A few weeks ago I deleted my Facebook account. I thought that  it would be easy, but while in the process of deleting my account  I  discovered that this popular social networking site was not easy to let go.  First because ‘it’ wouldn’t let me go and second I realised that I had become used to it.  As humans living in an ever-changing environment we learn to adapt and we sometimes forget how things were like before.

There are certain things that become a way of  life,  like the television and the radio and many other things we didn’t have two hundred yeas ago. Many people cannot fathom how someone cannot watch television or even own a television or a cell phone or computer etc. Everyone is supposed  to follow the status quo to embrace the new and complicated things that come our way. If you don’t you will be as backward as the Homo sapiens who lived in caves.

Don’t get me wrong I don’t hate technology. I have a blog.  I don’t hate Facebook either I think that it is a great idea and you get in touch with people you would have never have been able to get in touch with  in normal circumstances.  As for the privacy issue that really wasn’t my main concern, because I didn’t put much information about myself on Facebook. I had barely any photos of myself and my privacy settings were pretty high.  I just found that it was just too distracting. I would go on the internet and check my Hotmail account and from there I would get interesting links to other sites. Then I would log into my Facebook account. I would go on Facebook and reply to the comments there;  then I would play the various games, and then get constantly bombarded with pop ups from advertisers asking me for my email address.

When I was finally in the process of deleting my account a dialogue ensued with the computer.

Facebook: ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’

Me: “If I wasn’t I wouldn’t be on this specific page’.

Then photographs of  my Facebook friends appeared on the screen and a message.

Facebook:  ‘Please send them a goodbye message’.

Me: ‘ Well,  tear out my heart-strings why don’t you!’

Facebook: “Why are you leaving me! What did I do?”

Then  a box appeared with a list of my possible reasons for wanting to leave Facebook.

Me: ‘You were useless!’

Facebook: “You need to add more friends’.

Then some suggestions  to improve my ‘Facebooking’.  I ignore the suggestions and then Facebook retaliated.

Facebook:  ‘Alright then take this!  We’re sorry to let you go. You can reactivate your account by using your email address and the same password. We hope you will be back soon… Sucker!’

On the last page my heart took a dive and my brain spun.   Then I came to my senses and thought  to myself,  ‘it’s just Facebook!’  But, then it occurred to me that  I haven’t really left Facebook.   I am in their hard drive, their  ‘private’ files for ever.  That is when I realised that Facebook is just like Hotel California ‘you can  check out  [log out] anytime you like, but you can never  leave!’…

Link to the lyrics for ‘Hotel California ‘ Facebook California