Facebook Is a Drug (And You’re Addicted)

The tactics that Facebook uses to keep you logged on have lasting side-effects

Several months ago, after having a Facebook account for about five years, I finally took the plunge and deleted it. It was something I’d been meaning to do for a while, but never really got around to. Turns out, all it took to push me in the right direction was someone hacking into my account, and posting shady Ray-Ban Sunglasses ads onto all of my friends’ timelines.

So, I deleted it — or, really, I filed a deletion request. Facebook settings won’t allow you to actually delete your account until it’s remained “deactivated” for 14 days. You can reactivate it at any time, but if you file another request for deletion, you’ll need to wait a full 14 days again.

It’s a sneaky, but effective tactic intended to keep as many users on the site as possible. Facebook is hoping that at some point during those fourteen days, you’ll have second thoughts and reactivate your account. All it takes is the push of a button — a lot easier than making a whole new account and adding your three-hundred friends all over again. (Kind of like how, if you’re in the mood for candy, you’d eat a piece sitting in front of you, but probably wouldn’t drive all the way to the store to buy some.)