Ever had this conversation with a friend?
Jenny: "Sometimes I really wish I could leave social media...life would be less stressful. Or at least, I think it would."
Nick: "Well, why don't you?"
Jenny: "Oh you know, I'd miss out on all the events and stuff that's going on."
Nick: "I mean, couldn't you just tell your friends to text you when they plan an event?"
Jenny: "Yeah I guess so..but it just seems so inconvenient. And I'd be be tempted to keep checking fb anyway in case people forgot to invite me to something."

Have you ever felt this way? I have, and it's frustrating. I discussed it with several of my friends the other night and was surprised to see everyone felt the same. We might want to cut the cord for different reasons but we all agreed: Facebook Events is the reason we can't leave Facebook. The platform we used to use for self-expression and sharing photos has become more and more about discovering and planning events with our friends, and cutting the cord would mean missing out. What's worse, not being able to leave one social media platform can make it harder to quit others as well, since going completely cold turkey is not an option.

What's the solution?
The easiest way to solve this problem is for Facebook to make a separate Events app that only contains the event hosting and RSVP functionality that Facebook has now. With a separate app, it would be possible to still be notified about events going on and discover events around town without having the main Facebook app (and the noise that comes with it) installed. Facebook Messenger exists as a separate app and it used to be part of Facebook...why can't Facebook Events be the same?

Facebook knows a separate Events app is bad for business. Like most companies, Facebook exists to make money, and the amount of money they bring in is directly related to the number of active users on their platform, as well as the quality of user engagement. This means that unless we force their hand, the likelihood that they will make a separate app on their own volition is likely close to zero. Why would they voluntarily do something that would hurt their bottom line?

Which means it's up to us. The only way Facebook is going to make a separate Events app is if enough of us tell them to. We can't force Facebook or Mark Zuckerburg to do anything, true, but we can sign a petition, and we can use social media to our advantage to get the word out. If enough people and (eventually) news media outlets pick up on this, we have a good chance of causing real change that will affect the lives of people around the globe. But it will take all of us working together to make it happen.

We live in a crazy time. Fifteen years ago, none of the social media apps we use today existed. We're still figuring out as a society how we want the digital world to factor into our lives, and unless we want corporate boards to make all of those decisions for us we've got to do something about it.

Thank you in advance for signing the petition and for helping to spread the word. Lets go make some social media history.

Image by William Iven from Pixabay.