About a month ago I deactivated my Facebook I�ve had for about two years now. No big deal. But looking back, I�ve been all the better for it.

When you are in the process of deactivation, Facebook asks you to give a reason for doing so. You have numerous choices such as: �Facebook takes up too much of my time," "I don�t feel safe on Facebook," and "I don�t find Facebook useful.� There�s also the option of �other,� with a text box for you to provide a short explanation. I calmly typed �I don�t want to be controlled,� and severed my ties with Facebook for the time being.

I didn�t consider my decision an act of rebellion, or turn it into an intellectual abstraction too much. I didn�t want to be a social recluse or lose any of my real friends. I admit, Facebook has been useful and fun for me at times. When I went to Europe over the summer with some classmates, we shared pictures and �tagged� each other when arrived home. When a Facebook game called �Farmville� was popular a couple months ago I happily harvested away. When I needed to work on a group project for school, or join some innocuous Facebook group, or chat with a friend, I did that, too. Facebook is fun! If it weren�t, no one would have one.

But sometimes things become so fun, that we come to depend on them a little too much. Sometimes even, we find ourselves hooked. And while I didn�t consider myself addicted to Facebook, I did find I was being controlled. I was controlled by that urging to be �in the loop.� I was controlled by that slight interest in random people�s affairs��people I never talk to in person. I was controlled by that one annoying photo or that one annoying conversation thread. The News Feed, or the Live Feed, or whatever it�s called, is the worse of all. It�s basically a stream of other people�s consciousnesses all bombarding you at once. And the �Like Button���what a great idea. Now instead of thinking of the right words, we can grunt our approval of things.

So I deactivated my Facebook. The world goes on. Life goes on. What I don�t know, doesn�t really exist (...too Kantian?). I�ve missed maybe one or two important things without a Facebook. But if I�ve freed myself in even the slightest way, it�s been worth it. I don�t think Facebook is an cultural blight. Even the Danville Express has a Facebook page. Like I said, it can be fun. When I leave high school, I will probably reactivate it to keep in touch with my fellow classmates. I�m not a rebel.

You may say, �Facebook is sooo distracting...I should be doing my homework instead.� And you're probably right. Of course, the prospect of letting go of all my friends and all the news intimidates you out of taking the next logical step. I don�t blame you. It�s a convincing reality. But at least you considered it.

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The Teen Wire provides a perspective on today's youth, in the face of a changing world. Daniel Morizono, a senior at San Ramon Valley High School and news editor of the Wolfprint can be contacted at [email protected]