I can understand why people like facebook, and I'm not totally against the idea. However, I discovered that it was ruining my self esteem as I am a person who is often paranoid of how others percieve me and how I am viewed in context of the larger social world.
Facebook did nothing but highlight my inadequacies and made me resort to idiotic and fake measures to prove to others that I had a life (e.g taking 2304203 pictures at social events and posting them). A great majority of people on there do this too, without realizing they can just opt out and not have other people looking at their lives anymore.
The way people socialize now just to put something on facebook that makes them look good is ridiculous...I have this one friend who takes picture after picture of herself and selects the best one...out of literally 100...to use as her profile picture. I also have a few groups of friends who, after taking a crapload of pictures, will remind people to upload them to facebook. It's so stupid.
I got rid of it after a decision I made to distance myself from a social group that was bad for me (they lived a party lifestyle and didn't care about much else). The problem was, I didn't want to experience the rejection blatantly by seeing that I didn't get invited to their parties or looking at them having a good time and missing it.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a profile though, because I recognized the value of facebook for promoting my autism speaking/consulting business. I opened a new account, but this time, I am under an alias and have only added the 3 people with ASD that I mentor...I will not add any of my friends or family on there. I primarly use this account to manage a successful fan page for my business. As well, I have added all the groups and pages relevant to my target audience so I can get updates, event information, and articles. I now use this account for strictly autism related purposes.
In short, I have tamed the facebook beast and now I am using it to my advantage in a way that works for me.
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Given a “tentative” diagnosis as a child as I needed services at school for what was later correctly discovered to be a major anxiety disorder.
This misdiagnosis caused me significant stress, which lessened upon finding out the truth about myself from my current and past long-term therapists - that I am an anxious and highly sensitive person but do not have an autism spectrum disorder.
My diagnoses - social anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
I’m no longer involved with the ASD world.