Today I closed my account with Facebook. I could write a dissertation on the reasons I hate Facebook so much, but to keep things short and sweet I thought I would write a little list. Even closing my account was hard: it is closed apparently, but I can reactivate it meaning all my data is still stored on their servers. So essentially its not closed, its just not visible. Anyway, to the list:
1. The “You have not registered yet” message. God this annoys me big time and its the number one reason I have closed my account. How presumptuous is that? You accidentally mistype your password or use your other email address and the site assumes you have never registered with Facebook before. Who is that stupid? I can imagine it now: “Hmm I was sure I was a member…maybe I was getting mixed up with Ebay - they are both websites after all?”
EDIT: Maybe the facebook team were listening to me as they have got rid of this 
2. Vampires. Bloody vampires and Ninjas. At first I thought it was different, kind of interesting, but now I realise pressing a “bite” button on a website just doesn’t do it for me.
3. The amount of email. No wonder Facebook gets so much traffic - the sheer amount of emails about said vampires gives my spam filter a hard time.
4. People contacting me I was hiding from. Well OK, its a social networking utility, but I don’t like it when cousins I didn’t like as a kid start sending me messages.
5. Vulgar fun wall pictures and video clips. Maybe I’m alone on this one but in my mind a good user experience isn’t spending half an hour deleting badly drawn pictures of dicks.
6. It’s a waste of time. Facebook is inherently addictive - this is the sites main purpose, to keep you coming back. Its not really about connecting people, its about traffic. I have spent way too many hours of my life on that website and I want them back!
7. Integrated applications. Facebook comes with a cool little API allowing developers to create web applications that integrate into the site. The only problem is most of them are buggy. Every time I try and add a little app someone has written it always says there was an error.
8. Privacy concerns. They have a hell of a lot of data about people, their names, their friends, photos, which school they went to, where they work - the list goes on. There are 1.7 billion photos of people for god sake! A good hacker could make a lot of money…But its not that I’m worried about. As they put it: “We may share your information with third parties, including responsible companies with which we have a relationship.” Responsible is a lose term and open to personal interpretation.
9. I didn’t think of it. Enough said.
10. Gifts, pokes and all those other stupid little things that make it annoying!!!
My account is finally closed and I won’t be logging on again! Oh, I just remembered all of my photos are stored on there and I need to get them back…
EDIT: I’ve had to open it again…God damit! It seems people I know now use the site to actaully organise things like weddings and events. Who’d thought…
[...] legal, privacy, sites, socialI’m not posting this, someone else has. Go and read “10 Reasons I Hate Facebook“. Almost sums it up [...]
[...] in a blog post titled (coincidentally) “Facebook Privacy Concerns“. I also mentioned another blog’s anti-Facebook list, which includes the inbox being [...]
Seems like I’m not the only person that hates facebook then!
these are lame complaints. most of them can be changed with facebook’s settings and options too.
You think the security issues are lame complaints? You can’t change their terms and conditions via settings and options.
my friend i agree with you in the same point totaly and certainly. thanks for your writing
OMG I agree and more! Can I add a few too?
The only reason I’ve subscribed to the site is because I kept missing out on social gatherings. The, ‘Oh didn’t you know we were meeting for cocktails/cycling/having a party? - I wrote it on my facebook page…’ conversations really started to hack me off.
It takes forever to load each page. And no, it’s not my computer/broadband connection.
I don’t have the time or inclination to find out ‘what kind of 80’s pop star’ or ‘cabbage patch doll’ I am. Who gives a fcuk? Nor do I want to slay a zombie, play blackjack or feed a cyber pet.
I don’t want to trawl through pages and pages of waffle. I love myspace. One page. Short and sweet.
I have never had so much junk mail in my inbox since I joined myspace. And I mean loads. 25 plus a day. I’m a 39 year old gay single mum. I don’t need a penis extension thanks.
Rant over. Have to go, someone has just invited me to vote on ‘vegetable of the day’.
oops. Freudian slip. Meant to say I’d never received so much junk mail via facebook. Never had any from myspace.
[...] in a blog post titled (coincidentally) “Facebook Privacy Concerns“. I also mentioned another blog’s anti-Facebook list, which includes the inbox being [...]
Facebook is stupid and shallow. Grown adults poking each other and sending virtual drinks. What a waste of time.
STUPID!
Couldn’t agree more! And there are many of us.
Here are some more reasons:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook
hahaha how true
I totally agree with everything you say, and I would like to add that Facebook is a marvellous tool for making people (me!) feel lonely, boring and totally without a life! Why does everyone seem to be having fun except me?! How come I haven’t got 400+ friends?! I’m a single Mum on a low income (student bursary) so don’t go out much. I thought FB would be a good way to keep in touch with people but it just makes me depressed! I still have to go on it every day though! Thinking of getting Paul McKenna’s help to break my cycle of addiction and low self esteem…
Don’t you hate spam to?
Hello, what entice you to post an article. This article was extremely interesting, especially since I was searching for thoughts on this subject last Thursday.