Leave Facebook Day

March 20, 2025

First Day of Spring
(northern hemisphere)

The fact is, you can leave Facebook any day of the year, but such noble activities are especially welcome during spring cleaning.

Below are some resources for how and why to leave Facebook. Just getting things in place here, so more to come.

Why Leave Facebook? | How to Leave Facebook | Further Reading

Why Leave Facebook?

In no particular order:

Negative content is favoured and promoted on social media because it "drives more engagement".
Negative content provokes a reaction. More engagement means more time to push ads at you – customized ads because they know everything about you. But this negativity breeds hostility and division.

Privacy. Or lack thereof.
Facebook collects a lot of data on you. Facebook tracks you as you browse other apps and websites. They turn your data into profit via advertisers. YOU are the product.

Spread of disinformation.
There have been real-world consequences to this. Discord between nations. Discord between citizens within a nation. Actual genocide! Election interference. Public health issues. In some countries, like Canada, Facebook now blocks "news" (that is news from designated news sources) from your feed.

Advertisers are Facebook's primary focus.
If you think your Facebook feed always seems to be filled with ads, that's because it is. And it's not like you're getting to see the people you want to see. Facebook algorithms show you who and what they want you to see.

Mental health.
It's designed to be addictive. But your Facebook feed is toxic, filled with a lot of negativity, misinformation, disinformation, and unattainable expectations. And many of your "friends" aren't really friends. You end up using your brain energy on people you don't care much about and your self-esteem can be negatively affected.

Mark Zuckerberg, multi-billionaire.
Do you really want to keep filling the pockets of this guy? Leaked internal documents have revealed that Facebook has long been aware of the harms it creates. Mark Zuckerberg has prioritized growing engagement above other objectives, like safety and societal value. Most recently, Meta policy changes include lifting of prohibitions on previously banned speech, such as the denigration and harassment of racialized minorities.

Blogs and articles on the topic:

Reader's Digest – August 23, 2023
I Quit Facebook and Instagram – and I'm Never Going Back

LifeHack.org
Why Leaving Facebook Is Good For You (And How to Quit It)

Opinion – The Guardian UK – January 14, 2025
Why I have finally quit Facebook (it's not just about fact-checking) by Zoe Williams

How to Leave Facebook

From Facebook help pages...
Deactivating & Deleting Your Account

Also, independent sources for instructions on deleting/deactivating your Facebook account...

Forbes instructions.

Consumer Reports instructions.

PC Mag instructions.