By Jessica English

What started as a way for college students to stay connected to one another has turned into a crazed, world-wide phenomenon that has everyone logging onto Facebook, an action that for some is an important part of everyday social life.

“I definitely could not live, or think about deleting my Facebook right now,” said education major Samantha Sasseville. “I need it for when I have group projects and it keeps me in the loop.”

But in a world where it seems crucial to stay socially connected, there are still a few who have chosen to log out of Facebook for good.

While those who habitually check their Facebook, waiting for that next red notification to pop up might not be able to imagine how some in this day in age function without it, they do.

“It was a privacy concern more than anything,” said Mike Herz, a student at CCSU, of his decision to delete his Facebook account. “It started getting weird when parents started joining Facebook and they would friend their children’s friends. They started creepin’ around on their kids and their kids’ friends pages.”

The shift in demographics is not the only factor which deters some college-aged students from using the site. The overload of posting personal information and being able to see what people are doing all the time has turned many away.

“At the beginning it was everyone’s secret dream to keep tabs on all your friends,” said Jeff Shaw, a music education major at CCSU. “Six months ago it struck me as I was reading my news feed: why do I care so much about the stupid little monotonous posts people put up?”

With all the demands college puts on students, it’s shocking that some can spend a lot of their time worrying about who broke up with who, who rejected who’s friend request or who someone was tagged in a photo with.

What was intended to be a way of staying socially connected with friends near and far could be considered a high-tech super stalking device. For some, Facebook has even changed what it means to be friends.

“On Facebook it’s completely okay to friend someone who is in your class that you’ve never even said a word to in person,” said Shaw. “This completely baffles me.”

Student Jessica Shmid disagrees and says that friend requesting can be useful.

“There are lots of times that I Facebook a friend from a class who’s number I don’t have,” Shmid said.

With so much social activity happening today online,  how do those who don’t stay connected with Facebook stay connected with their friends?

On the one hand Facebook is useful, as Shmid mentioned.

“I enjoy being able to keep in touch easily with that I don’t see, it’s nice to know what’s going on in other people’s lives,” said Shmid.

For those who don’t use it, staying up to date on friends is a bit different.

“I am the only one out of my friends who has no idea when someone’s birthday is coming up,” said Herz. “Facebook was clutch for reminding me of birthdays, but now I look like an awful friend.”

Being a Facebook user has its perks, but some still delete their accounts, or never engage in Facebook at all and they might not be missing out on that much at all.

“My friends have my number and still call when there’s things going on,” Herz adds.

Rebelling against what’s popular in society always comes with risks, but Shaw says he’s proud he turned his back on Facebook.

“One of the best things about not being on Facebook is others fully respect my decision,” said Shaw. “I think it’s because they know that it’s the social media platform that everyone loves to hate and hates to love.”