FACEBOOK USERS are abandoning the network in droves, and it’s not because they are weary of perceived privacy intrusions. Most just don’t have time to keep up with all those status updates, news feeds and pictures of friends’ kids, a recent survey suggests. Just taking a break from the madness? Or does the exodus threaten to finish off Facebook?In a report released this week by the Pew Internet Project, more than half (61 percent) of respondents claimed to have taken a break from Facebook from time to time, and more than a quarter (27 percent) said they planned to spend less time on it in the future.While Facebook has been criticized for how it uses its members’ content and personal information, as well as its tendency to force changes upon users, only a negligible number cited those as reasons for taking a break from the social network.The top most reason respondents gave for giving Facebook a break was time: 21 percent of members said they were too busy for it."It takes up too much time because I let it, but I’m slowly weaning myself off it,” said one of the respondents.  Other top reasons for ditching Facebook were: "wasn’t interested/didn’t like it” (10 percent) and "waste of time/content not relevant” (10 percent).Security and privacy concerns regarding Facebook were cited by only 4 percent of the survey’s respondents.By far, the main reasons cited were either things going on in respondents’ lives that prevented them from being active on Facebook, or things the people on Facebook were saying or doing, rather than things relating to the site itself.Even with that, Facebook still maintained tremendous growth as a company. The social network ended 2012 with more than 1 billion monthly active users and 618 million daily active users.Another obvious sign of Facebook’s popularity is its mobile application.It was the most downloaded app in 2012, and a staggering 20 per cent of all the time users spent on a mobile app was on Facebook.While many Facebook members felt that it was necessary to take a break from the service occasionally, more than half (59 percent) said the site was still as important to them as it was a year earlier.Facebook: The new ‘Best Friend?’After some reflection, I’ve decided to delete my account on Facebook. I would like to encourage you to do the same. This is partly for very selfish, and not-so-selfish reasons. The not-so-selfish part is that I think Facebook, as a company, is unethical. The selfish part is that I’d like my own social network to migrate away from Facebook so that I’m not missing anything. Spending non-quality time on Facebook is something we are all guilty of; very few have managed to escape its web. From showing off to feeling lonely, Facebook has seen more sides of us than even some of our closest friends.Now don’t get me wrong — I am fully aware of the benefits that social networking brings to our society. From keeping in touch to expanding our horizon (and even networking), there are numerous benefits it has to offer. However if not used in moderation, social networking in general can take over our lives and leave behind a feeling of discontent and emptiness, irrespective of how many status updates we continue to post every hour.Here are a few reasons why you should avoid over-indulging in the world of Facebook (and other social networks) and revisit the wonders of the real world.Facebook gives us this illusion that we have got hundreds, even thousands of friends just at the click of a button. Well, the bitter truth is that you don’t actually have hundreds of friends! Let’s be honest: no one does. Facebook has managed to soften the line between ‘acquaintances’ and ‘friends’, giving us the illusion that everyone is our pal. Not only that, but somehow quality is disregarded and one is perceived by the quantity of friends they keep.At least ensure that you can distinguish between people that are close to your heart from those that are close to the ‘Like’ application on your latest update. Make ‘real’ time for your ‘real’ friends. Though Facebook might excel in getting people closer, it is equally sophisticated in adding distance between relationships that we might overlook.And since when did we all conspire to forget the joys of screaming out your engagement plans or the news about getting a promotion in person? Does the exciting news of expecting a new baby sound equally thrilling when you hear it through Facebook? Have our lives really gotten so busy that we consciously choose to deprive ourselves of the love and affection sharing such moments in person or over a phone call can offer?To me, these are the little joys of life that I wouldn’t want to miss out on simply for the sake of convenience. Aren’t these happy emotions simply going to waste when there is no one to receive them? Have you ever looked back at an event and cherished Facebook ‘Likes’ over the shocked and excited faces of your friends — or that screaming hug from your sibling?Facebook might cause us to conclude that everything is public information, but be assured that it is not true. We all know of people whose life you could simply live through their status updates or Tweets. From what they had for lunch to the color of their night gown; does the world really need to know it all?Though information is much easier to share in the virtual world, we forget the fact that not everything is for everyone’s ears. Consciously or unconsciously, we are influencing our circle and also the world’s perception about us. Your young niece doesn’t need to know about your party weekends and your grandpa can live without hearing about your ex’s. Save the world the trouble!Be ware too, that constant whoring for attention is potentially heart-breaking. Facebook secretly converts everyone into attention seekers whether you admit it or not. Somehow, for the true Facebook lover, it doesn’t take long to feel left out when nothing is ‘happening’ in your life worth updating the world about. Subconsciously we end up comparing our lives to everyone else’s and the feeling of despair creeps in.