The headline I'm seeing for the article as of 20180322T1509Z is "For Many Facebook Users, a ‘Last Straw’ That Led Them to Quit" (different to the one posted here - I don't know if it was changed at nytimes).
Not everyone needs to delete Facebook - only a sufficient number of "core" users whom others look up to need to stop using it. That alone can cripple a network or sub-network. Remember that the number of users that C.A. pulled from wasn't that huge of a number so network effects can work both ways (consider Snapchat and several recent celebrity disendorsements, for example).
The easiest way for most to start "deleting" is by deactivating. Do an experiment: deactivate for a week and see what's the worst that can happen. It can always be undone.
Not everyone needs to delete Facebook - only a sufficient number of "core" users whom others look up to need to stop using it. That alone can cripple a network or sub-network. Remember that the number of users that C.A. pulled from wasn't that huge of a number so network effects can work both ways (consider Snapchat and several recent celebrity disendorsements, for example).
The easiest way for most to start "deleting" is by deactivating. Do an experiment: deactivate for a week and see what's the worst that can happen. It can always be undone.