I recently lost access to my old e-mail address because the company that offered my email service was discontinuing e-mail in its current form, and after that, I also had some unsuccessful login attempts to Facebook and lost access to Facebook for a few days at least. I tried to call Facebook but, of course there is no number to call, and no one is there waiting for your call. I tried numerous times to reset my password and do other things to get back into Facebook, but nothing was working.
So, I paused my efforts, and I was faced with the question, do I really want to continue to be on Facebook or not. I had more time for other things, but I certainly missed keeping in touch with friends on Facebook and what their activities were—their birthdays, their ups, their downs, and their other adventures, and what they recommended, were listening to, or were reading.
Temporarily, I re-dipped my toe in the Facebook morass, and created a new Facebook presence through another version of my name, so I could at least, from a distance anyway, stay in touch, and see if it truly mattered. With this new identity it was interesting to see who Facebook thought I might be interested in meeting as friends and topics in which I might be interested. None really seemed very relevant, but it was fun for a short time to see their recommendations and keep in the mix at a distance.
I paused again and thought about it from an existentialist point of view, and wondered what Søren Kierkegaard might do. From a refreshing article I had recently read and from some faded recollections from my college readings, I knew that Kierkegaard, one of the key figures of existentialism, felt that it is the act of making choices that brings more meaning to our lives; that through making choices, we can live more authentically, forming our own opinions, rather than being guided by the opinions of others, peer pressure, or the society as a whole. For Kierkegaard, understanding the meaning of our existence seems to come through true experiences when we make our own choices, and not following the choices of others.
What would Kierkegaard, who died in Copenhagen in 1855, really think of the virtual world of friends and groups and networks that is Facebook? The social-media enterprise seems to be continually working on its algorithms and to deemphasize content which may be passively consumed and prioritize content that Facebook predicts will make a meaningful difference. Facebook often suggests choices, but often subtly trying to take choice away. I often smile from the content that Facebook predicts will be meaningful to me, but sometimes (more than I might like to admit) they are spot on or close.
Finally, I decided to give it a last try, because I decided it is better to be frequently with my friends on Facebook albeit virtually, then to go back to the more infrequent contacts than often happen only by chance. This time I was able to log on through another device and I was back on Facebook. I made a choice, I will try to choose to be more meaningful and advance truer experience on Facebook by sharing thoughts like these. I welcome the views and journeys of others who have thought about whether to be or not to be on Facebook, and faced this choice.
