I've written about this previously. Funny thing is, it's a hard habit to kick. In the short time since that last post was written, two good friends who had quit Facebook have returned, and both told me my encouragement was part of the reason they came back. So I guess I'm happy to help / sorry about that?
They're hardly alone in dumping and crawling back to The Social Network. In fact, nearly two-thirds of all users questioned in a recent survey reported taking an extended break from the site at least once, often of a few weeks or more. That's pretty consistent with most of my friends on here.
I've never felt compelled to do so, but I think this is in part because I live in a city where I have few friends and I work odd hours, so my exposure to other humans I know and like is fairly limited.
Still, I wonder what it is about Facebook that keeps people coming back. I suspect it's the need to feel like someone out there is paying attention to our pictures of food, complaints about the weather and excitement / agony over the outcomes of sporting events.
READ THIS
When talking politics, I am fond of quoting French philosopher Joseph de Maistre: "In a democracy, people get the leaders they deserve." The original "gonzo" journalist Hunter S. Thompson said something similar, which was clearly influenced by de Maistre: "In a democracy, people usually get the kind of government they deserve, and they deserve what they get." In that vein, here is an interesting piece on Congressional tribalism and why Americans have only themselves to blame for our dysfunctional, hapless sack of s*** government.
WATCH THIS
We have a new candidate for the next Sweet Brown or Antoine Dodson:
TODAY'S SEMI-OBSCURE MOMENT IN HISTORY
Did you know Cuba and the Philippines used to be territories of the United States? They were for a little while, thanks to the treaty that ended the Spanish-American War which was ratified by the U.S. Senate on February 6, 1899.
