Why is deactivating Facebook a big deal, anyway?

When I say that I deactivated my Facebook account and that I'm only using Messenger, I'm always amused by the shocked expressions of others. As if I had a huge drama or made an enemy in Facebook that I deactivated. Actually, no one really notices that you're gone from Facebook until you tell them you're not in it.

I just smile when people tell me to activate again, because I know I won't. As of now, I want to quit Facebook for good. Facebook makes activating again easy (you just have to log in again), so I must also discipline myself not to log in or visit the very-familiar homepage.

I admit that I really don't understand why people don't understand that sometimes, avoiding social media is good for your mental health. I know myself. I know how easily I can be distracted, how much time I can waste, and how toxic it can be for me. What's the better thing, to be productive in your work and your personal dreams, or to be productive in Facebook? Facebook keeps me updated with my family and friends, sure, but Messenger is more practical for keeping in touch anyway.

I want to get away from the stalking, the pointless posts on the news feed, fleeting mementos of moments, pictures edited and airbrushed to perfection and our obsession with likes and reactions. All the wasted days and hours I could have used to pursue what's important.

I have just deactivated for a few days, yet it already feels like I missed out for years already! Odd how Facebook has become so intertwined with our lives. I miss the halcyon days that we do things for their sake, not to update about it later. I want to enjoy the moment, not 'capture' them and waste my time.

We're all dying. I want to live life with eyes open, not live it through a screen. Your opinion may differ, but I just wish that instead of being shocked, people should think of how they use social media. I think people are surprised because its now so hard to imagine life without it. They also can't imagine life without it.

These people who simply say that you should activate again sometimes don't think of the bad side of social media. Well, I still have this blog. But I think of it as a silent space, a sort of bulletin board written first for myself.

I may or may not activate again. I see that I'm losing a lot of readers here because I link my blog posts to my Facebook account where people can click. I wonder, would this blog still have readers if I don't go back to Facebook forever?

As for now, I want to read more books than read status updates. I want to go back to writing, real writing of serious stories and novels and not to entertain an online audience for the likes and reactions. I want to make things and I realized that the things my heart longs to live for and make isn't popular with social media.

I want to live in the moment.

I want to live for myself.

To those who are shocked that I'm deactivated: I'm happier, so just let me be!