Five Ways Facebook Is Ruining Your Life and Slowly Deteriorating Your Relationships.

Before I dive head first into this list I need to make it clear that I have not and will not urge anyone to either deactivate or permanently delete their Facebook account. I for one think it makes a very big and disconnected Toronto a little smaller and more familiar but it is not without its drawbacks. Without further ado, my list of things I have either experienced or heard through the stories and occasional tears of those I know. All five points have made me say, “Had it not been for Facebook, this would not be happening right now.”

1. Message Tardiness and the Dreaded “When they read it” Feature.

There was a time where you could send a message, not get a reply but think to yourself, “Maybe they never got it…Maybe it got lost in cyberspace and so there's nothing to reply to.” Yeah, I do. When there was no way to see whether a message was received and read, one could never feel ignored because there was always that chance that they never got it.

Do you also remember the time when you were excited about the fact that you were now instantly able to see exactly when your Facebook message was read? Now it just creates resentment and makes people feel disregarded. For instance, have you ever sent someone a message, saw that they read it instantly but got back to you almost two weeks later (and in that time were updating Facebook regularly)? I have. Yeah, not such a great feeling.

2. Event Invites.

I’ve always said, in some ways the social hierarchy that defined high school never truly leaves our lives. There is always that aspect of exclusion lurking when you least expect it. There still exists that little sliver of not feeling accepted and/or liked when you notice everyone got invited to an event you weren’t. Only difference now is, as adults we shrug our shoulders and say, “I really couldn’t care. Anyways”, when truly, we do.

3. Photographic Event Evidence (aka “Look at our party pics, everyone!”)

Facebook has always been a show and tell of sorts and I for one am happy to take part in such a cultural tradition but mostly when it is I in the party pics toasting the night away and getting silly with the locals at 751. Seeing photographic evidence of an event you weren’t invited to is not the end of the world in the slightest but it has a sour undertone to it, doesn’t it? You know what else is fun? Someone saying they are not going somewhere because they are either broke or have the flu but seeing their shiny face with a beer in hand the next night in a tagged picture. Don’t act like you don’t know what I am talking about.

4. Deleting and Blocking.

Being booted off by somebody you don’t know for no apparent reason is small fries but when it is done by somebody you actually have a history with, needless to say, it’s an unpleasant feeling. You try to not let your paranoia get the best of you but you cant help but ask yourself, “What did I do?” The worst however is being blocked and having all form of communication stripped. This one, if done by somebody you actually considered a friend, actually hurts a little. 

5. The Oh-So Powerful "Like" Button and the Lack Thereof. 

In the last few years the blue and white feature known as the “like” has become our through-the-screen ego stroke. I actually now refer to Facebook as an online stroke machine that either feeds you or leaves you dry. Though small, make no mistake, this little goody has immense power; its an entity really. A form of validation as to whether your statuses are funny, your pictures are stylish and bottom line, whether you are liked (literally). Now, before you tell me that I am putting too much emphasis on the “like”, let me ask you an honest question: how would you react if you posted a status or changed your profile pic and for an entire week you did not receive a single “like”? Yeah, exactly.