So, I guess it may come as a shock to many people that I recently chose to delete over 1000 of my Facebook friends.
Of course, I use the term 'friends' very loosely in this regard, which, ultimately, is why I decided to take the plunge and remove so many people. Particularly with my blog, I do want to maximise my exposure and share this with as many people as possible, but, I have to admit that recently I have become uncomfortable with the fact that these people are classed as my 'friends', when really, they aren't - at all.
It's no real secret that the majority of us are friends with people on Facebook that in reality, we have absolutely nothing to do with. During the process of whittling down my 'friends' list, I was actually quite shocked by the number of people that I didn't know at all - people I had obviously mindlessly accepted, met on nights out and so on. I guess I found it a little odd that for so long, I had been sharing personal things - holidays, my engagement, family stuff, with so many people that I honestly don't know.
Anyway, 1000 friends less later, I was left with a much 'closer' circle of friends, amounting to a figure of just over 500 - which still sounds like quite a lot.
The friends which I have kept on Facebook aren't necessarily people that I speak to regularly, but people that I have a genuine connection to, whether that be from school/college/university, work, or of course, as family and real friends. and I feel so much happier now I've had the clear out.
The thing is, although I'm a blogger and I do like to share experiences and things about myself as a person, I also do value my privacy highly, and this was something I felt could be jeopardised on Facebook. I don't know about you, but in some ways, I do find it a little unnerving exactly how much personal information you can find out about someone by simply visiting their Facebook profile - it's mind-blowing.
Recently, I have become a much more regular user of platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, as I feel that these applications/websites are a lot less intrusive. The volume of personal information shared on these platforms is minuscule in comparison to Facebook, but as well as this, I also find that it's a lot easier to tap into networks and groups of interest to me using these, too.
Instagram and Twitter offer great ways to communicate with those sharing common interests on a global scale. I often comment on other bloggers photographs on Instagram, and I also regularly follow accounts that inspire me. Similarly, through the use of hashtags and designated blogger groups, I am able to connect with like-minded people in an informal and non-intrusive way using Twitter.
So, does this mean that I am 'done' with Facebook?
No, absolutely not. I still find Facebook to be an incredibly resourceful and useful social media platform, however, as I've gotten older, I simply don't feel the need to be 'friends' with such a large volume of people.
How will this affect my blog?
I do regularly share my blog on my Facebook page to allow my friends to read what I write, and to boost exposure, so, certainly to begin with, I do expect the number of interactions with my blog via Facebook to decrease. However, I am keen to make improvements to the Exclusively Grace Facebook page by inviting more people to 'like' the page. This will ensure that I am still gaining plenty of engagements through Facebook, but that my privacy remains absolute.
Other ways in which you can enhance security on your Facebook profile
I suppose in some ways, deleting such a vast number of people from my Facebook friends list was perhaps a fairly drastic measure. It felt like the right thing for me to do, but I appreciate that this isn't the sole route to gaining security on Facebook. If you're concerned about your privacy and security on Facebook, there are lots of ways to improve your safety readily available. Facebook's 'blocking' system is still very much a 'thing', and offers the ideal solution to preventing nuisance users from trying to contact you. On top of this, the 'Account Settings' section of your Facebook account now allow you to privatise, well, pretty much everything.
Social media is such a fantastic thing, and we're so lucky to live in an era in which it is so easy to connect with people all over the world, who otherwise, we would probably never have the opportunity to speak with. But, with that said, it's important to note exactly how important your security really is. Cyber crime, online bullying and stalking are three extremely serious, highly prevalent issues in our society right now, and it's absolutely essential that we protect ourselves from any such threats to the very best of our abilities.
I hope you enjoyed this *slightly more serious* blog post, and I look forward to sharing more with you very soon.
Lots of love,
Grace x
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