Dear FB, after 16 years, we are finally breaking up. I just deleted my account – for good. (Finding the delete profile permanently button is well hidden. This won’t happen accidentally.)
Thank you for the memories, but it’s time to move on. Despite my attempts to stay connected, we have grown apart. As I shared less with you and my social life became independent of you, our breaks grew longer. While we had some good times and even shared a few magical moments, the cost to my non-renewable resource, time, was too great. This time can be spent better by actually staying in touch, not just skying and liking.
This decision was not easy, but it is necessary for me to uphold my boundaries and freedom. Time and time again, you lured me back in, afraid of missed connections and opportunities. However, my life is no longer dictated by FOMO, as it was in the past when my self-worth depended on you. You were my magic mirror, telling me about all the people who were cooler, prettier, and, most importantly, more popular than I was masking it as connection. But now, that’s no longer the fuel that drives me.
I have taken the time to divide our belongings, download the pictures I have shared with you over time, and even reached out to a few people I care about but have no other means of contacting. The good news is that there are only a few of these people. Most real connections have the potential to be maintained without you if one of the parties chooses to do so. Honestly, I am not someone who stays in touch if you are not someone I meet in real life or at least have a realistic chance of doing so again.
As I went through the pictures and memories of sixteen years of my life, including parties, failures, connections, and disappointments, some things made me sad, some I regretted, and some made me laugh. However, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t face. Perhaps it was therapeutic. Speaking of regrets, I regret how I treated myself, how I allowed — sometimes even encouraged — others to treat me, and how I treated others based on my twisted idea of self-worth and my desperate craving for approval and connection. I apologize. I hope you can forgive me, and may I forgive myself.
Furthermore, I am also full of gratitude for the people who liked me when I didn’t like my self, who treated me well when I didn’t treat myself well. Overall, despite the pain and despair I had a damn good ride — I am also glad I got off that horse before causing severe injuries.
So, yeah, goodbye, and thanks for all the fish.
We won’t meet again on FB, but I am still just a message away. <3
Especially, if you are reading this. 😀
PS I am still on Instagram … but as I was there fore the political content our days are counted. If any social media I recommend connecting on Mastodon where you find me as – surprise – herrberta. However, I am not that active there.
This text was edited with DeepL Write (Mode: corrections) and languagetool until there were no red or blue lines 😉
The cover picture was created with stablediffusionweb.com. Prompt: “a person under a mountain of blue books “Style: Graffiti.