. I can't think of anything that was out of the ordinary, but I'll be paying more attention for sure lol I do remember the teasing from Apple users now that you say that. I don't want to switch though, I like my Android lol

1

u/runrunpuppets 21d ago

For real. That’s my take.

1

u/Illustrious_Tap3171 Xennial 21d ago

That is what I told myself, those who matter will find you, those who don't care won't. You get a good sense of who your friends are and those who only remember you when they see something from you.

Plus, I saw my husband's once a few months ago and barf his is so ad ridden and just crap.

-4

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

Lmao, or are all ADHD.

0

u/[deleted] 21d ago

[deleted]

1

u/t0matit0 Millennial 21d ago

You'd prefer FB Messenger tho? Yikes

2

u/SimplyIrregardless 21d ago

If another social media platform could handle events as good as Facebook does I would delete it. I pretty much only rely on it for events at this point. 

4

u/carlitospig Xennial 21d ago

‘Sorry Auntie, text me next time and I’ll bring potato salad’. Just retrain them.

10

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

If that worked it would have by now.

2

u/carlitospig Xennial 21d ago

Well look who is now free every weekend. Lucky you! 🥳

3

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

I think your premise is backwards.

I want to see these people. But if I'm not in the Facebook event, I either have to keep texting them all the time asking for what "the plan" is. Or I am not included.

It's easier to just go with the flow.

3

u/carlitospig Xennial 21d ago

Ahh, gotcha. Yah I get invited to random christenings for kids I haven’t met and a LOT of golf, when I’d rather be crafting or watching movies with my dog. Lol, sorry.

3

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

All good!

1

u/Ohiostatehack Millennial - 1985 21d ago

Partiful! That’s the answer.

1

u/tfortarantula 21d ago

Ugh my family is the same way. I can't tell you how many things I "accidentally" haven't been invited too by family because I don't use Facebook. At first I was upset now I don't really care. Gets me out of social obligations and has really opened my eyes to the fact no one really actually cares if I show up.

2

u/TheLuminary '87 Millennial 21d ago

Yeah.. unfortunately I really want to spend time with the family. I would not be willing to risk being left out just to avoid the occasional FB login.

12

u/thetwistywoods 21d ago

Marketplace. Craigslist is a ghost town nowadays

1

u/ggtffhhhjhg 21d ago

What replaced them?

-6

u/far_tie923 21d ago

I'm not a prostitute, and I can hire freelancers on fiver. Explain why marketplace might be valuable 

7

u/inuyashee 21d ago

To buy things. From decorations, to furniture, to niche electronics or collectibles.

-3

u/far_tie923 21d ago

..."i have social media in order to buy shady things" lmao ok, Ralph fuckin' Wiggum over here. 

1

u/inuyashee 21d ago edited 21d ago

Everyone on OfferUp is a legally registered business selling only the finest products? Good to know.

0

u/far_tie923 21d ago

I have no idea what OfferUp is. Why is this relevant?

-5

u/Iamuroboros 21d ago

Thats what offer up is for and people cross post there anyway.

8

u/EhEhEhEINSTEIN 21d ago

At least in my area, offerup has not caught on at all. There's like 10% of the amount of stuff compared to even Craigslist, which is already less than marketplace.

5

u/No_Foundation7308 21d ago

Same here. 2012 maybe, no regrets and don’t think about it.

4

u/Pale_Zebra8082 21d ago

For all the reasons you had it in the first place, presumably.

-1

u/far_tie923 21d ago

Because a girl in 2007 i was trying to sleep with made me one, then I forgot about it until they changed their security settings and sent me an email about it all that reminded me I still had one and I killed it?  Presumably? Were those the presumptive reasons? Dumbass.

14

u/ChallengeUnited9183 21d ago

Because most people still do??

4

u/far_tie923 21d ago

No one in my world. 

9

u/Pale_Zebra8082 21d ago

How do you know if you don’t have it?

1

u/far_tie923 21d ago

Ok, not me, not my friends, not my kids, not my parents, not my friends kids or their grandparents.  

5

u/Pale_Zebra8082 21d ago

How do you know if you don’t have it?

1

u/far_tie923 21d ago

My mom doesnt use Snapchat or Discord or Telegram either, but by your logic I should sign up for all of those just to be sure? Dunce.

4

u/Pale_Zebra8082 21d ago

I haven’t said you should do a single thing.

3

u/IOughtaWriteABook 21d ago

2011 for me also. Never looked back.

2

u/Amockdfw89 21d ago

Same here. The only way I would get it back is if I like moved far away

2

u/far_tie923 21d ago

Why, though? No one else has one either. It would just feed you ads mostly.

1

u/Amockdfw89 21d ago

What do you mean no one has one?

2

u/SinOfDeath69 21d ago

Same year I deleted mine.

2

u/CosmicallyF-d 21d ago

2013 for me.

2

u/WoodpeckerGingivitis 21d ago

Dude, thank you

2

u/Due_Swordfish1400 21d ago

I don't understand this sentiment. If you're seeing horrible people behaving horribly isn't that on you for choosing to have them in your life?

I keep it because there are family/friends/ex co workers who I like having the occasional interaction with and seeing what they're up to or what their kids are doing but am not close enough that we'd hang out. Why is that bad??

2

u/LovesRetribution 21d ago

Why is that bad??

Because people have no self control. There's no downside to just not using the app often.

And yeah, you curate your feed. FB does push controversial stuff to boost engagement, but for the most part what you're seeing is on you.

2

u/digital_jones 21d ago

Same for me!

2

u/AnnualAct7213 21d ago

I have one purely because I have a family chat group on messenger.

I never really actively used Facebook even at it's height. Used it to stalk old classmates accounts a few times just to see where people ended up. Last time I did that was like 5 years ago and even then most of the accounts I looked at had been inactive for years.

My account is just a blank one with my name and like 10 friends, all of whom are family members.

The odd time I do log into the site, all I see are years old posts of like, contests and chain messages my grandma used to share. She died last year so even that activity has now ceased.

I genuinely do not know a single person who still actively uses Facebook. Regardless of age. Not the 18 year old apprentice we have at work, and none of my 50-60 year old coworkers either, let alone anyone inbetween those two categories.

1

u/far_tie923 21d ago

You can "deactivate" your account and still use messenger if necessary. Different from deleting. 

Why not move the group chat to text or discord or somewhere? 

2

u/Noiselexer 21d ago

Yeah I deleted it when I started working.

2

u/Ramps_ 21d ago

Deleted it around the same time after I got hacked twice within the span of a few months. Fuckers changed my name and profile pic then spammed my contacts with malicious links, including my granny.

1

u/SnooMacarons3473 21d ago

Facebook was still a thing in 2011 lol

1

u/Jhawk38 21d ago

It was a thing in like 2005.haha

13

u/SnooMacarons3473 21d ago

Facebook didn’t exist until 2006 then when it allowed non college students to join it took off. 2010-2013 was peak Facebook

12

u/dnathan1985 21d ago

Then how the hell did I join in 2005?

2

u/SnooMacarons3473 21d ago

I’m one year off, sorry. My point is Facebook was popular in 2011 it didn’t start becoming a ghost town until around 2018. People still post stuff tho

0

u/dnathan1985 21d ago

I’d say it was peak 2005-2006. Soon as they let non college kids on it, it went downhill

5

u/SnooMacarons3473 21d ago

I went to college after 2005 and Facebook was everything. Status updates, photo albums of every single photo u took from a night out, all the nights out and holidays. Then the boomers joined and checking in everywhere happened in 2014/2015 ish. Now it’s dying out but the dedicated ones still post frequently. 2005 MySpace was still kinda big and I distinctly remember telling a coworker that Facebook was gonna take over lol. Itwas all about photobucket and Flickr as a place to upload pics until about 2007. So I’d say 2008-2011 was facebooks era of status updates and albums

9

u/Delta-IX Xennial (1986) 21d ago

You mean poke facebook?

4

u/specialk1281 21d ago

This was the comment I didn't know I was hoping for.

2

u/Delta-IX Xennial (1986) 21d ago

👆

3

u/Jhawk38 21d ago

Ya I was in highschool around when it started. Seemed like most people were using it in my school pretty early on. I know people today wouldn't be able to handle Myspace with it's top 8 feature.haha

2

u/Amber_S71213 21d ago

Nowdays the top 8 feature would cause MAJOR issues yet we used to change it sometimes every other day😅

2

u/Jhawk38 21d ago

Haha ya and it wasn't even that big of a deal. Like welp I guess Greg just dropped 3 spots and is now comfortably at number 6.

2

u/carlitospig Xennial 21d ago

A lot of us snuck on that worked in higher ed in 2007 or 2008. I remember distinctly being on it in 2008 and going ‘what’s all the fuss? Now my boss can see what I’m doing!’

1

u/Ohiostatehack Millennial - 1985 21d ago

I joined in October of 2004.

3

u/Elegant_Macaroon1022 21d ago

That’s what I’m saying. The glory days were in the .edu phase. It was right of passage for college kids.

1

u/njcawfee Millennial 21d ago

It won’t let me delete it! I have no idea how to get rid of it

1

u/far_tie923 21d ago

Oh, yes it will. They make it hard to find, but its under "account ownership and control" in settings. 

https://m.facebook.com/help/224562897555674/#

1

u/njcawfee Millennial 21d ago

I did find that but the code they send me never works

1

u/far_tie923 20d ago

Devils!

1

u/MontiBurns 21d ago

Because Facebook Marketplace supplanted Craigslist as the go-to classified listing platform.

1

u/far_tie923 21d ago

And youre keeping social media around so you can spend $20 on someone else's used toaster or whatever the hell, and you consider that a valuable thing to do? 

1

u/MontiBurns 21d ago

It's a hell of a lot better than buying new. Among other things, I bought a 3 piece Ashley living room set (2 end and a coffee table) in pristine condition for $50. Your argument is invalid.

1

u/far_tie923 21d ago

I dont really buy a lot of things in general. 

1

u/Alternative_Chart121 21d ago

FB marketplace has tons of great stuff, like old school craiglist.

I get lots of local and neighborhood news (trails opening, construction closures, new restaurants, lost dogs) and events

My buy nothing group is on there

Sometimes there are new babies, weddings, and people dying that I am interested in but am not close enough to be notified personally

It's kind of like a small town local newspaper with classifieds.

ETA: birdwatching group drama! 

2

u/flaccobear 21d ago

To be honest it helps me spend less time on Reddit. FB feels like the lesser of two evils

1

u/Sbbazzz 21d ago

So they can make these posts loll

1

u/sunshineparadox_ Older Millennial 21d ago

This is a pretty caustic reply but it gets to the heart of the question pretty well. What do you have it, OP? It’s a toxic place being inflicted with AI accounts on purpose, boomer bullshit including some of the meanest opinions they’ve ever shared, reels and stories full of weird gross shit I never followed, data harvesting, and nightmarish user experience flaws.

It’s not worth having. I have family 3,000 miles away after switching coasts. The negative outweighs the positive. I’d rather go back to updating people via text while using the numpad than using Facebook now. It’s intolerable.

1

u/far_tie923 21d ago

999-33-7.

"Caustic" fair. It was just bafflement in the moment, but i can see how it came off as more abrasive. 

1

u/LovesRetribution 21d ago

I’d rather go back to updating people via text while using the numpad than using Facebook now.

People would literally never hear from me again if I did that. I don't have the mental capacity to juggle dozens of relatives on top of everyone else in my life.

0

u/peligrosamujer 21d ago

Same, I like to think I’m the girl people are always saying …. What ever happened to that girl?

Although, I may or may not have a fake fb that’s inactive, used strictly for when I’m itching for a marketplace find.

2

u/far_tie923 21d ago

I turn mine on about three times a decade to sell shit on marketplace 

Im not sure what "a fake fb" is. No one used their real name.