WOULD YOU STAY off Facebook for a day, or a week, or even a month, just to see what life is like without it? Would you be able to stay away from your account for that long?

Every year, a group of people challenge themselves to get off Facebook and to get out into the real world as much as possible for the month of February.

The Facebook Free February group hopes:

…a month of abstinence will allow people gain a better understanding of their relationship with Facebook and social media; of how it affects their friendships, their moods, their thought patterns and their interaction with the ‘real’ world.

There are some studies to back this thought process up: the Happiness Research Institute in Denmark published a study called ‘The Facebook Experiment’, and among their research found:

• People on Facebook are 55% more likely to feel stressed
• People on Facebook are 39% more likely to feel less happy than their friends
• After one week without Facebook, people felt they wasted their time less.

The flip side of that is so much of everyday life revolves around Facebook: wedding and baby announcements; birthday notifications, and group events. The fear is that if you don’t log on – you’re missing out on something.

So we’re asking: Would you stay off Facebook for a month?

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