I am thinking about deactivating my facebook for the sake of my mental health...interested in your views?

[user1496589862]

Its the only form of adult interaction I get (apart from work colleagues), which is quite sad actually. But...I really think it is bad for my mental health. I am under no illusion that the lives of people posting are 100% perfect but it kinda highlights how bloody lonely mine is.
Really would love to hear your views on facebook?

I can't imagine Facebook being good for anyone's mental health.
There is always email to send and receive important messages.

BUT I´m not jealous of other people´s lives and I don´t compare myself to them.

It's not just about that, though. As a PP said, there's also a problem with FB creating a false feeling of connectedness.

Scrolling through pages of minutiae about the lives of 'friends' you never see in person. 'Stalking' profiles of acquaintances, etc., to the detriment of offline relationships.

Not a problem for some, but pretty common, I think.

I deactivated all my social media accounts while struggling to conceive. I didn't need the endless "my life" #blessed stuff being shoved down my throat all day, and social media contributed to making times like Mother's Day and Christmas almost unbearable. It was absolutely the right decision for me. I reactivated Facebook about 6 months later but that's because I'd joined a running club and swimming club which both used it as their primary means of communication. I still don't really use it for anything else.

I deleted mine a few months ago my head felt fuzzy looking at other people's problems & Moans we have enough of that in our own lives we can't mentally manage more I don't think. The attention seeking is annoying to say the least.
For me it brings to light how people I thought were normal are actually very unstable people who are extremely petty & insecure it makes me lose respect for them.
It causes unnecessary drama & wastes our precious time.
In all the time iv spent scrolling over the years I could have spent that time learning a language or out running etc.
As the other poster said human interaction is better &
Healthier outside of fb for example heading to a yoga class & enjoying the company of others for an hour instead of sitting at home looking at fb.
Delete your account you will feel so much better

I agree AccrualIntentions that if you've got a particular issue going on it is looking for unhappiness to be on FB. It is all very well for people to breeze, "I'm quite content; I'm not jealous of anybody, real friends are pleased for their friends when they see their good news." But I should think that most of us are at best insecure about something, or driven mad about something.

I am not on FB, but an old school friend sends me a "Birthday Letter" every year and frankly it ruins my day. I feel down just thinking about it! It is like the Christmas Round Robin on acid and leaves me feeling like the most inadequate, underachieving, plodding person in the world.

I deactivated a couple of months ago - I feel liberated I didn't realise how much mental space it took up! Do it!

I don't look at mine. I keep it for updates about a club I go to and items for sale in notifications but have no idea what else is on there. I fill my time learning on YouTube and reading.

You've fallen victim to the Facebook saga .... their life is better than mine, my photos aren't exciting, he/she looks like they have the perfect life... bla, bla, bla...I deactivated mine a while ago & haven't looked back. I was starting to find it childish, I couldn't think of anything worse than over sharing my private life with colleagues - and the pathetic-ness of " oh why haven't you accepted my friend request " if you don't accept people from work. I'm mid thirties & all I saw was people gloating, fake photoshopped pics of females literally begging for attention/ likes. All of a sudden one day I woke up and thought I just can't be arsed with this anymore and deactivated it. I've come to the conclusion that it's just all rather childish. Deactivate for a while & you will probably realise like me that you don't miss all the bullshit.

ha! I find FB a much healthier & less "perfect" environment than MN. MN is brutal. There are buckets of things I could say on FB that I would be flamed for here. But to each their own.

I havnt posted on my page for 8 years. I did deactivate it but for some reason it came back. It helps the registered email is a hotmail account i dont use! I dont have and never had have any othet social media and have never for 1 second felt ive missed out on life!

I think about getting rid of FB sometimes, but instead I just plump for using it less and trying to get less hung up on the stuff on there. I find if you're the type to get insecurities reading other people's Facebook posts, you're the type to get insecurities in general so just deleting FB probably isn't the answer. You just have to keep reminding yourself you're not seeing the whole picture, online or offline.

For example, last night I went round to a gathering at a couple's house. They own a house and I'm just renting (insecurity #1). The house is really nice and tidy (insecurity #2) and they seem really happy (insecurity #3). But in reality how do I know that they aren't in financial trouble, and that the house wasn't a massive tip until they cleaned it before we came and had a massive argument in the process? Of course I don't want those things to be true, but you've got to remind yourself they could be. 90% of people's lives go on behind the scenes and we only show the best 10% to the world.

I deactivated mine two days ago, after being on holiday and realising how much time I was wasting looking at posts of people I have very little to do with /not really keen on in real life. My book reading has all but disappeared because of using FB instead. Still have messenger for maintaining contact with those I'm close to.

I don't bother with FB. It's not a mental health issue, I just can't be arsed. I don't use my phone much either than for making arrangements. I don't like people texting me. The only people I actually have text conversations with are my husband and my sister. My friends know not to bother me by text as I don't reply.

I feel so much mentally strong since quitting Facebook. I've not been on it for two years. I have not missed it at all.

Quit FB several years ago when very few people acknowledged my birthday and I cried. I realized I was over-invested in it. Went back on later to delete all of the friends so I wouldn't show up in anyone's friend list (although deactivated, you appear in their list but with no picture).

I am so much happier. It was a time suck.

Also, when I was on FB, as I went through my day I thought of everything as a potential FB posting - "I should post this on FB" or "I should share this picture on FB" or "This would be a funny post on FB". And then if I posted it and got no or little response, I felt bad.

Here's the downside though - I have family members who only make announcements on FB - no other way. So, I am not really part of the family anymore. If I hear of things it's because someone else told me including major things as Uncle Charlie has terminal cancer. But then again, that tells me something about my "place" in the family, doesn't i.... aaaaaaand we circle back to my ignored birthday - lol.

I have wound my fb down to nothing i.e. One visible profile picture and nothing else and left it at that and no longer go on it. I prefer this as I have had old friends still find me on it since and even met up with one I hadn't seen for ten years after they sought me out on it so I just use it for anyone looking for me. I rarely even check for that though but will do maybe every few months.

WOW! Thanks for the response lovely people!
I feel for me, it has got to the point where everything is shared via facebook. No need to pick up the phone. They see a snippet of your life and thats ok for 'friends'. Are they friends I questioned myself.
Which one of those friends really know me, care about me?

I think I need to do it as it can completely take over your life. If it hasnt for some of you then that is great but it does mine and that is very sad!
Im glad I asked because now I dont feel alone in feeling how I do! I will be deactivating this evening! I need a 'real' life!

I think when anyone has depression or chronic illness Facebook becomes faceEnvy. It can feel isolating and like people have forgotten you.

Do you think it's more about the friends you have on there though? I have a modest 150 Friends on there and none apart from maybe two, show off,put criptic messages from A&E or send chain messages.
You can stop the nobs from removing their news feed from you page.

I can't believe you guys take FB that seriously. It's unbalanced to feel that way about it. Plus you know FB filters what we see of each other's pages so you have to deliberately go look at peoples' individual pages to maybe see all their news, which just takes too long, nobody has that time. If you want your news to definitely get heard & acknowledged then ring someone up directly & tell them, or write a letter. Don't expect FB to do all announcing for you. I end up catching up only sporadically with many FB pages. It's just a place to share news & views. I took my birthday info off my FB profile b/c I didn't like the attention.

I only have one fb friend who gives me the envies she is an expat with 2 businesses and looks amazing. The rest of my friends are mainly just rl friends who are normalish and a few online friends from interest groups, then I have quite a few groups like I love puppies and so on. I quite like it and it keeps me in the loop.

I have occasional breaks from Fb and it really helps. It's just too much noise sometimes! When you are ready you can reactivate, you won't regret having some time away.

I love facebook for staying in touch with people and seeing what old friends are up to. I have friends all over the the world so cannot always meet up down the pub.

I don't feel jealous of the nice happy photos. Facebook is a place to post happy stuff and things you want to share with people.

Oh, and Archers Appreciation. My favourite FB community. It helps if you have actually listened to The Archers. But mostly it's a good place to get essential regular top-ups of The Absurd.

I don't really have the life envy thing and love seeing friends' photos but my goodness it is filled with dross these days with all the ads and shit from randoms that pop up

I have an amazing parenting group on there & contact with some friends I don't see that often so I don't think I could delete just now, but fully understand the need/want to and can only imagine how much time you'd gain!

• scrolled away from this and started reading about some absolute random's Saturday night ending up in a&e, total case in point