REACT…to making it OFFICIAL :)

People, in case you are considering it, let me tell you TO DEACTIVATE is not the same as to END/DELETE/TERMINATE your FB account…

I deACTivated my account a little more than a month ago… and then my sister-friend, author of Life in Spanglish, Cristy sent me this post…

Walled-in: Life Without Facebook by Leo Babauta from ZENHABITS.NET

“Seventeen months ago, I deleted my Facebook account

—not just deactivated it, but fully deleted it —

and the relief was tremendous.” quote from post

I had thought that after a while of being DEACTIVATED it would eventually disappear into some data filled blackhole…but when I read these first lines of Walled-in, I had a mini panic attack…like suddenly discovering that you are being watched, not that I know how that feels…but, you know what I mean, just some weird feeling of uneasiness…things don’t just disappear into nothingness in the webosphere, THEY STAY THERE, witnessing and enduring the pass of time…I couldn’t bare thinking that the few photographs I did post were there unattended, unsupervised, unchaperoned- ALONE, FORGOTTEN…soooo

I went back, aaaaaaargggggggggghhhh!!! I know, awful (not that much really because as I said in my other post, I was never addicted or had any special attachment to it, it was just like a rite of passsage of sorts)…anyway I WENT BACK…I typed my email, then my password and like going back to an old apartment, everything was where I had left it, but now, I had some cardboard boxes with me and I was there to move out, take all my stuff and close the door behind me and never look back (dramatic? un peu!!)

I filled my boxes with all my photos, and other stuff I found, I had already deleted all the photos of my paintings posted when I lived in Mexico City…when I finished packing and started to search for that DELETE button…Oh my goodness, I searched and searched and SEARCHED and all I’d come up with was the DEACTIVATE button and form to fill out…so I filled it out AGAIN and decided to search outside FB for answers…

I typed in the browser: HOW CAN I DELETE MY FACEBOOK ACCOUNT? enter…

First option that appeared: FACEBOOK HELP CENTER…

Second option: HOW TO PERMANENTLY DELETE YOUR FACEBOOK ACCOUNT

EUREKA I found it!! and I went through all the process, filled out all the forms, had to take off my shoes, watch, belt, place my cellphone in a plastic box… the works… when I finally got to the end and was ready to bid FB ADIEU, I got a message: YOUR ACCOUNT WILL BE PERMANENTLY DELETED AT THE END OF 14 DAYS, IF YOU LOG IN ANY TIME BEFORE THAT we will hold no grudges and will welcome you back like the prodigal son/ daughter… Oh no FB, I promise, I’m not coming back, this is for good, remember it’s not you, it’s ME! au revoir…

Yay, one less thing to waste time on…or… more time to waste on Pinterest…tomato/tomatoe

From that day I had been getting emails from FB telling me that I’ve got a private message that I should read…SURE FB, Iknow that by looking at my pictures I don’t seem very bright but I’m not dumb either…I’M OUT!!!

Until yesterday that I got THE SIGN that this was a done deed: YOUR PROFILE CAN NOT BE USED…I high-fived myself!!

However, now, I am wondering/worrying…MY PROFILE can not be used? hhhmmm, DIDN’T I DELETE MY PROFILE PERMANENTLY…like POOF, it disappeared, now you see it-now you don’t… come on FB, please!

Am I understanding this correctly: my profile stays in the FB platform/archives/ memory (what is that called?) but it can not be used… I’m there, but I’m not taking any calls… ?????

OK, could this be what happens when we don’t read the terms of use and just ACCEPT?

MUST BE…

anyway, I’m not there, but I’M HERE and I do take calls 🙂

good luck to any and all considering this… it’s quite interesting… hope you get a chance to read the ZENHABITS post

hugs people!