On October 4, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp were down for several hours, leaving people all over the world in a social media frenzy! Those who actively use the networking platforms quickly ventured to other outlets like Twitter, TikTok, and Snapchat to air their grievances, find digital human connection, and make a mockery of Facebook, Inc.
People were coming through with the memes, Tweets, and content that kept everyone afloat until Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp came back online.
hello literally everyone
— X (@X) October 4, 2021
https://twitter.com/JohnnySibilly/status/1445098172422889489?s=20
Instagram and Facebook should go down everyday. I haven’t been this productive since 2006.
— BenDeLaCreme (@bendelacreme) October 4, 2021
Okay…that explains it. #facebookdown #instagramdown pic.twitter.com/aHjcMljiVM
— MrDaveLopez (he/him/él) (@davidlopez85) October 4, 2021
I cried because I had no shoes then I met a man whose birthday was on the day Facebook crashed 😢🎂
— Danny Zuker (@DannyZuker) October 5, 2021
Twitter right now as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook crash #instagramdown pic.twitter.com/I4hS5RRFr8
— ✞ (@itsjustdeny) October 4, 2021
@mrdavelopez Facebook and Instagram went down today and everyone went nuts! #facebook #instagram #facebookdown #instagramdown #kardashians #kimkardashian
Loyal @Twitter users today #instagramdown pic.twitter.com/ngcFVYVsCT
— E! News (@enews) October 4, 2021
And while some were contemplating the meaning of life while their reason for existing was down for so many hours, others were thriving and wondering if their ties to social media could be cut easier than they thought.
A recent study from cybersecurity experts at VPNOverview.com analyzed the social media platforms Americans would most likely be willing to delete.
Instagram ranked at the top spot for the social media account that Americans would be most likely to delete, with half a million searches for ‘How to delete Instagram account’ each month – 6.6 million a year.
Facebook came in second as the social media account people most want to delete, with ‘How to delete Facebook account” receiving over 201,000 searches a month.
Snapchat is next, with 135,000 monthly searches from people looking to delete their accounts.
Twitter, TikTok and LinkedIn were also high on the list.
Maybe the recent outage has elevated some of those numbers.
Here is the list of Top 7 Social Media Accounts that Americans want to Delete:
But what really went wrong with the Facebook outage? According to Facebook, it was an update to Facebook’s routers coordinating network traffic that went wrong, which sent a wave of disruptions rippling through its systems. As a result, all things Facebook were immediately shut down, worldwide.
So after being away from Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp for a day, can you survive without them?
Which social media networks would you be able to delete from your life?
Source: VPNOverview.com , NPR
Thank you for this article. I have honestly deleted ALL social media accounts and I feel so much better, get alot more done and I feel happier. I also suggest everyone to watch the Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma” a couple quotes from the doc :
“If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product” — Daniel Hövermann
“There are only two industries that call their customers “users”: illegal drugs and software.” — Edward Tufte
“We’re the product. Our attention is the product being sold to advertisers.” – Justin Rosenstein, former engineer Facebook and Google, co-founder of Asana
“It’s the gradual, slight, imperceptible change in your own behaviour and perception that is the product.” – Jaron Lainer, founding father of Virtual Reality Computer Scientist
I was a managaer at a top social media site and believe it or not over half of the people I managed along with myself left the company, you wouldn’t believe how evil social media is, I would honestly suggest anyone to delete or seriously limit their social media activity for their own sanity as well as I believe it is contributing to the destruction of the world as we know it. Hope this helps even one person consider to walk away.