Likes, status updates, and “Instagrammed” pictures. The social media website Facebook seemed anything but social to me.

I deleted my Facebook account in December and have not gone back. It was the perfect New Year’s Resolution and one of the best decisions of my high school career. I did not like all of the ridiculous drama and the bizarre things that my fellow classmates would post. After quitting Facebook my life improved drastically.

For starters, the fact that people would talk to me on Facebook but not in real life rubbed me the wrong way. Communication through a website seemed unnatural to me, humans are supposed to interact face-to-face.

I created my Facebook account when I was in seventh grade. Like every other eager thirteen year old, I begged my parents to let me have one.

For years I strived to come up with witty statuses and comments so that I could gather the most likes. For years I posted pictures that I now realize no one but my grandparents probably even looked at. And for years, I tolerated the ridiculous status updates of my fellow classmates.

I do not understand why I dedicated a few minutes of my precious time every day to scroll through my news feed. It was always just full of complaints and arguments anyways.

My “friends” would post hourly updates complaining about how terrible their lives were, gossiping, or starting fights with each other over the internet.  

I did not understand why people felt the need to share every detail of their lives on Facebook.  I’m sorry but I did not want to know that your brother was arrested last night.

I also did not understand why people had over 1,000 “friends,” on the site. Some kids were so desperate to reach that 1,000 friend mark that they sent friend requests to random people. I definitely found it creepy that a kid in my math class wanted to be “friends” with my mom.

Classmates who I barely knew added me as a “friend” on the site. I found it strange that these people would want to be my friend on Facebook but would run the other way when I waved to them in the hallway.

After a while Facebook started to bother me. It struck me as unnatural and even sort of creepy. I wondered how this abnormal way of communication could be considered the new “norm.”

That’s when I decided that I was done.

That may sound silly, but I am definitely telling you the truth. I have much more free time now, and am able to spend more time with my family and friends.

Yes, believe it or not, quitting Facebook has actually made me more of a social person.

You probably worry that if you quit Facebook you will not be invited to any more parties or miss out on the latest news. I can tell you that you need not worry.

My friends know that I do not have a Facebook anymore. They are more than happy to give me a call or shoot me a text if they need to tell me something or invite me somewhere.

You might have been thinking about deleting your Facebook for a while now. I say go for it. You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

I can assure you that your stalker habits will cease to exist if you delete your Facebook. It is not a big deal if you do not know every movie or band that your new friend or classmate “likes.” Sometimes life is better with a little mystery.