Finally, I did it. I uninstalled the Facebook application from my mobile phone.

I can no longer remember what prompted me to do the thing I had been mulling for months: to quit or not to quit Facebook.

Yet, in December last year, I officially made a compromise: deleting the Facebook application on my phone so I could only access it via laptop or desktop.

After being a devoted Facebook user for almost 10 years, I took that brave step of letting go part of my social media life and I have not regretted it since.

I had always wanted to quit Facebook because it took too much of my time.

Before quitting, I usually woke up with the phone in my hand, scrolling down newsfeeds and updates from my so-called friends, making comments here and there, expecting that they would give their feedback on my future posts (yes, there is no such thing as free comments under social media law).

The same thing happened before I went to bed and there was also occasionally a check-up time in between, driven by my subconscious to monitor the Facebook timeline for 10 minutes or so. This spontaneous act could happen every hour and without realizing it, I just wasted the whole day on Facebook.

I quit Facebook because it had become too crowded for me. Having more than 1,000 friends, I became overwhelmed with the need to be seen and the demands to interact with all of them.

Among these friends, I could sense that every one of them was trying to build his or her own universe, with their achievements, family pictures and continuous holiday pictures, hoping that others would revolve around this built-up universe by liking and making comments. Well, I was tired of that game.

Instead of inspiring, Facebook posts had become toxic for me. I am not talking about fake news or political debates, but regular posts from someone I didn’t know well but eventually could make me feel helpless and worthless after seeing her perfect life with her happy family and her successful career.

Well, the University of Pittsburgh’s latest research linking depression with the amount of time people spend on social media may have a point then.

It also saddened me to see that people had become busy with their creation of life bubbles on social media, ignoring real people around them. The sight of people glued to their phones in restaurants, instead of talking with their friends at the same table, is ubiquitous and annoying.

Looking over the years of my relationship with Facebook, I think Facebook was like a high-maintenance and abusive boyfriend and I had to save myself before it was too late. That was why I bid good-bye to him, starting with deleting him from my phone.

I uninstalled the application to make time for myself to do more productive things, to value everything, to focus on my own universe without thinking about other people’s views or comments.

Now, I have more time to read books. If you see a woman reading a thick book among the hordes of people staring at their phones on a commuter train, that is probably me.

I also want to set an example for my kids. I don’t want to be like those hypocrite parents who forbid their children playing on tablets but ironically can’t let go of their phones.

I know I am not the only one quitting social media. Many have done so for their own reasons.

Climbing recently on the bandwagon of anti-social media was presenter Sarah Sechan, who shut down her Twitter and Instagram accounts and posted a heartfelt explanation for the reasons.

She explained she was just too tired with all the fake interaction on social media and decided to pursue real relationships with real people.

It is unfortunate, however, to see her deep thoughts on the poisonous social media life shared on social media. If she wanted to go fully off line, I think she should have written a commentary in the conventional media.

Yet, I still admire her because it takes some guts to do what Sarah did, knowing that social media has not only become a platform for communication for public figures but also their means to get additional income.

I wonder whether her decision will impact Sarah socially and economically but I believe she will be fine, like my 62-year-old mother who doesn’t have any social media accounts but fully enjoys her life.

Unlike my mother, I admit I cannot fully let go of my social media life. I am not ready to completely say goodbye to my Facebook contacts.

I still need to boast a bit about my tedious life within my inner circle. I also need to stalk my so-called friends so I know what to talk about when I bump into them. Well, that is exactly what social media accounts are for, right?

With all these impending needs, I may not be ready to completely shut down my social media life. That’s why you can still find me on other platforms too. But I do treasure the day I deleted the Facebook application on my phone. I hope it will lead me to another brave step. So next time, I can write about the day I quit Twitter.