Facebook is one of the first social media platforms and it became a popular choice for many people. However, that is no longer the case anymore as there are new social media platforms with growing popularity. As a result, Facebook is not as popular as it used to be.
Do you know:
While Facebook started as a social media platform, it has become a marketplace. Though it might be a good thing for businesses, many users just want to browse through reels or catch up with what other people are doing. This can be annoying for users who are now preferring other platforms over Facebook.
7 Reasons You/People Delete Their Facebook Account
Many people are using Facebook for their business. But if you’re just using it and looking for some solid reasons to delete Facebook account, well here you are some for you:
Undoubtedly, social media platforms are an integral part of our lives. However, too much usage can be damaging to our personal and professional lives. If your usage of Facebook is going out of hand due to the following reasons, then it is worth deleting it.
- Wasting Too Much Time
It is good to keep in touch with your friends and family members’ activity. However, if you’re just spending hours on it going through videos and reels, then it is best to get control of your excessive usage. In cases where you find it extremely difficult to quit Facebook, you can consider deleting your account. That way, you won’t be spending any time on the platform and get the much-needed detox.
- 2023: The average person was reported to waste about 21.8 hours a week on activities that could include social media usage like Facebook, according to a post by @UberFacts on X.
- 2024: A post by @FitFounder highlighted that the average person spends 7 hours a day on their smartphone, which could implicate time spent on apps like Facebook. If we extrapolate this daily figure over a year for someone who is 40, they would have spent 11+ years of their life on their phone by that age, though this isn’t exclusively for Facebook but includes it.
- General Social Media Usage: While not exclusively about Facebook, @neilpatel mentioned in 2024 that people spend on average 2 hours and 27 minutes daily on social media, which would include platforms like Facebook.
- User Engagement on Social Media: From a post by @compounder_bro in 2023, it was stated that the average person spends 882 hours per year on social media, which encompasses platforms like Facebook.
- Getting Your Work Done Slowly
Another thing that you need to consider is the impact of Facebook on your productivity. Checking your phone after 5 minutes means you would lose concentration and break the flow of your work. As a result, you would be taking more time to complete a task that you would have otherwise completed in less. So, if your Facebook account is the reason for distraction, then you might consider deleting it.
Imagine you’re sitting at your desk, trying to finish an important project. You start working, but every five minutes, your phone buzzes with a notification from Facebook. Curious, you check it out, only to find yourself scrolling through posts, pictures, and videos for the next 20 minutes. When you finally put your phone down, you’ve lost focus on your work. What should have taken an hour to complete now takes almost two because you keep getting distracted.
This constant checking of Facebook interrupts your flow, making it hard to concentrate. Over time, you realize that these distractions are slowing you down, causing you to miss deadlines or stay late to finish tasks that could have been done earlier. It’s frustrating, and you start to think, “Maybe I should just delete my Facebook account.”
- Damaging Your Relationships with Friends and Family
Did you know when was the last time you went out with your friends and family members? Since social media helps us to connect and communicate with others, we tend to forget real communication. All of this can negatively impact our relationships at home, work, or in our social circles. As human beings, we have an inherently social nature. And if Facebook is the reason that is leading to that issue, then you know what to do.
According to a Forbes report 80% of divorce lawyers say Facebook is the cause for 1 out of 5 divorces today, couples who aren’t on social media are 11% happier in their relationships than couples who use social media and one in every five couples have daily arguments because of it.
- Divorce and Social Media: 21% of divorces in the US list social media as a contributing factor to the dissolution of the marriage. Facebook is the major player in this.
- Relationship Satisfaction: Posts on X mention that couples who aren’t on social media are reported to be 11% happier in their relationships than those who use social media.
- Online Meeting and Divorce Rates: A study shared on X by @ChrisWillx indicates that couples who met online were six times more likely to get divorced in the first three years of marriage compared to those who met through traditional means like college or through family/friends.
- Negative Engagement in Marriage: A post by @kingsleypst notes that marriages with a negative to positive engagement ratio greater than 5:1 are likely to end in divorce.
Social media use has been linked to increased feelings of loneliness, anxiety, depression, and poor self-esteem, which can all negatively affect romantic relationships. For instance, the constant exposure to idealized images and lifestyles can lead to body image issues and unrealistic expectations within relationships (MindBodyGreen, 2022).
- Using Energy on Different People You Don’t Know or Care About
Go through your friend list and find out how many of your friends or people you care about are. You’ll find a lot of people who barely know you, yet you’re spending your time liking and commenting on their posts.
Rather than spending your time on Facebook, you should be using your time and energy to build rewarding relationships. This is also a good reason why you should consider deleting your Facebook account.
Imagine you’ve just finished a long day at work, and you finally sit down to relax. You open Facebook and start scrolling through your feed. Suddenly, you find yourself reading about the lives of people you barely know—old classmates, distant relatives, or even friends of friends. You see their vacation photos, status updates, and opinions on various topics.
Before you know it, you’re feeling drained, maybe even a little frustrated or upset, all because you’ve spent so much time and energy focusing on these people. You realize that you don’t really care about what they’re doing or saying, yet you’ve invested your time and emotions into their lives instead of your own.
This is when you start to think, “Why am I spending so much energy on people who aren’t really part of my life?” You could be using that time to connect with loved ones, pursue hobbies, or simply relax without all the unnecessary noise. That’s when you might consider deleting your Facebook account, so you can reclaim your energy and focus it on the people and things that truly matter to you.
A Pew Research study highlighted that about 51% of Americans in a romantic relationship say their partner is at least sometimes distracted by their cellphone when trying to have a conversation, which can lead to feelings of neglect or annoyance (Pew Research Center, 2020).
- Leading to Manipulation
People often post their relationship stories, financial success, and other things related to their personal life. This might put you in a complex and make you feel like you’ve achieved nothing.
- According to a 2021 survey by Credit Karma, 36% of U.S. millennials have lied about their financial situation on social media or to friends and family.
- A 2020 report by GlobalWebIndex showed that 74% of internet users aged 16 to 64 visited social media to find funny or entertaining content, which often includes exaggerated or selectively positive life updates.
- By 2023, Instagram had over 1.65 billion monthly active users, with influencer marketing becoming a significant source of feelings of inadequacy. A survey indicated that 60% of Instagram users report feeling worse about their own lives after seeing content about others’ successes. So similar influencer posts are reposted at facebook as well.
Once you delete Facebook from your life, you’ll learn that there is more to explore. It’ll also make you more grateful for the blessings you have when you meet with people in real life and learn about their issues.
- Lowering Your Motivation
Going through reels and videos might make you lazy, leading to a lack of motivation. The quick dopamine hit can be the reason why you might not be able to get anything done.
A study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology in 2018 found that limiting social media use to approximately 30 minutes per day could lead to significant improvement in well-being.
By deleting Facebook from your life, you can spend that time in better places. For instance, you learn a high-paying skill or spend the time at gym to get fit.
- Taking Over Life
The whole purpose of a social media platform is to keep you engaged. However, there can be instances where you might find it to be taking over your life. In that scenario, it is best to take a step back and delete your account.
Furthermore, there is a possibility you might try to portray an image of yourself that isn’t you. It entails uploading pictures or isolating yourself from the real world and your true self. Either way, it is best to delete your Facebook account.
A Pew Research Center study from 2018 showed that 45% of teens felt overwhelmed by the drama on social media, and 23% felt worse about their own life because of what they saw on social media.
Final Words
All these reasons are compelling enough for you to delete your Facebook account. Remember, losing your social media account is better than losing connection with your life, career, and close ones.