Quitting Facebook? Here Are Some Alternatives

It’s the trendiest thing around: people fed up with Facebook are declaring that they’re going to delete their accounts in just a few days. Now, not everyone who says they’re going to ditch the social media giant follows through. But it’s becoming more and more tempting. We just learned that due to sloppy policies and loose security, political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica got access to personal data from 50 million Facebook accounts during the 2016 election.

But if you’re gonna ditch Facebook, how do you stay in touch? There are alternatives, believe it or not. Many of them aren’t particularly well known. However, you can bet they’ll gain ground now that FB is in the doghouse with millions of users.

Sadly, very few applications do *everything* Facebook does. But here are some places to start…

LinkedIn

I was never a fan of LinkedIn back in the day. It struck me as Facebook without any of the fun cat photos. But a lot of people feel like they could use a little less social media ‘fun’ these days--or at least less drama.

LinkedIn is designed for work--and that’s it. It does most of what FB does, but you’re meant to share info about the promotion you got at work, not the salad you had for dinner. If you’re just looking to stay in touch and keep the socializing face to face, this one is for you.

Amino Apps

This suggestion comes to us courtesy Ad Week. It’s largely frequented by teens and those in their early 20s. The nice thing about Amino, apparently, is that it builds communities based on interest. Rather than be thrown into a chaotic newsfeed and be forced to engage with your crazy uncle’s political views, you’ll find yourself with like-minded fans of anime, Doctor Who, or Marvel Comics. Unlike a lot of other apps, Amino let’s you stay anonymous. In fact, their video app will let you chat with an avatar so even when you meet up face to face, virtually, you can be whoever you want.

VK

I’m half joking about this one. But I’m also half tempted to sign up. VK is essentially the Russian version of Facebook. It’s most popular in Russia itself but it’s available in a ton of other languages--including English. Considering some people believe the FB data breach might be related to Russian interference in the 2016 election, it seems fitting to at least check this one out. The interface looks remarkably like Facebook itself. And here’s something even more interesting: A recent feature in The Outline suggests you can keep an eye out for the next big American rapper by seeing who’s breaking out in Russia.

Pinterest

This is where I’m planning on spending most of my non-Facebook time. OK, everyone already knows about Pinterest, but I think we should all take a second look. I hear a lot of specific complaints about Facebook: “People are always complaining about their lives”, “I don’t want to hear people argue politics”, “There’s too much depressing news”, “It’s a waste of time”, etc. In many ways, Pinterest has become the anti-Facebook. I have a lot of jobs: DJ, event planner, designer, promoter. For every post on Facebook that doesn’t relate to my jobs, there’s a thousand posts on Pinterest that do. I can find flyer ideas, event decoration concepts, new promo ideas--you name it. I’m also inspired every time I go on--and no one is arguing with me