It’s hard to imagine that with Facebook’s raging popularity, there could be anyone out there asking, “Should I cancel my Facebook account?” Surprisingly there are, and more often than expected.
The reasons are many:
- Facebook is a huge time waste.
- Reading friends’ Facebook posts creates jealously (yes, really!).
- Facebook violates privacy.
- etc. etc.
The reason we hear most often is that Facebook is a big time waste. Some people feel that they can’t even be on Facebook for five minutes without someone sending an IM. Others feel that they must go through all their friends’ posts before logging off, which can take a substantial amount of time.
Social Media Managers Quitting Facebook Too?!
But if someone is just managing a business page on Facebook, can’t he/she just log on and make those official posts and then hop right back off? Logging onto Facebook to take care of business is proving to be a huge challenge for many social media managers. The temptation is so great to peek in to see what friends are doing or get lost surfing other irrelevant information, that many throw up their hands in frustration! The worst part is feeling like a slave to the very social network that’s supposed to provide a little mental freedom and fun. But it’s true, people are grappling with constant compulsions to check Facebook so often that this often leads to a impulsive account cancellation.
The most interesting part of this vicious battle between mind and Facebook is that Facebook usually wins! Most of those who quit Facebook, seem to be back within a week or two. They can’t seem to put it down. But that’s not the end of it. The cycle continues and within a month or two those same disgruntled users are contemplating user account suicide again.
Compromise
To the social media managers out there managing ecommerce accounts, there are solutions:
1) IF you truly don’t want to be distracted by Facebook friends etc. then set up a “company account” and give it admin. privileges. Go ahead and permanently delete your personal Facebook account, and there you have it: problem solved.
2) Use a little behavior management. When you feel like killing your Facebook account, just log off for a while and come back fresh. Set schedules to be on Facebook and let your friends know you have work to do. This isn’t as easy as going “cold turkey” because it requires you to be more disciplined with your time and up front with your friends.
Facebook doesn’t seem to be waning at all, and if anything it’s getting more important for business, which is why we don’t recommend total cessation. Find a way to compromise and remember, behavior modification takes work, and LOTS of discipline!
