I’ve had a lot of friends tell me recently that they’ve been thinking about deleting their Facebook profiles for a number of reasons. I’ve heard everything from “I waste too much time” to “I don’t want employers to have that much access to my personal life!” In writing this, I’m not at all discounting people’s reasons for deactivating their Facebook accounts, I just want to highlight a few things that may change your mind!
1. Other people are wildly inspiring. Sure, I feel like a creep sometimes as I find myself scrolling through picture upon picture of someone’s cool vacation or blog that they linked to their page that summarizes their study abroad adventures, but I also get extremely inspired to go out on my own adventures.
2. Build an informal resume. A PR professional talking to my Social Media class a couple weeks ago told students to take full advantage of the privacy settings on individual posts. Not everything has to be either all shared or all private. Pick and choose what potential employers see about you, while still giving them a look at who you are when you’re letting your hair down. People like to see that you’re human, too.
3. Grow your knowledge. In many of my classes this semester, my professors are using Facebook groups to share information with students outside of class. Those without Facebook are at a huge disadvantage because this information isn’t available to them.
4. Get involved and feel included. The majority of concerts/shows I’ve been to in the past year, I’ve found out about through Facebook events. Sure, it’s nice to get a hand written invitation, but more and more of the younger generation is starting to share event details solely on Facebook.
5. Retain long distance relationships. I’ve heard many times that “if you really care about someone, you’d just pick up the phone and call them to see what they’re up to,” but the truth is sometimes it’s just not that easy. In going to summer camp, college away from home, and traveling overseas, I’ve accumulated friendships far and wide. I love dearly the people I’ve connected with, but have lost numbers, lived in different time zones, and found myself losing contact without Facebook. As someone who values connection, I want to stay in touch, but can’t even imagine having enough time to call each and every one of the people I’ve ever met. So, if my options are between losing a connection or having sporadic communication, with little peeks into the lives of multiple people, I’ll take the sporadic communication and peeking any day.
The Transition Artist 