The pros and cons of deleting your Facebook

The age of Facebook has meant a lot of things: the proliferation of social media, the ability to catch up with old friends, the danger of seeing how happy your ex is with his new girlfriend. But do the pros of having a Facebook outweigh the cons? Keep this in mind as you contemplate whether or not to delete your social media presence:

PRO: Facebook helps you stay connected

If you’ve ever wondered what your best friend from middle school is up to these days or are looking for a simple way to stay connected to friends who are attending different colleges, Facebook makes it incredibly easy. Because let’s be honest, who doesn’t love knowing who from your high school has gotten married and who has kids?

CON: There may be privacy concerns

Facebook is constantly changing the way it manages your privacy settings, and you may be inadvertently sharing more information than you had planned. Ads can now be targeted to individual users because of information that Facebook has shared with third parties.

PRO: You will be reminded of important events

Facebook can not only prevent you from forgetting your best friend’s birthday, but you may also be exposed to valuable cultural information. If your friends are posting about events in the news or the latest viral video, it will allow you to become a part of the conversation.

CON: It’s pretty difficult to delete your Facebook

If you’ve decided that you want to delete your Facebook once and for all, it’s fairly complicated to do so. If you deactivate your account, you can still be tagged in photos, and Facebook makes no promises about deleting all of your data. To fully delete your account, you’re going to have to do a bit of digging through your account settings.