“Sanity is a madness put to good use.” –  George Santayana

10 years of Facebook. 5 years of me being on it. 3 years of it being the source of my bread and butter. And I quit.

There are times when a man’s got to do what a man’s got to do. Without compulsions, without inhibitions, without temptations. In certain moments, trying to prove yourself to be different from others is more important for you, than showing off to the rest of the globe. One needs a reality check to gather his senses and to ensure himself that he’s not a slave. Neither of the society, nor of the technology he has adapted to. It’s not a stunt. Rather, a necessity.

It’s been close to 3 years since I have started working in the field of Social Media Marketing. Presently, my average Facebook activity for a day includes a total of 7 hours being online, 50-60 notifications, 5 friend requests, 3 game requests, 5 app requests, 0.3 status updates, stalking of 2-3 profiles and analysis of insights for client’s pages.

I have no addictions, if I say so myself. And when I started doubting that very statement, decided to go ahead with The Social Unsocial Experiment.

 

The Social Unsocial Experiment

Truth be said, it’s not much of a big deal. One guy working in the Social and Digital Media field, who makes a living off it, will be discarding Facebook for a span of 21 days (15 Feb-07 March 2014).

The guy – Me.

 

Why?

Its an experiment. An experiment to analyse the behavioral feedback of not being continuously connected to your friend circles. To understand whether the absence of information from my “friends” lives makes a difference to me, and in the process, learn what percentage of it is pure crap that’s wasting time and Hard Disk space from my brain. An experiment to examine whether my overall work productivity increases in this period. An experiment to prove, that there is more to life than notifications and “likes”.

 

So Why Make A Big Deal Out Of It?

Ask a professional football player to play football without his boots. Not impossible, but difficult. Same is the case here. Getting off Facebook might not be a big deal for all. But for me, for a professional working in that very field, it’s difficult. And that’s the beauty of it. Who wants to do things that are easy and predictable?

 

What About Client’s Facebook Pages?

All delegated to the staff and in good hands.

 

How To Get In Touch In The Meantime?

Heard about eMail? Twitter? Phone? I’ll be there.

 

What Plans In The Meantime?

Uh… In case no one knew, I have a life. Work to do. Plan to work with lesser distraction, get work completed pre-schedule and blog more. And if time still permits, start thinking about the book I have wanted to write for so long.

 

Do You Think Anyone Will Miss You?

I hope not. Am leaving Facebook. Not the world.

Well….. Maybe except those lovely people who keep tagging me in pics and keep sending me Candy Crush requests.

 

Why 21 days?

I like the number 21.

 

Why 15 February?

Like all single good looking lads my age, I still dwell in the hope that on Feb 14 I’ll receive an anonymous message/friend request. Just letting that hope live through this year too.

 

– Vijay S Paul