Facebook’s manipulative deactivate account page
Posted by staff / May 11, 2010
Pulling the plug on your Facebook account is a big decision, but don’t expect the social networking giant to go down without a fight. (Facebook is like the meth of social media.) You see, “deactivating” an account doesn’t cut off all ties to your former poking and photo tagging self—your former “friends” can still invite you to events, tag you in photos, and send group invitations. That’s right, until you opt out of all emails or completely delete your account, you haven’t fully escaped Facebook’s grip.
Ok, back to deactivating your account. Upon clicking the deactivate button, Facebook breaks out the equivalent of a pouty lip and puppy dog eyes by posting pictures of your friends with the accompanying messages “(Friend’s name) will miss you” and “Your (# of friends) will no longer be able to keep in touch with you.” This is like high school boyfriend guilt trip crap. Ah! Somewhere along the way, Mark Zuckerberg turned into that dude who cried when you ditched him at IHOP sophomore year.
Full story at ReadWriteWeb.
I have two friends who "quit" FaceBook. When they decided to ocme back, thinking "Wow will i have to re-invite a LOT of people"? No problem-o. Their accounts were had only been sort of frozen. They didn’t have to do anything, just start playing FarmVille (or whatever) again. FaceBook holds too much sway – it’s a little scary.