Why I Recently Reactivated My Facebook After Two Years Of Deactivating Facebook?
I recently reactivated my Facebook after two years of deactivating Facebook.
Let me talk about why I deactivated my Facebook in the first place, it was in 2018 when I made the decision to quit Facebook and it wasn’t easy, like quitting it almost feels like quitting smoking, and that hit me very hard, so I am thinking hey, I was addicted to Facebook, like the way I quit smoking, I quit Facebook cold turkey or did I?
And a lot of people did in 2018, Just read this article from TheNew York Times and watch this video. #DeleteFacebook
In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which data from over 50 million Facebook profiles was secretly scraped and mined for voter insights, many Facebook users have decided to delete their accounts — but untangling yourself from a site like Facebook is not as easy as pressing “delete.”
It was a decision not for the faint of heart, to be honest, I kept my Facebook messenger. I know it only means I can’t let go. I needed to keep in touch with my Facebook friends. While I stopped posting anything, I was still looking, and the more I do that, the fakery of my decision to QUIT FACEBOOK or #DELETEFACEBOOK just haunted me.
Until it became known, that FACEBOOK is being weaponized by the government, how the Philippines became GROUND ZERO for disinformation that benefited the government more specifically President Duterte, the strongman of the Philippines whose rise to power was fueled by his successful social media campaign during the 2016 Philippine Presidential Election.
Facebook gave Filipinos FREE FACEBOOK. Facebook for some reason took the Philippines as a ‘playground’ for how much Facebook can influence every facet of the life of each human being on the planet who is on its platform. It targeted Filipinos like guinea pigs by Mark Zuckerberg himself in some twisted social experiment that soon after was replicated in other parts of the world.
But it wasn’t only in the Philippines, soon after Trump got elected, it became public how the Russians played Facebook and helped elect Trump as the 45th President of the United States of America, Donald Trump a reality show host, a shady sexist man, who lost the popular vote, yet won the election by beating Hillary Clinton in swing states that have been targeted by the Russians with cheap political ads where else but on Facebook.
And since then, the world has turned for the worse and Facebook has been tainted, almost like it has blood on its hands, well it does, just look back at what happened in Myanmar.
A Genocide Incited on Facebook, With Posts From Myanmar’s Military
So Where FACEBOOK is, DEATH follows;
While I struggle, by fate if I can call it that, the Universe made the decision for me to quit FACEBOOK for good. I lost access to my account when I lost my mobile phone with it the mobile number which I used for authentication. One day, I lost every access to my Facebook account and I took that as a sign that I am finally free from FACEBOOK.
But I found a new way to “express myself” on Twitter, that is a different story altogether.
Fast forward to 2020, specifically July 2020, almost four months since the world took a different turn because of the pandemic. The coronavirus doesn’t only kill people, it affects us in so many ways, and like many, I struggle with my mental health.
A few days ago, I was constantly thinking of some friends who are living in different parts of the globe, in countries hit hard by the coronavirus and the only way I could communicate with them is through Facebook, and I know if I don’t do it, not knowing will increase the anxiety I am already suffering from.
So, I did reluctantly ask FACEBOOK through their app to help me retrieve my account, what I thought will be a long process took only a few minutes and I also gave them a copy of a government-issued ID which I know I would regret doing so.
When I got the WELCOME BACK EMAIL from FACEBOOK, I won’t deny I felt some sense of relief that finally, I would be able to communicate with my friends, at the same time it feels like being back to an old addiction, a social media addiction.
As a social media coach, I still know how to craft a “perfect post” or at least increase its virality. I have to reach as many of my Facebook friends whose newsfeed I haven’t been on since my two-year absence, yes I knew I have to play with the algorithm and compete with memes, and posts from their other friends.
Knowing Facebook, I need to post a photo with my post, as posts with photos or videos get more views. I need to have a compelling post as I am competing for space on my friend’s newsfeed. I need to connect emotionally with my friends.
After carefully thinking about what to say, while I know how it would work, I needed to keep it honest, because more than the views, I sincerely need to know how my friends are doing during this exceptional times, so I had to go with what my heart wants to say, but I added a “hook” a photo of myself today, everyone wants to see how their friends look like after a long absence, a half-naked photo of myself, something I have not done in the past, I was sure right away, it will catch their attention and added a few lines that it is all part of who I am and my own brand of humor,I was being in character just the way they would have remembered me and of course the reason why I am reaching out. I also copied the same post as my Facebook story, I wasn’t leaving any stone unturned.
A few minutes after my post, I have received the first like, hearts even, comments, and soon after I heard from friends who I really care about, and while I was curious about them, I never thought they would be curious about what happened to me.
There is truth to the saying,
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
So here is the link to my Facebook post;)
To my family and friends, Thank you it feels good that you genuinely missed me, the love I feel makes my heart full and I can’t express my gratitude and knowing that all of you are safe and healthy during this extraordinary times and that while we are in this pandemic, we can still think beyond ourselves and show how much we care for our family and friends.
As my Brazilian friend, Mariana Matos gladly translated what my heart wants to tell each one of my friends,
Nossos caminhos ainda vão se cruzar , our paths will cross again.