Facebook

[emily_in_nc]

There are maybe five people with my first name (that I can find), and I never heard of anyone with my first name until about 10 years ago. My last name is rare except in certain areas. No one has both my first and last names that I've ever found. I guess that makes me easy to find. So maybe I don't need Facebook to be found. Folks can just google me.

And I'm just the opposite. My name (both first and last) are so common that I'm nearly impossible to find! I also set up FB so that my Facebook account can't be found in a google search at all nor in a FB search unless it's by one of my already accepted FB friends (and I only have seven). There are a ton of other people on FB with my same first/last name, and I didn't use my maiden name as my middle name so as to avoid friend requests from old classmates. If I want to find them, I will (most are already friends of my one FB friend from high school), but I don't want them to find me.

I set all my privacy settings to "friends only" or "only me" and disabled apps and websites. I've only been on FB for two weeks but so far nothing remotely worrisome has occurred...at least that I am aware of.

[channlluv]

I really admire you for recognizing the problem and shutting it down. Did you completely delete your account, or just deactivate it?

I have an account but I often forget to check in for several days. I get real-life friends who ask why I didn't respond to their such-and-such post/photo/video link, and it's just because I never saw it.

I keep up with a few real friends via FB, and family, but the rest is all pretty much just interesting chatter among professional contacts similar to what I'd hear at a conference, so it's fun and informative, usually, but nothing I need to check on every day.

I have addiction issues in my family, too, so I don't drink, have never done drugs. I'm glad technology isn't one of my personal demons. (Food is challenging enough.)

Roxy