Am I wrong in not having a Facebook profile or any other type of social media account?

A few months ago I killed/deleted all my social media accounts, that includes Facebook that I visited frequently, several Twitter handles that I rarely if ever at all used, tried to delete my Google+ but had to reopen it to be able to properly use YouTube (I don't comment or share videos, but needed to make channels and lists). I only kept my LinkedIn profile for professional reasons (I am in HR) and a Pinterest profile that I mainly use as a scrapbook for cool stuff but rarely share content with my 3 contacts that I know in real life.

When I did have a Facebook profile I rarely posted and when I did my post was lost in the myriad of posts and received little to no attention, example I would post a picture of my wife and I and have 3 likes, when she posted the same picture on her profile she would get 50+ all because her profile was more visible had more contacts and she was more active than I was, I was a huge man with the tiniest of voices in there and didn't feel compelled to share a bunch of stuff so I only lurked and liked, maybe comment every now and then on other posts. That's the way Facebook works and i get it, but I disliked being a consumer of people's lives through Facebook and being up to date on everything they did that by the time we actually met in person we didn't have much to talk about (has this happened to anyone else), and then it started happening with my wife and I knew I had to put a stop to it. So I terminated my electronic persona and never looked back.

I've been happy for the most part with my decision it has helped me worry less about what other people might think and spend less time on my phone, I used to be an internet explorer but Facebook ended that, it consumed pretty much all of my online activity and now I am starting to explore again the vast plain of The Internet, so much cool stuff out there that I missed.

On the other hand on real life, outside of my family and some friends that I can count with the fingers on one hand, I don't have that many meaningful connections. My friends from college are gone (I realized that they were my friends but I wasn't theirs), some of my colleagues at work are cool and all but I wouldn't call them my friends (except one of them that I already considered with those fingers on that one hand).

I've never had a large group of friends but I feel that nowadays with everything happening online friendships have moved from a physical world to a digital one, and I am not sure I like it, I enjoy having a candid conversation in person, video chat doesn't feel the same even those telepresence rooms. I guess I am a bit old fashioned that way, and I know that there's a bit of FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) going on, but lately it has made me think that maybe I am the one that is wrong about this whole thing. I don't know for sure, but I will find out sooner or later.

Thanks for reading, leave a comment if you want to share something :)

Giantbomb is the only society you need.

I ditched all my social bull as well. I have family on the other side of the country who I don't get to hear from as much, but we skype with them from time to time. I have to remind them that nether myself or my hubby use FB or anything so we don't know whats going on in their lives. They never seem upset to tell us stuff though so its cool. As for friends, I have a very small amount of friends whom I email from time to time just to check up on, and the rest I see irl from time to time.

I think you made a good choice dude.

I don't think everything has "moved online" people still spent plenty of time talking and spending time with people in their local area. I however really value social media mostly because its allowed me to connect with a ton of people that I would have never met otherwise that I click with on a lot of levels. If its not for you its not for you and for some people the allure of social media isnt' there but also you really get what you put into it. If you aren't on there posting a lot and getting people to notice you then sure you're not going to get people following and commenting on your posts.

I just shortlisted a bunch of people for a job in my office. There were about 20 candidates that met the criteria so I needed to get the number down to a half dozen to make it possible to interview people. One of the ways I was able to do this was by checking every applicant's facebook and linkedin and using the results as one of several final passes to whittle out anyone who doesn't present themselves publicly in a professional manner. People without profiles faced no such penalty. Harsh, but it should give people a window into a reason why having no profiles will not count against you.

Nothing wrong with getting rid of social media accounts. I only keep Facebook on so I can message friends since it's so ubiquitous. Unless they don't have a Facebook account, pretty much all SMS have been replaced with Facebook Messenger. I also have a Twitter account but only to follow people from the video games industry and little else.

I don't have a twitter account, nor pininterest, but I do value the idea of online communities. It can seem too invasive and meaningless, but it is a good way to maintain easy contact with distant friends and relatives, and know new people that can enrich one's life, plus it allows you share your ideas and moments with your connections. It's a easy and confortable way to stay in touch, although it doesn't replace real life interactions. I do have a Facebook account, and to me it is important, as an extension of my own identity and a platform to share my own ideas. It doesn't matter that few people bother to read. As I consider what I share important, it is something that can have and has an impact in other people's lives.

I've stopped using Facebook ages ago but Twitter is alright.

No. I wish I could go back, but at this point I'm too entrenched. When time travel gets invented, I need to go back and stop my 14 year old self from making my Facebook account.

I only have a Facebook account so I can use it for the PS4.

They're pretty important to me, but if not having them works for you, that's cool too. I just think it's important for people to understand that either way is perfectly alright.

Nope. I got rid of all mine as well for almost the same reasons as you. Deleting it only made me want to see my friends and family more often in person, and made these encounters more special. Sure, some people won't keep in contact with you and vice-versa, but that is how you'll find out who is really important in your life.

This is a pretty unpopular opinion nowadays but I still, most of the time, like Twitter. I'm not an Internet famous person and I rarely tweet myself so your mileage may vary, I suppose. It's gotten to the point where if I stopped using Twitter, I would probably have no idea what was going on in the world.

Facebook can fuck off though. I've been threatening to delete that shit for years now. It's the worst.

Nothing wrong with it. I have Facebook only because of family members I don't have a more convenient way to keep up with. I don't think I've posted to it in at least 2 years now and never visit the site proper. Twitter, to me, is primarily used for following interests and online/gaming buds that use to chat over IRC or AIM/ICQ that I still like to keep up with, since I also don't use those any longer.

You do you. Anyone that tells you that you should do otherwise or that you "need" to be on a particular service is an asshole, and part of the problem with those services.

Yeah man, social media is a waste of time for the most part in my opinion. I have all those accounts active, but I visit them maybe once a month, if that. I mainly use them to read posts from more public figures/companies as a way of getting news or information. That being said, I'm the kind of person that waits for media to be filtered through hundreds of people before I decide to pay attention to it. Having to wade through the shit to find the gems of the internet seems like a huge waste of time for me.

No, you're probably right.

Based on what you got out of those sites, I think you made the right move. Whenever I check up on facebook or instagram, I start comparing myself to other people. It's an unavoidable habit, but one that is exacerbated by these sites that have created a quantifiable metric for the approval of others. a.k.a "likes" As I write this I'm checking my own fb to see if that sweet, sweet notification is another person liking something I just posted.

edit: Nope, it's just someone's fucking birthday

In my experience swiping thru my fb or ig feeds can generate feelings of inferiority, frustration, FOMO and can overall put me in a bad mood. My brain can't help but go to an unhealthy space when I see someone's post about a new awesome job or world traveling vacation that gets more likes than my quip about Raisin Bran. When in fact, it didn't actually matter what everyone thought of what I was doing (and I CERTAINLY didn't care about what they were up to) but somehow in that instance I think that my life is "worse" than someone else's. I was searching for fulfillment or validation by hoping that every acquaintence or old high school classmate approved of what I just shared. Why not just live and go get ice cream and spend time with my actual friends whose opinions I actually care about?

You made a good choice and you shouldn't for one second think that meaningful social connections are dependent upon having a social media presence. I barely interact with my closest friends on fb, ig or twitter. Enjoy your freedom from the compulsion to keep tabs on what everyone is doing/thinking/seeing all the time and know that just because you haven't #joinedtheconversation doesn't mean you don't exist.

You're better off.

Nope. The only platform I ever had was FB. I ditched it a couple years ago and that has been one of the best decisions of my life.

I have never had a Facebook, myspace, etc. account and I have never posted a single Twitter message. Nothing wrong with not liking social media.

I've been trying to find a new job for over a year now. Despite having a resume with 5+ years of corporate experience with a well established organization, I can't help but feel not having FB or Linkedin is probably sinking me.

The problem is... I sort of come from a white trash town. FB would just link me to family members or people who remember me in high school and tracked me down, who are 85% made up of drug addicts, criminals, racists, etc... I feel like it would do me more harm than good. Also I think starting a Linkedin acct with no contacts just looks sad.

First of all, I'm sorry to hear about your struggle to find work. Let me assure you that not having facebook does you nothing but good on the job hunting front. If done well, LinkedIn is occasionally marginally helpful but if you complete applications in the way (and with the level of specificity) that the employer is looking for then your LinkedIn probably won't be helpful (like I say, sometimes it can be... for instance if you have a requisite skill stated on LinkedIn but didn't add it to your application.... but in most cases it is irrelevant). It sounds simple (even though the *vast* majority of applicants do not do it) but read the job description and the role specification. Don't fill an application with anything that doesn't speak to the needs/competencies being outlined. Every application needs to get past that first pass where the recruiter is just looking for keywords and phrases....

If the Job specification says a certain type of experience is needed then you should talk about how you have it immediately. If you don't have it then explain (again immediately) how the experience you do have proves you're worth the attention of the recruiter. Don't bullshit excessively. Don't waste the reader's time. Don't write an autobiography. Don't make spelling/grammar mistakes. For a lot of the jobs in my research laboratory there are two dozen applicants who are good enough to get an interview. We only ever interview six, so I need to find ways to eliminate applicants. Spelling and grammar is one of those ways.

I'm sure it is different in different areas of work but those would be my general pointers. Keep things clear and to the point. Good luck!

Never had a Facebook or Twitter really. I made a blank as possible thing for each just for when I wanted to participate in something where it was required.

All that stuff seems like a waste of time IMO. Unless you are an actual personality or celebrity etc. Even then seems kinda lame to me.

I had a Bebo account for about 10 minutes in 2005 or 2006. Never used any social media sites after that and I don't intend to.

Nothing wrong with that, social media is mostly a time sink.

Thanks for the pointers, @extintor! It's good to know if I'm doing something completely wrong or not. I'm still in good spirits, and will trim down my cover letters for now on.

The only one I can't imagine not having is Facebook. I don't really use it for the site itself - I haven't posted anything in years and I deactivated the newsfeed entirely - but that messenger is just too valuable to me to give up. Being able to send a quick message to someone I haven't seen in a few years and catch up is amazing. I don't keep up with the day to day social media aspect of it or any site, but Facebook has replaced my old list of email addresses I used to keep in touch with old high school and college friends now and then. Yeah I really can't imagine giving that up.

Other than that though, no none of it is too valuable. The day to day consumption part of it is worth trying to cut out of your life if it's not for you - straight up hiding the newsfeed works great, but I'd still say it's worth having a Facebook even if you never actively use it just so old friends or family you don't really keep in touch with as much can find you.

It's weird to not have a facebook account. Facebook is the accepted way to "find" someone you used to know, so without one, it looks like you've completely cut off your past. I'd expect people to have one, even if their page is devoid of all personal information besides the bare minimum for someone they used to know to find them, and they never look at it to see what their friends' cat thought about the democratic debate.

No I 100% support this. I do the same with Facebook in particular, which is used for a lot of different people for a lot of different things, but I find most of it pointless (mostly self indulgent and a pissing contest to compare oneself to others).

Twitter I like for taking in news and media in a central feed. But otherwise, I really support people stepping back from social media and technology of the sort if they feel it is not adding anything to their life. I have had Facebook for a time but I found it very vapid and when I spent time on it I stepped back and realized how pointless that time was. During college it had value for me because there were so many new people around and I'm terrible at names so it had its use for that. It was great for my romantic life to use in this kind of way. Otherwise though, I got rid of it and that's all for the better.

@extintor:As a question, since you're on the topic: would twitter ever be looked at? I don't have any other profiles but my twitter is in my real name. Not like it's awful, but I don't consider presenting a professional image in any way on it. I don't have a FB or Linkedin.

The only thing I have is Twitter. I used to have a Facebook account and I've used it about 2 or 3 times over the course of about... 3, 4 years? It is good for nothing.

The answer to your question is "no". You use what you want to use.

I'm with ya. Deleted Facebook around 2010, and never looked back. Felt weird seeing into people's lives I never really talked to. Kinda felt weird for a week or so, but I go out and see people way more often now.

I have never used facebook. Sometimes friends complain that they can only interact with me by calling me up, but I don't consider that a bad thing. Occassionally you run into women who want nothing to do with you if you're not on facebook. It works like a screening system for girls you don't want to be with in that case.

@catsakimbo: For me, that's a positive :-). I like leaving the past in the past rather than awkward "catching up" with someone to find that we don't really have much of a connection anymore (maybe that's why we didn't stay in touch), or having your new view of them taint your previous memories.

I tend to find these things vary by who you surround yourself by, I have a Facebook account under a false name, I use it to keep in touch with my two best friends. Besides that, I mostly use it as a news feed, and that's fine. It's good, I have nothing in my feed I don't want, and I don't talk to anyone I don't want.
But there is nothing wrong with not having any of these things, this shit comes and goes, some for longer, but there is always another. It doesn't really matter.

Just give all of your internet socializing time to Giant Bomb, only we love you.

This guy gets it. One of us! Forever!

Nah you're not wrong. Sounds like you're happier not having them? Everyone's different, and I'm sure a lot of us would be happier throughout the day not having to continuously check up on all of our internet stuff. Personally I keep mine because it helps me keep in touch with my friends and family since I don't always get to see them in person a lot. If I didn't need them for that then I'd be fine with deleting mine too.

I have a FB account, and I've slowly transitioned it to a place where I can keep up with artists that I follow (I'm an animator/artist), and it's okay for that, although there are far better places for that, even (Tumblr is my favourite). I never post, and I never share personal photos, because I don't trust FB with information, etc. for security reasons, plus, more than half the people in my "friends" list aren't even my friends. It's filled with people I used to go to school with, etc., whom I wouldn't even go say hi to, if I saw them in public. I don't say that to be cold or harsh, but most of us don't actually mean anything to one another in real life, and I would guess that that's how it is with many people on social media. We're all just numbers and "likes" to each other, and it's unhealthy and un'real.'

I say go ahead and stay away from FB. There really isn't anything worthwhile in it, and there are so many things and people that are far more worthy of your time and mind-space.

I deleted my Facebook like 5 years ago. Never been happier.

I think there is a meaningful social cost to not having a facebook presence. I don't like FB and probably won't ever use it. But I've definitely fallen out of touch with a number of people I would have liked to stay in contact with, just because that's how many of them keep in touch exclusively these days.

What some of my friends do and I think is the best way to use it, is to log in maybe only once a week or a month. That way you still get the benefit of staying connected, but aren't consumed by it.

As long as you have other ways to keep in touch with friends and family who are out state to you (texting etc). I think you'll be fine.

I think Facebook's alright if you keep it to people you actually like and care about, not every random person you ever met. Nobody has 300 friends.

Twitter just seems like a cesspit. I have no idea how famous-but-not-really people like the GB staff can stomach the mass sycophancy from random nobodies on there without wanting to hurl. Every single tweet could be replaced with 'pleeeeease like meeee!' and nothing of substance would be lost.

I tried Facebook for a few weeks back in 07 or 08 and I really didn't like people having an easy way to contact me, especially people I had just spent the previous six or seven years cutting out of my life. I get why other people liked it, but for someone like me who values privacy and doesn't like other people knowing everything I'm up to, it wasn't worth it.

Fast forward to many years later where I'm helping someone set up a facebook group for the local area, and I'm seeing the facebook feeds for many, many residents that I am acquainted with and... good God, I did not need to know this much about any of them. It feels weirdly invasive, voyeuristic, and my opinions of several people drastically changed (and not for the better) after seeing what kind of stuff they like and what kind of stuff they espouse. I really don't think human beings were meant to know each other this intimately. Just, yuck.

I think Twitter is actively dumbing people down, forcing them to reprogram their thinking and language to fit into a soundbyte, but that's just a crackpot theory I have and I don't have any proof.

Basically, no, you're not wrong for opting out of having facebook or twitter or any social media of any kind. That stuff is opt-in for a reason. Some people just don't want the risks, or the privacy violations, or some people plain just don't want to be bothered by a bajillion people showing pictures of their fugly babies and expecting the digital clucking of tongues over how cute the little bastard is. If you're not into that, then you're not into that. Go, be free, do something worthwhile with your time, like, I don't know, talking to a real human being.

Nah. There's nothing, but idiots on there (other people). I only have it to casually glance at it, and because I'm an idiot. But seriously, I do like occasionally seeing what my friends I don't live in the same state as anymore or family are up to. There is almost always TMI though and 75% of my family are worthless so I don't know why I keep using it. I can't stand a lot of people's worthless political opinions. It gets stupid all day long, every day. I just keep telling myself "don't engage, don't engage" and move on.

I've sadly had friends of over a decade unfriend me because I didn't agree with a meme they posted (I wasn't even mean about it, I just disagreed and stated why). Facebook is that stupid.

@oldirtybearon: I tried Facebook for a few weeks back in 07 or 08 and I really didn't like people having an easy way to contact me, especially people I had just spent the previous six or seven years cutting out of my life. I get why other people liked it, but for someone like me who values privacy and doesn't like other people knowing everything I'm up to, it wasn't worth it.

I'm like that too. I don't friend people I don't want knowing anything about what I'm doing. I block everything from the outside world that I don't want to share. Facebook has a lot of options for that- most of my stuff on there isn't publicly visible unless I make it that way.

These days Facebook even has a ton of options on what other people that are already on your list even see. I spend probably too much time going through stuff and setting permissions and declining things that other people post about me if I don't want stuff up there and what not.

I don't know about you, but even if I wasn't on there I'd still be on there because of other people around me always saying where I am on Facebook because I'm with them or whatever. It annoys me a lot, but that's the world we live in so it makes no difference, for me, in that regard. At least if I'm on there I can waste time declining to show some of that stuff if I want to. My facebook is pretty secure except for the amount of advertising data i'm allowing them to collect on me.

I really don't think human beings were meant to know each other this intimately. Just, yuck.

It's not really invasive because they're telling this stuff to the world, but I'm totally with you on how candid people get on there and how gross it makes just about everybody who uses it regularly look. Not everybody, I have some people who just post memes all day because they're bored at work, but even that can tell you an awful lot about people. More than you really want to know.

I'm not religious, but if we're judged in front of everybody at the end of the world most of the stuff people put on twitter/facebook already told us 75% of their sins so it won't be as meaningful now. God is gonna have to figure out something else if that's supposed to shame people.

I think Twitter is actively dumbing people down, forcing them to reprogram their thinking and language to fit into a soundbyte, but that's just a crackpot theory I have and I don't have any proof.

Nah, man. Twitter is what people make it. So, Twitter is dumber because of people. Think about it.

In my industry (scientific research), having a twitter account might get checked out ahead of shortlisting... sometimes... Perhaps 50% of the scientists I work with keep a twitter and use it as a means to continue their back and forth about new publications and ideas. Scientific academics tend to adore brevity (except when they are addressing an audience!) and so twitter appeals to some of them but not all. The ones who don't like it tend to view it very negatively as just a tool that narcissists use to draw attention to themselves, and that scientists should stay away from reducing and dumbing stuff down into public statements that can be misconstrued.

Someone also said it in this thread but I'd echo that I cannot imagine working in an industry where tens of thousands of people are attaching themselves to (and evaluating) your every mundane utterance online. I guess that looking at it from one perspective, it is a useful shorthand metric to show what someone's 'opinion formation' influence is but there's definitely something about the process that seems gross and potentially identity-warping about it all. I don't know how famous people deal with it to be honest!

@extintor: Thanks.

Yeah I am totally with you on your last point. That's why I have a lot of sympathy for some rich/famous people and how they act because honestly I can see how they end up there. One story or image could come out and totally shape how everyone things of you. Just being known and judged by people you don't know would be strange alone.

The only social media I use on a daily basis is Twitter. I deleted my Facebook 4 years ago with no regrets. I absolutely can't stand Facebook and have no desire to make a new account. In my opinion you made the right decision.

My sisters and I live in different states, so I primarily use Facebook to keep up with the dealings of my nephews and nieces. I've kept the number of "friends" down to 38, but I might trim some more. I don't think it's wrong to not have any social media account if you don't have any use for it.

I have one friend who rarely ever posts, but that's because his wife (who I also have as a friend) basically posts for the both of them. My brother-in-law is the same way: has an account, but my sister is the one that does all the posting. You could just keep your account with only family members, and let your wife do the postings.

All social media is dumb, and only Twitter is dumb in the right way to make it entertaining.

The only social media I use is twitter to follow the Bombcast. I can't stand Facebook, as its just another way for people you don't really know to see what your up to.

Now there's this thing where people can share their memories so some of them like to share that one time they posted a meme picture back in 2014.

Social media is dumb, but it makes me laugh some times. That may be why I keep casually lurking on it.

Yeah I recently deactivated my Facebook since my friends and I don't really use it that often. I use Twitter to follow people that I like their work like the GB crew or other journalists, devs, or other media people that I like

Nah, it's all unnecessary crap.