Atlantic Canada — Online security is on everyone’s mind after this weekend’s announcement of a massive Facebook data breach. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s subsequent apology has been insufficient for thousands of users, who are vaguely threatening to get offline and back into the real world.
“I’m not kidding. I really might do it this time,” wrote Tom Shackleford in a Facebook status. “You’ll be scrolling through your newsfeed, checking up on what people are doing, and then it’ll hit you — Tom’s gone.”
This isn’t the first time Shakleford has foreshadowed his potential abandonment of the social media site. When his girlfriend dumped him in 2014, he posted that he’d be deleting his account so that he could focus on himself.
“I’m going to hit the gym, get outdoors, take some night classes, maybe do some volunteer work — I just need to get my shit together after Kelly screwed me over,” he wrote, tagging his ex in the status. He did not end up deleting his account, though, and actually ended up spending twice as much time on Facebook, creeping Kelly to ensure she wasn’t dating anyone new.
Sarah-Beth Seeley posted a Facebook rant this morning saying that enough is enough.
“Enough is enough — Facebook has really gone downhill and there’s less and less of a reason to be on it all the time,” she wrote, pausing to update her profile picture and message some friends on the site’s built-in messaging system. “I’m taking a break, and it might be permanent. If you need me, you can come to my house and speak to me in person.”
As soon as she hit “post,” Seeley jumped up to make sure her curtains were closed and her door locked.