Just read through this article which talks about the growing group of people with resolutions to complete a ‘digital cleanse’ and abstain from social networking for a period of time – or quitting the websites altogether (led by a group of high-profile celebrities on Twitter/Facebook).

The movement is clearly in reaction to people becoming increasingly disillusioned with these sites which sap their time, cause them stress or anxiety as they try to keep up and exist in a culture of public narcissism, and because of concerns over privacy/control of personal data. In my mind, it all comes back to a collective action to gain back ‘time’ or, more fittingly, ‘quality time’…

The Web 2.0 Suicide Machine has been developed in reaction to this sentiment – and it claims to ““let you delete all your energy sucking social-networking profiles, kill your fake virtual friends, and completely do away with your Web2.0 alterego” and automatically deletes a persons Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn profiles.

The website promises to “get your real life back”, asks “isn’t time really precious these days?”, and offers you a way to “say good-bye with dignity”.

Facebook has decided to block the IP address of this website – perhaps signalling the power of this idea, should it take off.