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by kakarot 3426 days ago
> it's the fear of reduced social contact (or dopamine withdrawal more likely) that was stopping me.

Yeppp. I know exactly how you feel, brother. I gave up Facebook for New Years and will be deleting my account after I set up a blog so I have somewhere to blow off steam and tell bad jokes.

The compromise that helped me overcome the feeling of being cut off was that I will have an open comments section and email address, if my friends really want to stay in touch then they will take time out of their week to come say hi.

It's a lot harder than people think. And the last season of South Park was no joke... When I announced I was leaving Facebook, many people were shocked and genuinely concerned for me. They asked me if it was really necessary, if I couldn't just use it less.

But that isn't an option, it's all or nothing and within a few months I will never let Facebook save another cookie on my computer again.

But I know the concern is partially because they understand exactly what is going on in my mind but they don't see a way out. It's really depressing.

For the hell of it I briefly checked my feed last week and I felt like a recovering junkie, visiting their old friends and seeing for the first time what their lifestyle really looked like from the outside.

2 comments

> will be deleting my account after I set up a blog so I have somewhere to blow off steam and tell bad jokes

The following is not meant to be critical - honest.

Why don't you channel your desire to be heard in to live interactions instead of an online one which is ultimately one way? It is much more fulfilling, and admitting/accepting that you don't deserve & need to share every thought that pops in to your head is healthy.

I spend a lot of my time around a computer. I work on one and spend most of my free time coding or discovering new things online. So a blog naturally fits into my lifestyle. I don't have to make big life changes to run one, and it's been years since I've had a journal so it will be nice. If I lose interest in it, that's fine.

But, I don't really understand why you assume that I don't participate in much live interaction. Why do you think I left Facebook?

I love hanging out with people and discussing a variety of topics. But I also like to write down my thoughts. I figure some people might like to see them from time to time.

I am currently working remotely from a very rural area so I don't get to see friends much, and I am about to move to a new state. So a blog / online journal will definitely help keep me from going bonkers without the level of social contact I desire.

I recently sent round an event-organising email and slipped in the facebook thing. Not everyone who replied mentioned it, but everyone that did said that they were thinking exactly the same thing.

And if you need an extra kick, you can download an archive all your data. It had previous girlfriends, employers, places I signed in, private messages, ad agencies they passed my details on to, etc etc. All stuff I'd rather let fade away, but I know it never will.

I downloaded an archive, for sure. I was actually just searching it for a specific message before I got on HN.

Sadly I lost the archive from my previous account. Lots of gems in there.

It's amazing the amounts of conversations we have on a weekly basis that we soon forget. We are just passing too much information through our body and mind to catch even a tenth of it permanently.