Facebook has truly been a powerful force in the world and in my life. I am sincere when I say that I really love the kind of connections that I can keep and the people who I can stay in touch with (albeit very passively sometimes).

I've been wondering if I can or should leave or take a break.

This past election in the US has got me thinking about a few things that I'm going to start trying to do more and do less. Facebook is in the "do less" bucket.

I've become unhappy about how Facebook is jamming my life with stuff that I really don't want to see. It's no longer fun. It feels like I have to do it. Fear of missing out (FOMO) along with unread items and notifications have amplified my thoughts on this topic.

My Facebook replacement plan is the following:

Read different perspectives either shared on Twitter or on mainstream news publications. I'm really enjoying a curated news app called Next Draft and have subscribed to the New York Times. Ironically I think Twitter has won in my mind post election 2016. I don't want an algorithm curating what I see any more.
Message people more 1:1 and stop relying on Facebook for passive communications
Use Snapchat more to talk to people and share Stories
Rely on Instagram for what Facebook used to be about
Keep using Day One as a personal feed of my memories. It does a great job of showing me "on this day" stuff from the past which I do love about Facebook.

I'm not sure how this experiment is going to go. It's unlikely that I will be completely absent from Facebook as there are times where the unexpected may happen and Facebook the best place to stay in touch on some issues. But if you want to keep abreast of me your best bet is going to be:

Subscribe to my OmarKnows Newsletter (I'll stop posing it to Facebook each week)

Follow me on Twitter

I know this means that I'll loose touch with some of you. Please reach out or write to me! I already hear from many of you because you have something to say about my Newsletter posts (please keep doing that!) but you can reach me on Messenger, Snapchat, Instagram, WhatsApp, Email etc!

I hope 2017 is an awesome year and that you all prosper!