Insta, FB, Snapchat, and social media: these are the buzz words for Gen Z, our revolution, obsession and ultimate turn-on. With Facebook having reached the tender age of 13 at the start of the month, about to embark on those rocky teenage years, I thought it was time Facebook and I reviewed our relationship.

It’s been a pretty turbulent ride. From the day I created my (online) ego back in 2010, devoid of profile pic (I’d listened attentively to the cyber-bullying talks) or date of birth (signed up as a 24-year-old #legend) to when I uploaded my first photo album complete with four album title edits, with all the tags and captions in caps lock, it’s been memorable. I remember my first ‘cull’, my first poke, and the moment I braved it and made my first event. FB and I have matured side by side, waxing and waning with each like and reject.

It’s not always been a particularly voracious affair. In my last year of school I was still conscious of un-tagging myself from ghastly photos, never posted statuses and spent probably less than five minutes a day scrolling. However, coming to Cambridge changed that. Facebook has been an integral part of life in the ‘Bridge, from the first #hype update in Freshers’ Week right to the last Cindies photo dump. Events, group messages, pages, and political posts, where would we be without them, how would we know what is what, who is who and where to be? At first, it astounded me that to keep up to speed with uni life I might have to be constantly logged in, but now it is just a fact.

“I found myself spending alarming amounts of time perusing the ‘Book, wondering how the video of a guinea pig eating a carrot while on a mini bicycle was supposed to ‘make my day today’”

It’s unnerving how quickly motions on the FB become normalised and lapped into everyday use. Live profile videos were a surprise for all of 10 minutes, and Facebook reminiscing for you with a video of your memories is now expected at least once a week. There were moments when I first signed up where I thought it was maybe a bit much that X was providing the world with visual evidence of his mad rave last night – now if they don’t, I’m left wondering where their camera was.

I found myself spending alarming amounts of time perusing the ’Book, wondering how the video of a guinea pig eating a carrot while on a mini bicycle was supposed to ‘make my day today.’ The meme epidemic tipped me over the edge, with my frustration levels rocketing while scrolling relentlessly past another picture of Kermit.

So I decided to give it up. My social media presence is notoriously flaky during the holidays and therefore I thought giving up during term time would be like the proverbial duck taking to water. It was not. I have floundered as much as I possibly could, and essay-based subjects are incredibly conducive to an indulgent stalk. I deleted both the Facebook and the Instagram apps from my phone, and have installed a plug-in to delete newsfeed, notifying me only for messages and events.

Did it work? To tell the truth, not entirely. The first week was relatively easily and I felt happily cleansed. However, by Week 4, curiosity had the better of me and the occasional dabble into friends’ profiles became a regular respite from reading. I ended up relying on SelfControl, an app that switches off certain sites for an allocated amount of time. There is no doubt that I am more content and less anxious when I am inactive – I only have corporeal me to be concerned about, one less Molly to conduct glaring social blunders. I have become far more aware of the amount of time I spend scrolling, and when I do it irritates me, (hopefully) indicating the near demise of my liaison with FB.

The list of reasons why not to use Facebook continues to grow. While the known psychological effects remain hazy, it is agreed they are numerous, with the potential to be incredibly harmful. The comparative nature of social media leads to anxiety and a skewed self-image. In our judgement-rich society, FB provides a platform for unhealthy self-analysis, constant comparison against the successes of others, whether it be their ability to look bikini-perfect on holiday or sweat-free in Fez.

According to research, decreasing face-to-face communication can lead to a lack of emotional and authentic connection and give a license to be hurtful. The University of Oxford compared online chats to buying pre-packaged meat at a store and commented: “perhaps future generations will recoil at the messiness, unpredictability and immediate personal involvement of a three-dimensional, real-time interaction.”

Facebook’s inherently addictive and distracting nature, due in part to the dopamine rush and hook of instant gratification, reduces our ability to fully concentrate. Information overload also contributes to our waning focus. The Bergen Facebook Addiction Scale has been created to measure addiction to social networking. Results indicate that women tend to be at greater risk of developing Facebook addiction, attributed to the social nature of Facebook. Not surprisingly, a study of 82 young Facebook users found that when participants increased their use of Facebook over the 14-day study period, their state of well-being declined. In one Telegraph survey, 51 per cent of respondents said use of social media had had a negative impact on their life. Despite the consensus around social media’s pernicious nature, we continue to gorge on it, self-publicising and legitimising our existence in the most isolating of public spaces, the online realm. 

Mirror, mirror, on my Facebook wall…

George Monbiot writes of the era of loneliness, a new epidemic sweeping across developed countries, infecting young and old alike. Although more connected than ever through social media, the pervasive isolation of our mini social control rooms redefines this connection as immaterial and transient. This, combined with the rising tide of individualism, inevitably leads society up a naval-gazing, solipsistic and potentially regressive avenue. Ross Douthat believes that “in the future” thanks to individualism’s impenetrable rule “only pot, selfies and Facebook will abide – and the greatest of these will probably be Facebook.”

Other social media researchers believe FB’s heyday is over, the break-up is imminent and essential to maintain creative competition within the social media sector. Facebook has spread like an infectious disease. However, people are slowly becoming immune to its attractions, and researchers at Princeton University agreed that the platform will be largely abandoned by 2017. With over five new profiles currently made every second, this is a dubious prediction. However, the growing concern around spurious media and mistrust in multinationals, together with an increasing respect for a simpler ‘hygge’ way of life, a dwindling of our love affair for FB is not inconceivable.

 This (slightly failed) social experiment I have embarked upon has led to many a debate over Facebook’s effect, and talking to others it is obvious that it is not just myself that is bored with Facebook’s omnipresence. People know its obsessive lure and poisonous judgement. However, we just can’t quite let go. One or two people have, and feel all the more authentic for it, suffering less FOMO and undeniably becoming more productive. This leap of social faith is apparently too wide for me right now, but I can see it coming, not far-off. Zuckerberg describes his baby as a social movement, motivated by his passion for radical transparency. I am unconvinced that this is the social movement for me, and aim soon to fully break from its blue and white shackles of dependence