I lost my Facebook Page.

Story Time: 

June 2022 I'm minding my business as usual when I went to log into my Facebook page. Nothing new, nothing different. 

I put in login credentials as usual...it's not working.

No worries, I often change and forget passwords, so I hit the forgot password button.

I get an email for the Facebook code and I put it in...it's not working.

Okay...that's unusual. Maybe I put it in incorrectly? I try again.

Nope. Still not working. 

I click to send another code and now I see in my email I have 4 codes being sent. Did I click it more than once? Maybe. I have butterfingers on the keyboard, so I chose the latest email. 

I put in the code. Still not working. 

What is going on? Some kind of Facebook glitch? I was scratching my head trying to figure it out when I noticed a difference. There are login notifications coming from devices in Vietnam, Texas, Los Angeles, etc. I keep pressing that it isn't me. Then I notice some of the codes sent to my email had 8 numbers and the others had 6. I ask for one more code sending and take notice to enter the 6-digit code. It worked. I'm in. Except my page is now disabled.

Apparently whoever was hacking my page started posting pornography. Changing my profile pic and information. 

So I go through the loops and hit the button for a review. It tells me they'll review it within 30 days. So as much as I'm impatient to get back to my Facebook posting I wait. I'm so worried I'll lose it forever that I never log out or close the page. I just leave it there with the notice reminding me every day that the review can take up to 30 days. 

30 days go by. 

"You've waited to log to dispute, your page is now permanently disabled.

I'm devastated.

I've had my Facebook page for 14 years. I built a business there and shared fond memories with family, old and new friends, and associates of like minds. I became a level-up game streamer and was doing quite well. My creativity and information were finally beginning to take root and become noticed and in one fell swoop, it was all gone. 

I emailed every facebook email I could find. I sent tweets and Reddit posts to try to reach someone. I cried. 

So fast forward to today. I have a pretty good following on Instagram (17K) I enjoy posting there. I have my shop and reels and again I'm doing well building a community of gamers, astrologers, and pop culture lovers. Meta marketing reaches out and offers consultation to help me grow. So it seems I'm okay here even though I miss posting in text format. But yesterday...I noticed that the link in the bio has been replaced with "Facebook profile". 

What? Why?

I try to reach someone to ask my business website link is gone. And it's like Facebook all over again. No one to reach. No one to explain what's going wrong. I notice my reach is dropping. I know I'm shadowbanned, but why? I don't post anything controversial or spammy.

 ( you can see it here: https://www.instagram.com/mari3rouss3au )

So I'm worried again and this f***ing Facebook profile button is just laughing in my face like "haha b****, you need me!"

So I surrender and try to create another Facebook page (even though I vowed never to go back) to see if that will resolve the link issue. But, of course, it doesn't. They disable my new account without anything on it, instantly. 

So now I'm taking a break from Instagram for fear I'll lose everything I built there that still works. 

I tried TikTok but I just can't do just videos every day, so that doesn't work for me. 

So I'm back to the safest social media I know for now. 

• Twitch
• Discord
• YouTube
• Twitter

Now I know they have their issues as well, but to me, they are less demanding and pressuring. I love Twitch for my gaming and the people I engage there. I like YouTube because they have more loyal fanbases(most people who subscribe will always come back to see your creativity or information) and I've been using google since...most of my life? and my email, youtube, drive, etc have yet to be ripped away from me. I've had Twitter for longer than Facebook and it still stands. 

I almost forgot about SpaceHey. But, unfortunately, I did forget about SpaceHey. I should have remained here more often. 

This social media war I've been privately fighting is wearing me out. I don't just use it to connect. I have an innate urge to share with many people who would be delighted or a little interested in paying attention. I also use it for business and networking. I like to do so. It's a joy to participate in the Social Media technological world. I love technology, I even built my own PC and study software development so I won't just walk away from it all, but I do need to find a place where my rhythm and energy mesh well. 

I told myself years ago I needed to leave anything Meta alone. I should have listened to myself. Then, maybe I could have avoided the emotional grief I allowed it to have on me.