Summary

The author describes their experience with the Facebook News Feed Eradicator extension, which led to reduced social media usage, improved mental well-being, and increased productivity.

Abstract

The article details the author's decision to install the Facebook News Feed Eradicator for Chrome, an extension that replaces the news feed with an inspirational quote, after becoming overwhelmed by the negativity and misinformation on the platform. The author had already taken steps to limit their Facebook usage but found themselves still drawn into the cycle of commenting and refreshing. After installing the extension, the author experienced a significant decrease in exposure to online conflict and an improvement in their mental health and writing quality. The author reports feeling less angry, more present, and enjoying more meaningful connections with family and friends through alternative communication methods. The article concludes by recommending the News Feed Eradicator as a beneficial tool for those who cannot completely delete Facebook, as it promotes more intentional use of the platform.

Opinions

The author was frustrated with the constant demand to engage with polarizing content and misinformation on Facebook.
Social media interactions, particularly on Facebook, had deteriorated the author's relationships with some friends and acquaintances.
The author believes that the News Feed Eradicator helps combat the addictive nature of social media by removing the constant stream of notifications and content.
The author values intentional and meaningful connections over the superficial interactions that social media often promotes.
The article suggests that reducing exposure to social media can lead to a more positive outlook and improved mental health.
The author emphasizes the importance of breaking away from the "grievance culture" and the performative outrage prevalent on social media platforms.

Social Media

I Installed The News Feed Eradicator for Facebook-Here’s What Happened Next.

I’d had enough.

After the one too many-eth time someone had popped onto my page to demand that I do my research and “get the facts,” I was done. If I wanted a homework assignment, I would’ve asked for one. Maybe you can relate?

Maybe people that had once played such important roles in your life have been reduced to angry avatars that claimed they could see through the media. The same people you’ve shared so many life events with have become unrecognizable.

In my case, friends I’d spent my school years taking science courses with were now peddling dangerous anti-vaccine nonsense.

We’d been to demonstrations, and now I was being told why federal troops throwing people — our people — into vans was okay. Right off the streets of our hometown.

This isn’t a piece about politics or epidemiology. There are a million of those already. This is about what Scott Galloway refers to as the “Menace Economy,” what happened when I chose to exit stage left, and how it can help you do the same.

I’d long been weaning myself from Zuckerberg’s clutches. I added friction at every touchpoint I could. I haven’t had Facebook on my phone for quite some time. I installed multi-factor authentication. I had an awkward password I wrote down and would have to go get. And I changed it often, so I wouldn’t remember it.

Still, once I was in, I was in. Commenting, waiting for reactions, refreshing constantly. Did I really care about the daily minutiae of people I hadn’t seen in 20 years? What was the value in pointing and laughing at people who so clearly didn’t know what they were talking about?

Was being a part of the grievance culture — or even the push back against it — worth it?

Answer: It absolutely was not.

So it was that by happy accident, I saw a tweet by fellow writer Berenike Schriewer, Ph.D. mentioning the “Facebook News Eradicator” extension for Chrome.

What’s it do?

The News Feed Eradicator eliminates the news feed from your profile page. When you log on, you are instead met with an inspirational quote.

To be clear, you can absolutely see any page/profile/group you want; you just have to be intentional about it. And that’s exactly the point. Rather than mindlessly scrolling (or getting into cyber fights), you simply look at the page you want, do your thing, and get out.

This is especially valuable for people that run a page for work or freelancing. You go right where you need to go, and that’s that.

It’s been 90 days, what happened next?

It got quiet. Gone was the constant soundtrack of rage. Instead, I spent more time on long-tail forms of social media like Substack and Medium. In other words, more listening (reading) and less talking. Like any addiction, I had been trained to look for the red bubbles and dopamine hits that came with them. With that erased, the allure is no longer there. It is much easier to stop using the platform when there’s nothing to see on it.
The air became clearer. The fog of performative outrage has cleared, and it turns out normal life — even during a pandemic — is actually pretty sunny.
My writing improved. Without the allure of Facebook distracting me, I found that both the quality and quantity of my writing improved.
I felt better. Don’t get me wrong; I’m still pretty cynical — Gen Xer’s have that stamped in our DNA — but I’m not as twitchy anymore. I don’t have a shoulder dropped, and I’m a lot less angry. It’s tough to realize you were so wound up about things that didn’t matter, but it is what it is. Installing the extension has given me a clearer head, more perspective, and a return to meaningful connection. And Joy. Lots and lots of joy.

My mood has improved, and I’m more productive. I’m also much more present, and that might be the biggest upside of all.

Do I miss it?

I thought I might. But I realized that the meaningful connections feared lost are still there, just in other forms. My family is 2 time zones away, but FaceTime takes care of that. We also text, and my mom finally gave up her flip phone, so we now share pics of my kids and other life events.

My co-workers and I have a pretty lively group chat as well. I also rediscovered the lost art of actually talking to people IRL, er, in real life. And listening.

So do I miss it? No, not at all.

Conclusion (or if you skipped to the end):

If deleting Facebook altogether isn’t an option for you, installing the News Eradicator extension is the next best thing. You’ll spend less time on the app, and your time there will be much more intentional.