My uncle asked me why I still use Facebook and it stuck with me

I was over at my uncle's place last weekend helping him fix his garage door. He's not a tech guy at all, still uses a flip phone. Out of nowhere he asked why I still have a Facebook account. I gave him the usual excuses about keeping in touch with family and event invites. He just looked at me and said "you know they sell everything you type in there right?" That hit different because he's not someone who reads tech blogs or follows this stuff. It made me realize how much I just accept these platforms without thinking. Now I'm wondering if I should actually delete my account or if there's a way to use it without feeding the beast. Has anyone here managed to quit Facebook completely without losing contact with older relatives who only use that app?

3 comments

3 Comments

jordang321mo ago

Honestly your uncle might be onto something. That reminder from someone outside the whole tech bubble cuts through all the excuses we make for ourselves. Tried quitting Facebook cold turkey a couple years back and it lasted about three weeks before my mom called worried I'd died or something. The trick for me was just unfollowing everyone and everything except those older relatives, then checking it maybe once a week on a browser instead of the app. Still feels like I'm feeding the beast but at least it's a smaller portion.

henry_martinez1mo ago

I dunno man, is deleting Facebook really that deep? It's just an app.

tyler_bell13d ago

Got a buddy who deleted his whole Facebook back in 2018. Said it was to save his marriage or something. Two weeks later he's back on it with a new account using his dog's name. He told me he couldn't figure out how to coordinate poker nights without the group chat. Then his wife left him anyway so guess the Facebook wasn't the problem. Now he's deep in some conspiracy groups and sends me links at 2am. Funny how things work out.