The web isn’t permanent. If you shut down your Facebook account for a while, you can always get it back. If you step away from Twitter, it will be there when you return. Quit your Netflix subscription, and they’ll welcome you with open arms when you want to sign up again.
I’ve spent a lot of time going back and forth about whether I “should” or “shouldn’t” give up one service or another for a while, typically in order to better focus and use my time. I’ve weighed pros and cons carefully and, in the end, done nothing in most cases.
But these companies want your business. It’s easy to get back in. Plus, questions of “should” have become less important to me than this question: “Would you like to?” When I asked myself if I’d like to get off Facebook, I answered, “Sure I’d like to! But I don’t know if I SHOULD.”
Tyranny.
So, I’m starting to be quicker to step out if I feel constricted. I recently shut down my Facebook account, and I switched off Google Reader and Twitter moments ago. It’s too soon to say for Reader and Twitter, but I can honestly say that in the weeks since leaving FB, I haven’t missed it once. Really.
Give it a shot. If you don’t like it, you can always jump back in. But you might like having that much more brain space to yourself.