Creeping used to be a hard day’s work, but now you can simply log onto Facebook and click away. Now stalkers can sit in comfort and watch that video of you from St. Patrick’s Day breakdancing in the subway for tips.

People may read this article and think, “Wow that is so not true. Facebook is about more than just stalking, it’s a place to communicate with friends.” It’s also a place where your friends can see that you actually never went to your aunt’s, cousin’s or brother’s funeral that day (because you were really sitting on some tattooed guy’s shoulders at Electric Zoo). Even if you didn’t put the information on Facebook yourself, it still got out because someone decided to upload a photo.

There is a way to prevent this humiliation. Deactivating your Facebook may seem a bit drastic at first, but it could be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make. Your private life can once again be private.

At first, you will feel the anxiety of not telling the world what you’re doing, but this feeling will eventually pass. There will be moments of relapse where you find yourself trying to break through your friend’s annoying security questions (What was the name of John’s elementary school math teacher?). But when your friend asks you why their Facebook account was locked, and the person who logged on tried to sign in from your address, you’ll have an epiphany after the painful confession that you just needed a Facebook fix.

Communication is not reduced solely to Facebook. Things like talking on the phone or the ancient art of meeting people face-to-face, will once again become a part of your life. Not to mention the burden of procrastination will be lifted from your shoulders because when you’re trying to write that anthropology paper, you won’t be checking your Facebook to see how many of your “friends” liked your status about how much you hate writing anthropology papers.

Luisa Galdamez, a sophomore majoring in psychology, made the move away from Facebook.

“Initially, I deactivated my Facebook to focus more on school work and be more productive,” Galdamez said. “After having it deactivated for about two months I decided to go back to it, but it wasn’t the same anymore.”

Believe it or not, there are people who don’t even have a Facebook. Rachael Anyim, a freshman majoring in biology, is not giving in to the Facebook craze.

“I would rather make friends the old fashioned way, through face-to-face contact,” she said.

Anyim was no stranger to the addiction of social networking. Like every other teen, she had a MySpace. One day she sat down and realized her entire social life was “reduced to a computer.” Fearing this would happen again, she refused to create a Facebook.

Completing homework before the day it’s due, participating in class, having meaningful discussions with real friends and having a social life that does not exist behind a computer screen — these are all things that are in your grasp, and all you have to do is push a button.