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Jeremy Messersmith says Facebook has ‘jumped the shark,’ deletes account

by Jay Gabler

November 15, 2016

Jeremy Messersmith says he's simplifying his life and freeing himself from distractions — including Facebook. While his public page remains active, he's deactivated his personal account. (Public pages can be managed by multiple users, including, for example, a manager or publicist.) So far, he writes in a note posted to his website, he has no regrets.

It’s hard for me to pinpoint when Facebook jumped the shark. Maybe it was when they went public. Maybe it was when they made it so only 3-7% of people could see my posts. Maybe it was when they started asking me for money to “boost” my content. Maybe it was when they fired the trending news team and replaced them with algorithms. Maybe it was during the election when my feed turned into the National Enquirer. Maybe it was when my mom joined.

Facebook has always inspired mixed emotions, and public scrutiny of the platform has grown as it's become an increasingly significant news source. In his note, Messersmith nods to the "fake news stories" that have spread across the platform, possibly influencing the beliefs U.S. voters brought to the polls with them last week. In recent days, both Facebook and Google have taken steps to reduce misinformation spread across their platforms.

"When I finally deactivated my account I felt a sense of relief," writes Messersmith. "It’s only been a week, but I don’t miss it so far. It might be a long journey to complete digital bliss, but I feel like I’m on the path."

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