Life Without Facebook
By Pippa Bregazzi
Monday 28th September 2009
Monday 28th September 2009
The Facebook Logo
Imagine this scenario: the exams are upon you, you’re trying to revise away from the computer but like a siren's call it tempts you back to it, just to check if anything's happened on Facebook since the last time you checked five minutes ago. (Chances are something has, because everyone else is doing exactly the same thing.) As students, this is most likely all too familiar; when the Revision Monster bites, Facebook is there to soothe, comfort, and distract. Maybe it's not the same for all students, but largely, Facebook plays a prominent role in the organisation and structuring of our social lives.
As time goes on, however, even the laziest of students begin to feel the pressure of approaching finals, and perhaps then deleting one's Facebook account may be the best course of action available: out of sight, out of mind, as they say. Say you want to do the Right Thing, how exactly would you go about it?
Click the delete button? Well, it might seem like the most obvious option, but apparently not where the Gods of Facebook are concerned. Deleting the account merely deactivates it, allowing all your information to remain online where people can, potentially, access it, though Facebook itself states that such information is made “inaccessible to other Facebook users.” This causes more problems than simply failing your degree. (How is that possible? I hear you cry…)
Since social networking sites became the “In Thing,” there has been the added security debate: will people use other people's Facebook accounts to commit identity fraud, to gatecrash parties, to “cyber-stalk?” There can be no doubt that putting personal information where all can see it has a degree of danger attached, but what about if you no longer access your profile, believing it to be deleted, but others can?
Never fear, there is a solution. At the bottom of the Homepage there is button labelled “Help Centre.” Clicking on this leads you to a page with a number of options; to the right is a box of “Top Searches,” of which 3/10 are to do with deleting your account. Clicking on one of these searches will direct you to a page that tells you how to delete your account, and you can follow these instructions. Simple, non?
Alternatively, one can take the quick route. By clicking on “Settings” at the top of your Homepage, you can scroll down to where it says “Deactivate Account.” This leads you to yet another page, where you tell them why you want to leave and then submit your deactivation application. If you do not log in for the next fourteen days then your account will be permanently deleted, although if you change your mind you can just log in and your account will reappear, untarnished. Facebook should send you an email once your account has been deleted; attempting to log in would be wise, just to check that all is well. If you are unable to log in and don’t get a message asking you to reactivate your account, then your mission has been successful.
EDITORS WARNING: After deleting your account, side effects may occur, such as feeling as though a little part of you has just died, or an inability to find out when the next party is, or, for the really melodramatic, feeling as though there is a giant gaping hole in your existence that may never be filled again (that last one is quite rare.) Never fear, these will eventually go away and you can be free to get on with your life and finally, finally, pass that degree they told you University was for.
As time goes on, however, even the laziest of students begin to feel the pressure of approaching finals, and perhaps then deleting one's Facebook account may be the best course of action available: out of sight, out of mind, as they say. Say you want to do the Right Thing, how exactly would you go about it?
Click the delete button? Well, it might seem like the most obvious option, but apparently not where the Gods of Facebook are concerned. Deleting the account merely deactivates it, allowing all your information to remain online where people can, potentially, access it, though Facebook itself states that such information is made “inaccessible to other Facebook users.” This causes more problems than simply failing your degree. (How is that possible? I hear you cry…)
Since social networking sites became the “In Thing,” there has been the added security debate: will people use other people's Facebook accounts to commit identity fraud, to gatecrash parties, to “cyber-stalk?” There can be no doubt that putting personal information where all can see it has a degree of danger attached, but what about if you no longer access your profile, believing it to be deleted, but others can?
Never fear, there is a solution. At the bottom of the Homepage there is button labelled “Help Centre.” Clicking on this leads you to a page with a number of options; to the right is a box of “Top Searches,” of which 3/10 are to do with deleting your account. Clicking on one of these searches will direct you to a page that tells you how to delete your account, and you can follow these instructions. Simple, non?
Alternatively, one can take the quick route. By clicking on “Settings” at the top of your Homepage, you can scroll down to where it says “Deactivate Account.” This leads you to yet another page, where you tell them why you want to leave and then submit your deactivation application. If you do not log in for the next fourteen days then your account will be permanently deleted, although if you change your mind you can just log in and your account will reappear, untarnished. Facebook should send you an email once your account has been deleted; attempting to log in would be wise, just to check that all is well. If you are unable to log in and don’t get a message asking you to reactivate your account, then your mission has been successful.
EDITORS WARNING: After deleting your account, side effects may occur, such as feeling as though a little part of you has just died, or an inability to find out when the next party is, or, for the really melodramatic, feeling as though there is a giant gaping hole in your existence that may never be filled again (that last one is quite rare.) Never fear, these will eventually go away and you can be free to get on with your life and finally, finally, pass that degree they told you University was for.
