If you were my Facebook friend, you may have noticed one less number in your friend counter. If you pay that much attention to your friend counter, you might want to look into getting help. But that’s not what this rant is about.

Last night, after weeks of consideration, I decided to cancel my Facebook account. It was nothing against the Facebook company. I think they provide a pretty cool platform, a great advertising medium, and an overall interesting experience. I left Facebook because of the people. It’s full of them.

I know, its a social site, so its supposed to be full of people. But lately I couldn’t help but notice a negativity surrounding most of the interactions I witnessed on Facebook that pushed me in this direction. Here are two examples:

1. A friend of mine was visiting Chicago for the first time, so he posted how much he liked the city. Positive, upbeat, innocuous? I guess not. I commented with a simple joke saying he should be sure to check out “Gino’s Pizza, but not Gino’s Original Pizza or Original Gino’s Pizza”. The problem is, then I was emailed all the other comments to his simple post. From the dissagreeable “Yuck! That place smells like sewer!” to the snide, “Let’s see how much you like it in the Winter.”

Such negative responses to a simple comment about liking a city. Should he lay into them? Compare Chicago to much smellier cities like New York? Of course not. The snarky comments just float by on a wave of idiocy.

2. Just recently someone posted their opinion of something President Obama was doing. Everyone knows I like a healthy debate- however, this person didn’t offer why he was wrong, much less any solutions. Just that they thought he was wrong. Negativity again.

Of course the negative vibe is what the Facebook culture is all about, so several of his friends jumped on this band wagon, shooting their best one-liners out, including “What else do you expect from Hussein? He always acts this way” and “If he is going to Socialize the country, he has to act fast”.

Huh? Hussein? Socialist? Name calling? I really didn’t know much about the issue they were discussing (although by the comments I am guessing they didn’t either) so I would have liked to have heard an actual argument from their side. But Name Calling?

“I am sorry Senator. We cannot pass your bill for several reasons. The committee has determined that you are A) a dummy-head, and B) a doo-doo face. It has also been determined that for several years prior to your Lasik surgery, you were, in fact, a four-eyes. You see that this leaves us with little option.”

“That is a fair conclusion. I appreciate the time of the committee.”

Its like seeing Rush Limbaugh posting on my wall. No thanks.

Whether or not you agree with his politics, I think you can be fairly certain that he is doing what he feels is best, and show him some respect. Don’t spare the debate, but spare the name calling.

3. I just got really bored with the rest. I don’t mean to offend anyone, but it seemed like people used it as a forum to either brag or complain about their lives. Those are the kinds of things you should be able to share with your friends openly, as part of building a relationship. But I think that should be shared with real friends. Not Facebook friends.

So, goodbye Facebook.