I removed the app from the mobile, logged out of the site and removed the link from my favorites. No more ge-Facebook for thirty days. Not only private, but also business for my company. The latter turned out to be difficult. And I quickly searched for something else to scroll. Ten observations after 30 days away from the blue busy.

I wrote the first five observations before I started exploring my timeline again:

1. Facebook is a time consuming

That tweet made me really well aware of this:

When I left Facebook, I passed on all my other social media channels, and that's how I got tweeted with Marc. I like his suggestion very much. But if you think about it: 1.5 hours a day Facebook is limiting yourself! Otherwise you will be Facebooking for hours - a day - for a while. I have read no fewer than two books (The Road to Mecca - Jan Leijers and Attempts to Make a Living - Hendrik Groen).

2. Scrolling is zapping

I just like to scroll. Twitter. Instagram. Nu.nl. LinkedIn. And yet not comparable with Facebook, my personal newspaper where you can always find something new. It is just the same as zapping: always looking for something better. Get a good feeling.

The red icon at the top right gives instant gratification: a small shot of dopamine that makes you feel good for a while. Is my cat's picture licked? Do others also like this music track? Did my happy remark go well with this and that? Scrolling is often a stupid waste of time, but apparently I need it somehow. It's FOMO: Fear Of Missing Out.

3. Without Facebook is ... without Facebook

I've always seen Facebook as an extra channel: it comes on top of each other, calling, texting and messages via Messenger or WhatsApp. But. If you only have contact via Facebook, for example with an aunt, former neighbor or former colleague, then that will be completely gone without Facebook. The Facebook critics will say: don't miss out on anything. But I do not agree: even without direct 1 on 1 contact you can appreciate the contact. Stay informed of each other's major and minor events.

4. I miss Facebook

Certainly in the beginning. I mainly missed certain contacts. A friend just told me to come back and my wife also thought I should just go back after my diet. Now she was also the reason for me to go on Facebook for the first time 🙂 I also missed some pages with nice and valuable content. Beer Geeks. SoChicken. ILoveSscience. Nondualism. A broader world view.

5. Facebook can be a party

If you make that of course. Only doom and gloom, complain-complain or huilie-huilie is also possible if you want to. In my absence, my Facebook friends apparently had a lot of fun playing in my timeline. Several people told me that I would need two weeks to be back. Sometimes a picture was taken of me to put on Facebook. We're going to experience it now.

6. The quantity was not too bad

It took two hours to be up to date with all reports. My company page lost two likes, Love Den Helder lost four likes. Facebook only showed the most recent birthday and I was there personally.

7. I was missed

A Facebook group was set up the same day I left Facebook: Thomas Lapperre Fanpage. And my Facebook friends really went wild:

A strong test was also placed: whether I wanted a crate of Cuvée Delphine (really ridiculously good beer). I would have responded to that ... if I had seen it.

8. It became quiet

I felt connected to the world again when I went on Facebook. It became silent for thirty days, and one day I realized that if I need human contact, I just had to go and see people live real-time in real life. There was just less communication. For some people, Facebook is mostly low-chattering and nonsense, but that depends on how you deal with Facebook. On the other hand: the really important things also reached me outside of Facebook.

9. Facebook is easy contact

An 🙂 is not the same as a roar of laughter, beating hard on the table and laughing at the lungs because someone tells a good joke. Socializing in real life takes more effort. Now I don't attach any value to that - life does not necessarily have to be difficult, of course - but it often applies: if something takes more effort, it is worth you more.

10. Thirty days without Facebook is also addictive

I have learned to appreciate Instagram for the quality. Pokémon GO because you go outside and explore your neighborhood. And Facebook for the people behind the posts, likes and comments. Yet it is nice without all the time on one medium. I will Facebook less than before. Endless scrolling for the distraction makes me less happy. Facebook no longer needs to go back on the mobile. I mainly read there and then I forgot to respond again. Facebooking at set times is also a good idea. But: I will stay on Facebook.

Putting Facebook in your hand - 5 tips

Finally, five tips that not every Facebooker knows and what helps to improve Facebook quality:

• You can follow friends
  You do not always escape some 'mandatory' Facebook contacts. Socially desirable or just people who use Facebook as a business network tool, but otherwise are nice people you don't want to embarrass. By following them, you remain friends, but your timeline stays cleaner. Go to the profile, click Next and set to Don't follow anymore. I always do this when I see messages from someone that really bother me. By that I do not mean: people who have a different opinion, because I find that valuable, but things that annoy me. Such as games, monotonous messages or advertising messages.
• You can be the first to view friends
  My wife and some friends do not post much nonsense and I would like to stay informed. Or someone who is sick. You will receive a separate notification of each message when you choose View first in a profile under the Next button.
• You can also unfriend friends
  You don't have to be friends with everyone. You must have met a Facebook friend at least once in real life, or have something of a history online. For example, someone who likes to make contacts for his company messages and therefore collects friends does not need me.
• You can view Facebook pages
  Because there is only more to come. That sounds strange for someone who gives workshops for companies for Facebook, but the core of Facebook is relevance. The page and the messages must be relevant to you: it is about quality. Otherwise Facebook will hardly show you the messages from that page. I especially recommend removing like & win pages.
• You can view Facebook pages first
  On a profile, go to Find I Like and choose Show first. You will then always see the messages from that page first. I do for some pages that only show quality content. Like the Dirkjan Fanclub. Or Rumi.

Last extra tip: what you liked / clicks / shared / responds to is what Facebook thinks you like. If you only click on stupid things, Facebook thinks: that person likes that. Be selective in your interaction and you get the content that you really like.

No recommendation

I could of course end with the strong recommendation to go without Facebook for thirty days. However, that does not seem to me necessary, especially if you have already read this article. If average Dutchman we have just spent less time on hobbies, reading and listening to music and more and more on watching TV, using the internet and Facebook. Every advantage has a disadvantage, a wise person has said. The only thing I want to promise my friends: if you want to meet, I will never say no because I am Facebooking.