Edit: This original post was posted on 31st January. You can see how I got on removing the Facebook app from my phone in the update at the end of the post.
Many of us have had Facebook for years. Let’s be honest though: other than scrolling through a feed out of habit, it’s largely a waste of time.
I don’t know about you, but hardly any actual friends’ posts appear anymore. Instead, the feed is stuffed with clickbait, rage-bait, and endless “suggested” posts from people and pages I’ve never heard of and never asked to follow.
Last year my feed was full of alien nonsense. This year it’s constant WW3 speculation, pandemic warnings, and general doom. The algorithm just seems to shovel rubbish at you, and I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in feeling that way. Part of the problem is probably that many of us barely post anymore but that doesn’t excuse how bad it’s become.
So, are there any real solutions? Honestly, I’m even considering deleting the app. I can always dip in via the browser every now and then to check my feed. I don’t think I could go completely Facebook-free, but I’ve already massively reduced how much I use the app already without it being a conscious decision.
I may also review the pages I follow, the groups I’m in, and even some acquaintance connections. A proper declutter might help or at least make the feed tolerable again.
The irony is that at a time when Facebook feels like it’s performing so poorly, they now want to charge us. Recently I had a message asking me to either accept the current format and ads or pay around £3.99 a month for Meta ad-free. After years of people warning this would happen, it’s a bit grim to see it actually come true.
Deleting the app may be my next step. We’ll see — I’ll keep you posted. But one thing’s clear: Facebook wastes my time. And if someone genuinely needs me, they can still message direct.
Are you addicted to Facebook while also recognising it’s a time-waster? Have you tried deleting the app? I’d be genuinely interested — let me know in the comments.
Edit – I deleted the app on my phone. 31-Jan. so just occasional browser use now planned.
Update 15th Feb – For two weeks I used my browser to check Facebook. This gave me an advantage: I spent less time scrolling and wasting time on Facebook. I tended to check feeds for a shorter period and visited it only once a day.
Unfortunately, I’ve had to reinstall the app. While I hope to use it less, the browser experience is awkward. Switching between Facebook pages feels clunky and easily accessible buttons vanish on the browser version. Furthermore, the app persistently encourages me to download it.
The browser experience on my Mac was easier and much better. However, since I primarily use FB on an iPhone I’ve reinstalled the app.
I also noticed that FaceBook tended to sign me out more of FaceBook via the browser. Forcing me to sign in more frequently to verify who I was. It may be my imagination but it felt like the timeline was more relevant with less clutter.
A quick online search seems to confirm that the Facebook browser feed is designed to encourage interaction and quick exchanges while the Facebook app focuses on keeping you scrolling. so maybe not my imagination.
This got me thinking. I’d been using Safari for Facebook web browsing but what if it was the problem? While I’ll stick with the Facebook app for now, I’ve also loaded Chrome to access my feed. I’ll compare the two and let you know if Chrome becomes a better solution. I’ll keep you posted on how I get on soon…
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