I'm 15 years old, and I just made a Facebook profile a month ago. According to the site's guidelines, I could have joined when I turned 13, but I chose not to. Here's why I didn't want a Facebook before, and how I feel about it now.
Why I stayed away from Facebook:
1. It drains your time. People around me are always on Facebook on their phones or computers, reading news or Buzzfeed lists, looking through photos on someone's "Freshman Year!!!!" album, or maybe tracking an ex's new fling. Study distractions now consist of scrolling back to 2008 on an upperclassman's timeline or dubbing some guy's shirtless vacation pics as "thirst trap." I'm no exception, in that I too need an interruption from schoolwork and stress fairly often, but the endless vortex of Facebook data didn't seem like the best place to start, because it never stops.
2. My parents get weird about social media. I've had a phone for six years, Instagram for three and Snapchat for two and a half. At some point in time my parents decided they liked the idea of snooping through my phone, and the highlights were my texts with any male being and my Instagram photos, not to mention the suspicion around Snapchat. Basically, it wasn't worth the redundant discussion about being safe on social media, which I -- as a cautious teen -- can figure out for myself without constant reminders. Plus, I wasn't keen on the idea of friending my parents. (I've since been convinced to add my mom on Facebook.)
3. It wasn't relevant to me. For a long time, Facebook did not appeal to me because there weren't many people for me to connect with who I wouldn't be able to otherwise. The people I knew didn't need or really want a Facebook. It wasn't until this past school year, when I started at boarding school, that I found all my friends and peers using the site. So I suppose I began seeing the site's entertainment and its purposefulness, and it's partly grown on me and partly frustrated me, but I came around to it either way.
Why I finally decided to make a Facebook:
1. Keeping in contact. With summer just starting, and now knowing tons of international students from my new school, I thought it would be useful to be able to Facebook message people whose contact information I don't have. Before I created my Facebook profile, there were numerous times this past year where my classmates said they would Facebook message me homework or a photo or group project details. When I told them I didn't have a Facebook, we either awkwardly exchanged numbers or decided to use overly formal school emails to sort something out. Things are easier with Facebook.
2. Keeping in the know. Since having a Facebook, I have been more up to date with the news. It used to take a lot of motivation to go on news websites, and watching TV news wasn't much of an option at boarding school. With Facebook, I can easily follow news sources and stay more aware of world events, as well as monitor school pages to see unofficial academic information. I am also more aware of what the people I know are doing. I've yet to decide whether it's interesting, creepy or completely irrelevant to see everything some camp friend from three years ago has been tagged in on Facebook. It's a stark contrast to Instagram feeds, for example, where people might post once every couple weeks and use Photoshop to enhance the image. The relative realness of Facebook is refreshing, but the abundance of photos can be overwhelming, especially when I don't really know the person tagged.
What I do other than Facebook:
Or maybe I should say what I did other than Facebook.
I'm not going to claim that I hardly ever checked social media and instead spent all my time on the soccer field while memorizing every decimal point of Pi. I too got caught up with the obsession over Instagram likes or followers and having a good Snapchat score. However, if I'd had a Facebook during the school year, I can't imagine what I would have been like with my homework or with getting to sleep somewhat on time, since that's tricky enough as it is. When school starts again in the fall, I might have to start setting my own restraints on social media time.
I used to find myself proud to say that I didn't have a Facebook, and amused by almost everyone's shocked reactions to that statement and then how quickly they would forget and go back to assuming I had one, because why wouldn't I? It's no secret that most everyone in our society is technology- and media-obsessed, but in gaining constant knowledge we are losing curiosity. Having and checking Facebook feels like an obligation, in that if the information is there, it needs to be accessed.
Either way, I now fall among the millions who are devoted to Facebook, and it doesn't seem to be going anywhere.