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The Concrete Reason Why We Should All Close Our Facebook Accounts In the entrepreneurial ecosystem, one has to steer clear from conspiracies and bluffs. But Facebook has left no one a choice

By Dr. Finn Majlergaard

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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This article is about how I suddenly realised how much influence facebook had over my time, what I paid attention to and what I prioritised. I got terrified when I discovered it and you should too. Claim your life back - quit facebook before it is too late.

Why did I close my Facebook account?

There were several independent reasons why I decided to close down my facebook account, and when there were no good reasons for letting Facebook continue to make money on my data I decided to leave Facebook. I did it gradually.

I started unfriending all the people I had no communication with or where I had the communication on other, less intrusive platforms. Then I made the last post on my Facebook feed, where I stated that I was going to leave in a couple of weeks time. I explained very briefly why I had decided to leave and ended the message by encouraging people to remain in touch like I would remain in touch. I am easy to find.

I am the only one on this planet called Finn Majlergaard and I am a fairly public person so if people want to get in touch with me then just google me. It is as easy as that.

There were people who got offended when I unfriended them as if being connected on Facebook is the most important thing in this world. Their reaction just confirmed to me that my decision was right.

I decided to close my facebook account because:

• I could see how Facebook in very subtle ways manipulated me to crave for likes and comments and made me spend more and more time on Facebook. It is exactly like being in a relationship with another person where you suddenly realise that you have been manipulated over a long period of time. You feel incredibly stupid and naive.

• Facebook's involvement with Cambridge Analytica plus all the companies we haven't heard about yet made me seriously angry. It was the first proof to me that Facebook has no moral or ethical compass.

• During the hearings in both USA and Europe Mark Zuckerberg managed to convince me that he had no clue he had done anything wrong. As a well-trained parrot, he said what his advisers had told him to, but there was no remorse at all. In my humble opinion, Mark Zuckerberg had no trustworthiness at all.

• There was an extremely high degree of predictability in my Facebook feed. I knew what standpoint people had to everything and there were the same people posting the same kind of photos all the time. And I did the same. When is the last time you have taken a photo without sharing it on social media?

• I didn't like the way Facebook censored what was shown to me in my feed. It gradually became totally irrelevant.

• I noticed how Facebook's influence was way beyond the Facebook app itself. Every time you login with facebook somewhere else you share vital private information which is used to influence you.

The relief - Facebook is out of my life

I thought I was going to miss it, but I have actually felt a great relief from day one. Social Media are supposed to bring people together, but I have observed that Facebook did the exact opposite.

Instead of hooking up with people over an espresso or a glass of wine on the beach it often stopped with a brief interaction on Facebook. And when you needed to find people with specific skills you just posted a message in a relevant facebook group. Now I actually have to talk to people – often many people before I find the person with the right skills I am looking for. And in that process, a lot of wonderful things are happening. Things you couldn't plan for or even imagine. It is a joy every single day without facebook. I got my life back.

Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg want control over your life

Excuse my French, but that is actually what I think he and his company are aiming at. Some days ago they announced that their revenue growth will drop significantly because they are going to pay attention to their users' privacy. it is not something facebook is doing because they know it is the natural and right thing to do. They only do it because they were caught with their pants down. Otherwise, they would still have been draining you from all your private information and I will not be surprised if what we are seeing is only the tip of the iceberg. And now facebook wants to have access to your bank account so that they can provide better service - yeah, right

What can you do?

I don't recall who said it, but someone said; " If something is free then you are the product". I couldn't agree more. You should go through the same thought process as I did and assess if all your personal information is worth sharing with the whole world in return for access to an app. If you come to the same conclusion as I did, I will hope you get the same great experiences that I have got by returning more to real life. Leave your phone behind as often as you can and become as anonymous as you possibly can on the internet. You are selling your private information far too cheap. Don't do that. I will be happy to hear your experiences. And please share if you like

Dr. Finn Majlergaard

CEO of Gugin

Dr. Finn Majlergaard is the CEO of Gugin, helping entrepreneurs and companies around the world to become more successful internationally. He does this by helping his clients leverage their cultural diversity. Culturally diverse teams are more innovative and a diversified international network gives endless new opportunities. He also helps entrepreneurs develop a strong company culture from the very beginning;

He founded Gugin in 2001 and he has worked with more than 600 companies and entrepreneurs around the world, helping them become better at leveraging the opportunities and mitigating the risks of a globalised world.

He is also an Author, Keynote Speaker, Board Member and Entrepreneur and he teaches at several universities and business schools around the world on global leadership, cross-cultural leadership, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Dr.Majlergaard holds a doctoral degree from International School of Management in Paris, Tokyo, New York and Shanghai and an MBA from Henley Management College, UK.

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