Not being on Facebook is sort of like not having a cellphone.
As someone who has never had a cell phone, I can say that living this way in a first-world country is challenging. I've been in situations where it's assumed I do have a cell phone, and the result ranges from awkward to maddening for the other party.
I also don't have a Facebook account. Not having a cell phone is much more troublesome.
The pull of network effect doesn't just mean that people join for opportunity. If sufficiently insinuated into daily life, some become compelled to join out of necessity.
But with Facebook and Cell Phones, joining this club takes a major toll one's privacy.
That's the dilemma anyone resisting network effect faces.
Not having Facebook and not having a cellphone are two completely different things. If you don't have Facebook, you might miss out on some social stuff. Not having a cellphone is a bad idea, even just from a safety standpoint.
What if there is an incident and you need to call emergency services? Maybe you crash your car? Maybe you come across another crashed car, and can't contact emergency services because you don't have a cellphone?
I understand why you wouldn't want to carry around a cellphone all the time for privacy reasons (government tracking etc.), but why not get a $10 dumbphone and keep it turned off and in your backpack, or in your glovebox in your car? Nobody can track you if it's turned off.
I'm not sure about the USA, but at least in New Zealand, you'd only have to top up a few dollars every 6 months to keep your SIM active, and you don't need to register SIM cards in your name (although I know that other countries, like Australia, require this). Even without a SIM in your phone, you can still ring emergency services. There's no reason not to buy a $5 phone and keep it around just in case.
As someone who has never had a cell phone, I can say that living this way in a first-world country is challenging. I've been in situations where it's assumed I do have a cell phone, and the result ranges from awkward to maddening for the other party.
I also don't have a Facebook account. Not having a cell phone is much more troublesome.
The pull of network effect doesn't just mean that people join for opportunity. If sufficiently insinuated into daily life, some become compelled to join out of necessity.
But with Facebook and Cell Phones, joining this club takes a major toll one's privacy.
That's the dilemma anyone resisting network effect faces.