Hellobee Boards Topic: Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?

Hellobee Boards Topic: Have you ever cut the Facebook cord? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 18 Apr 2026 12:44:05 +0000 Miss Sarah on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1948453 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 22:58:10 +0000 Miss Sarah 1948453@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Raindrop: Thank you for posting that! Unfriending those types of people would definitely help declutter! Instead of completely deleting, I'm giving myself a much needed break from it. I joined the 99daysoffreedom.com experiment. It will keep me off until the end of February and I imagine, at that time, I will overhaul the friend list and manage my time on FB better. Also, knowing how easily the "my life is perfect" posts from other people have hurt me, I'll be conscious of what I post on the future. Raindrop on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1948094 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 17:06:02 +0000 Raindrop 1948094@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I thought I would post this here <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/17/living/national-unfriend-day/index.html?hpt=hp_t2" rel="nofollow">http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/17/living/national-unfriend-day/index.html?hpt=hp_t2</a> Third-grade classmates Sure, it's sort of fun to get a friend request from someone you bunked with at summer camp or chased around the playground at recess. You look at their photo, judge them on what they're up to now and conjure up a distant memory or two. But then ... nothing. Unless you live in the same city and have lots in common -- "Wow, I love Renaissance fairs too!" -- chances are your rekindled "friendship" will never go anywhere. Put it out of its misery. Oversharers "Waffles for breakfast!" "I'm so sick of my morning commute." "Here's the 11th slide show this week of my kid. So cute!" Some people share so much that their posts become social white noise, like radio commercials. Worse, their posts take over our feeds like kudzu and crowd out news from friends you actually want to hear from. Lose 'em. That friend of Ricardo's you met two years ago at that party You talked about football, or "Mad Men," or something. He seemed fun. "Hey friend me and I'll friend you back!" Have you spoken since? No. Exes Unless you truly have become pals, why are you friends with your ex on social media? To alleviate guilt? To show how grown-up you are? To access their profile and think catty thoughts (ooh, he's gained weight)? Bad reasons, all. Stop. Those irritatingly fabulous couples Yes, we all tend to post stuff that makes us look good. But then there are friends whose Facebook personas are like something out of an infomercial. Look at their fabulous lifestyle! Their Architectural Digest home, their honor-roll children, their impressive 10K results, their amazing meal at that hot new restaurant, their vacations to Bali and Tuscany. No bad news, ever. And every picture of them looks practically Photoshopped. MaryM on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1947951 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 15:33:16 +0000 MaryM 1947951@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I haven't quit facebook, but I've hid a LOT of people (especially as the TTC journey gets longer and longer) It started with just annoying people that I want to be able to stalk for entertainment, but didn't want constant updates on. Then it was overly political family who drove me crazy with their negativetity, but they'd occasionally post photos I wanted to see. I can't see cutting the cord because it's convenient for keeping up with folks, but I've disengaged a lot. I post way less than I used to, and I care about way less than I used to. Raindrop on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1947944 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 15:29:04 +0000 Raindrop 1947944@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it's a necessary evil. :) I actually gave up on facebook about 6 years ago but nothing drastic like deleting my account. I just don't login all that often. Maybe twice a year? It's funny I have to confirm who I am every time I log in by correctly answering questions about my "friends". The reason I did this was because it really was too much for me. Also at the time I decided to do this... I really didn't like the person I was and I was spending a lot of time stalking people on facebook and comparing my life to theirs. I felt that was a bit unhealthy and stopped logging in to do other things like actual hobbies and trying to improve myself. One thing I know about facebook is don't' compare yourself to otehr people... that was a slippery slope I fell into and "most" people aren't actually as happy as their facebook profiles say they are, so you are actually comparing yourself to probably the "best" imagine a person is trying to put out there. Good luck! Do what's right for you. :) birdofafeather on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1947742 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 14:24:56 +0000 birdofafeather 1947742@https://boards.hellobee.com/ no, because i use it for work and enjoy seeing the updates from friends. i have been slimming down what i see in my news feed though, so that helps! ShootingStar on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1947423 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 12:06:06 +0000 ShootingStar 1947423@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @sweetooth: I still think you should set up a different account just to connect with us on Facebook and then no drama :). I personally love the connection to friends and family that Facebook gives me. I have great friends from college that I don't get to see often because they live too far and Facebook let's us all know what's going on in each other's lives. Those of us with kids share pictures, others share their vacations, and one girl is sharing her journey as an adoptee to find out more about herself. I also stay in touch with family, with the November '13 mamas from here, with babywearing groups and garage sale groups. I like the connection, but if you don't like it, then you don't need to use it :). MediaNaranja on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1947382 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 11:45:00 +0000 MediaNaranja 1947382@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Maybe I'm just a bil ol' weirdo but I've never had any issues with facebook. Maybe it's just because I'm boring--I never post updates and the last photo I uploaded was four years ago. I don't spend more than an hour a week there. Because I'm so boring my friends list has naturally dwindled to an appropriate mix of friends and family. I like seeing what they are up to and what they are reading--and every once in a blue moon making a comment, too :D ElbieKay on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1947058 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 09:14:32 +0000 ElbieKay 1947058@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I don't rely on FB to maintain my real friendships. But it's a fun way to keep up with acquaintances (and sometimes to enhance my real friendships by seeing photos or reading about minutiae when I haven't talked to someone in awhile.) But, I do think it's a timesuck, especially since I interact more with acquaintances there than with my real friends. BSB on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1947049 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 09:08:21 +0000 BSB 1947049@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Oh, I also use FB for support. I'm much more open about my IF journey on FB then IRL. I've gotten 91 likes when I posted about starting IVF. That's probably the biggest reason why I can't delete FB. People I never even talk to in years liked my post. I'm sure some of my FB friends saw my post and rolled their eyes that I would post such a private thing like that. Luckily, no one said anything negative. If they did, I would unfriend them. I've posted about my IF here and there and I've always been surprised how much support I get. From friends of mine who are mother, fathers and people who don't even have kids. I understand why others delete FB but I can't. I did deactivate my acct while job hunting. It was hard being away. Now, I don't believe FB is perfect, there are days I need to walk away from the computer but there are good things in FB posted by my friends that make me LOL (it might be a video that someone shares.) I know everyone is different and for me I can't cut the cord. gilmoregirl on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1947038 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 09:01:24 +0000 gilmoregirl 1947038@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I ditched it for the last few months of my pregnancy because everything I read was making me irrationally angry. It wasn't necessarily facebook's "fault" but I was in such a bad place mentally and emotionally that I needed to get rid of it in order to cut myself off. I'm glad that I did; I really did not miss it, but I'm not a frequent facebook user to begin with. It's pretty easy to deactivate and come back if it's something you need to try. I don't really consider facebook to be a method of communicating with family and friends even though we live away from everyone -- I personally think facebook sort of substitutes for real communication in a lot of cases, so I was glad to be forced to reach out to stay in touch with those I am close to. artsyfartsy on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946969 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 08:09:42 +0000 artsyfartsy 1946969@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No, just because I have a huge family and many HS friends that now live in other states. I like being able to keep up with them! Although I do understand why you would want to delete yours. Sometimes I wish I could just delete mine because I get so annoyed a lot, but then I feel like I would be more out of touch with everyone. So I just unfollow a lot of people, but keep them as friends *cough cough* in-laws * cough cough* sweetooth on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946963 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 07:59:41 +0000 sweetooth 1946963@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I deactivated my account almost 2 years ago when I was in the thick of TTC and infertility. I just couldn't handle having FB as an outlet to torture myself by looking at everyone's photos of their babies and the neverending "we got pregnant on our first try" posts. It was the best decision for my mental health, I felt like the people that really mattered, I would keep in touch with. And I have. Sometimes I think about going back to be able to connect with the Hellobee November 2013 mamas. They are a great group, and they migrated over to FB - but I can't bring myself to join FB again. I'm happier without it. Can't believe it's been almost 2 years! Miss Sarah on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946959 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 07:52:12 +0000 Miss Sarah 1946959@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I agree with what many of you are posting! Thank you for sharing your thoughts! I do have some family across the country and Facebook really makes it easy to "keep in touch." But honestly, we don't communicate or anything, we just like pictures and what not. My mother-in-law does not have Facebook and when I have a really good picture that I do not want to forget to share with her, I just email her. I love that many of you said deleting FB strengthened your relationships, because that is one of my goals! It's starting to feel so fake and like others have said, "braggy." dc yoga bee on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946936 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 07:15:39 +0000 dc yoga bee 1946936@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Our friends had twins last year and hours after birth she started posting no less than 10 pictures a day, all with stautuses like "oh the life of a twin momma." "People I'm a twin momma." Here's what I don't get- why not just enjoy and live your life and enjoy those new babes!?! She's spending more time documenting every yawn and bottle feed than actually living the moment. Both sides of the family live in Cali, and as close friends we honestly don't care "that" much! Also, you're not the first ones to have twins!!! sometimes I feel like it's a constant competition among people on facebook to brag the most and see who has the best life and best kids. It's worse than the "I love him so much nothing else completes me," posts only to hear their getting divorced 6 months later. Now DH family lives across the country but we plan to use 23 snaps to share pictures. Facebook is not the only medium, and with those lax privacy settings there's no way I'm posting 100+ pics of my children on there. looch on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946933 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 07:08:05 +0000 looch 1946933@https://boards.hellobee.com/ It's been a great way for me to actually reconnect, considering how when I went away to college, we didn't have private email or personal cell phones. I think older people use FB in a different way, though. rachiecakes on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946931 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 06:31:03 +0000 rachiecakes 1946931@https://boards.hellobee.com/ No, I have family that lives on the other side of the world and I'd never see photos or hear about their day to day without Facebook. Snowdrop on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946919 Mon, 17 Nov 2014 05:34:05 +0000 Snowdrop 1946919@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I did for a few months durjng the hardest parts of ttc. It was really good for my mental health! Also, friends got used to it pretty quickly and would just ring or text to tell me about stuff. BSB on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946855 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 23:24:07 +0000 BSB 1946855@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I have IF and although those pregnancy announcements are hard, I can't cut the cord on FB. If pregnancy posts keep popping up, I'll hide that person. For some reason it's hard for me to see newborn and infant photos, but once they get older, it's not as bad. I'll un hide people then. Also, since I'm across the country from most of my friends and family, I actually enjoy being able to keep up with them. JennyD on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946805 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 22:33:13 +0000 JennyD 1946805@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yep. I was having a hard time seeing everyone else having a great time doing this and that while we struggled. And then i found out my sister was engaged. On Facebook. That was the final straw for me. I dislike how passive aggressive Facebook can be. My parting message was "if you have something you want me to know, rather than something you want me to find out, call me". I left for about 5 years and just recently went back. I still find it really braggy but I'm in a better place now, personally. youboots on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946804 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 22:32:28 +0000 youboots 1946804@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yup. Almost a year ago. I did it because I wanted richer relationships with people I actually am friends with. I also wanted some privacy since I knew we would be trying for a baby this year, and I did not like the idea of having photos of my future kid all over the internet. I started a new admin account for my business page and to be in photography groups and am now in a HB due date group. I was on it from the start, when a university email address was required. Honestly I love the change and don't miss it, I have more authentic interactions with people in my life since I don't know what they are up to all the time. But living a little more unplugged was my goal. Mrs. Lemon-Lime on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946793 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 22:22:41 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1946793@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm shutting mine down very soon. I saved all of my pictures this past weekend. A friend of mine recently shut FB down and he said it strengthened his relationships because it forced him to call and text people instead of "liking" a status. hotchildinthecity on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946788 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 22:17:56 +0000 hotchildinthecity 1946788@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I will also add that my husband and I have moved all our photos to a Flickr site and we don't post "albums" or anything to fb. We don't plan on posting many pictures of LO. So we share with fam/friends via Flickr MapleMoose on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946786 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 22:14:54 +0000 MapleMoose 1946786@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I didn't post much on Facebook anymore but about a year ago I deleted my account. I wanted more privacy and honestly I didn't care about the things people were posting about themselves. There seemed to be this weird tension with everyone trying to compete with other status posts. Plus I realized I don't speak to the majority of those people in real life and the people I do converse with I still can/do talk to without being on Facebook. For me, deleting my account was a good decision that I still don't regret and haven't had any inkling to rejoin. Synchronicity on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946748 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 21:41:34 +0000 Synchronicity 1946748@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I did for a while, but I'm back on now in a much more limited way. I deleted my old profile, started a new one with very high privacy settings and now I have something like 50 "friends", made up of family and close friends, vs the 400+ that I had on my old account. It is so much more manageable and much less of a time-suck this way! Miss Sarah on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946729 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 21:29:38 +0000 Miss Sarah 1946729@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @hotchildinthecity: Thank you for sharing! If the adoption journey ends up being one we'll take, I'm sure Facebook would be a great resource. I think I just need a few months off for now. Miss Sarah on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946724 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 21:28:02 +0000 Miss Sarah 1946724@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mae: If I'm being honest, I don't think I would have all of those feelings if the TTC journey hasn't been such a long and trying process for us so for (21 months). I'm certain I'll be back some day, and I'll probably do a bit of a friend cleanse at that time. :) I don't have a little one yet, so I don't feel much of an obligation to keep people updated on my life. But I know once I have a pregnancy update to share, I'm sure I'll turn to Facebook. I just wish I had the discipline not to touch for a while without deleting it, haha. I'm weak! Mae on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946696 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:49:28 +0000 Mae 1946696@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Nope but I don't harbor ill feelings towards it. I like seeing what my friends are doing, and my inlaws get most of their LO updates/photos via fb. Reese on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946691 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:45:51 +0000 Reese 1946691@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yes! I think it's been a year and a half! Do it! I didn't do it for the same reasons but I like being a bit off the grid. hotchildinthecity on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946683 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:40:23 +0000 hotchildinthecity 1946683@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Yup. When I was TTC, I couldn't take all the pregnancy announcements so i stepped away for at least 6 months. I only rejoined to get into adoption groups. I have pretty much blocked almost everyone, so FB is really for me to network with adoption friends and....maybe see some pictures of my sister's cat. I plan on leaving again shortly. Miss Sarah on "Have you ever cut the Facebook cord?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/have-you-ever-cut-the-facebook-cord#post-1946643 Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:12:40 +0000 Miss Sarah 1946643@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm doing it...I think. I'm deleting my Facebook account. Facebook doesn't make me happy anymore. It's not so much a jealousy thing as just a general disappointment with the whole experience. I could waste an hour sifting through pictures, taking quizzes, and "liking"status updates; but at the end of the day, I do not feel any closer to my friends, I don't feel satisfied with my spent time, and well, I guess I lied, I do occasionally feel jealous. The longer our TTC journey is, the less rewarding Facebook is. I'm not going to get public support for our struggles and it does hurt to see everyone else's baby posts. I just feel like I've hit this point in my life where I need to de-clutter, so to speak. My one concern is that I will not find out about social events and what not...but my closest friends will still keep me in the loop. It's time for me to start nourishing relationships with actual conversation and just let go of the "friends" that are merely just stalk-worthy acquaintances. ;) Have any bees out there deleted their accounts? What were your experiences with it? It was worth it, right? :silly: