Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Regarding old friends, I can understand that people are too busy to not have much time to reconnect with old friends. But damn, it makes me feel kinda sad to know that in the years that I've been on Facebook, only two of my high school friends searched for my name and found my profile. And they just happened to be my two closest friends from high school.
But what about all my other friends and acquaintances from high school and from before? Don't they ever wonder about me? Growing up, I was fairly popular. Wouldn't those people want to know what I'm doing now, what I look like now, etc? It kind of makes me feel underappreciated knowing they haven't searched for me. Same thing with former coworkers.
I myself searched for several names of old friends and acquaintances, some of whom I first met in elementary school. But, when I found their profiles I was too chicken to send them a friend request. I figured maybe they have no interest in catching up with me.
Speaking for myself, they have their lives and I have mine. Life goes on and we move in different directions and hopefully grow during the process. During that time if we meet up, then fine, if not, oh well.
I think it's unhealthy to sit and ponder what other people are doing, what they think of me, etc. Not to be rude, but in a nutshell, that's life. I have bills to pay, a family to take care of and the last thing on my mind is caring what some joe schmo from high school, college or some $5 an hour job I used to work at thinks. To be frank, there are people from my past I would rather not deal with or see ever again. I have my few true friends now and that's all I need.
Speaking for myself, they have their lives and I have mine. Life goes on and we move in different directions and hopefully grow during the process. During that time if we meet up, then fine, if not, oh well.
I think it's unhealthy to sit and ponder what other people are doing, what they think of me, etc. Not to be rude, but in a nutshell, that's life. I have bills to pay, a family to take care of and the last thing on my mind is caring what some joe schmo from high school, college or some $5 an hour job I used to work at thinks. To be frank, there are people from my past I would rather not deal with or see ever again. I have my few true friends now and that's all I need.
-I am coming to this myself. To be honest, it wasn't all that great, back then.....lol. I recently attended a milestone reunion (50) and I am glad I went but, I haven't much interest in another one anytime soon. I am on FB but I like to keep up with certain things that I am interested in and some far flung family. Thats it.
Seems like most of the facebook gripes come down to 1-the individual not knowing how to use it. Seriously, if someone is posting 30 ______ items a day clogging up your news feed you can do 1 of 2 things. a)remove them from your friends list or b)check the "do not show in newsfeed" option. Basically unsubscribing from them but retaining them as a friend. 2-A lot of anti-social, I don't care about your life comments. I can't recall the last time someone posted what they had to eat unless of course they were vacationing somewhere. Other than that, I don't get play by play events of my friends lives. Based on the tone of these comments, I wonder if these are associates and not friends and that the person saying them just doesn't have anyone close to them in their life.
I do have my gripes with facebook, and I do protect myself by providing facebook with false personal info as to protect myself. But it's nice to know what's going on with close friends and family without having to call (I hate talking on the phone) or emailing them (How many times has your email ended up in their spam folder, they never got it, their email got hacked so they have a new one and you dont' know what it is, etc). It's also easier to organize parties and events. If I have nothing to do on a Friday night, rather than spam 50 phones with "what are you into tonight?", I can make a wall post on facebook and find someone to hang out with, without bothering everyone I know.
I guess my defense of facebook is, it's just a tool. You make it what it is. It doesn't have to be your life. The hatred and "go to hell" retorts or not needed and would indicate that someone is just flat out unhappy in their lives.
Best post on this thread. I agree with everything you have said and, also, the posts of what someone is eating, has eaten, will eat can be counted on one hand. Usually it is to recount a memorable meal...... I have blocked a few peoples posts and I am sure others have blocked mine. It's okay. I use it for my many interests and to stay up to date on family, even though they don't always post much.
My wife is a facebook fanatic and even made me a facebook page but I looked at it once and never went back.
It's not like facebook exists as a public service for the benefit of humanity... it is in fact the world's largest data mine. The owners compile and organize the info, then sell it to god knows who (mostly advertisers, I guess).
I personally enjoy Facebook. I use it as a tool to keep family and friends up on what is going on.
I do have to manage contacts and be careful who see what.
I hate looking at new shoes your recipes and I have a tenancy to get aggravated over online game request.
I found my self deleting racist/political post especially after the last election. If all you v can talk about is how much you disrespect the office of presidency and take pictures of your gun collection I dele them. Profanity gets people deleted. I guess you have to have rules and manage your profile according.
I was coerced to open a FB account a few years ago. For the first month or two I enjoyed it. I reconnected with a lot of friends and actually felt like we'd re-establish a relationship. I was so clueless as to its purpose. Once an old friend started hounding me on why I hadn't posted tons of photos, I started to really examine my "friend's" pages. Then I had an "ah hah" moment. IMO, it's basically a Show & Tell site.
I'm not a big photo person when the place you're placing your photos essentially owns them for life. I loved seeing family and friends instantly, via their photo uploads, but even that got old. I felt as though FB was substituting for real relationships with others. Soon, I felt obligated to log-on and update my status, etc. It was not fun. It was work.
Finally, earlier this year, I got up the nerve to deactivate my account. I immediately felt relief. Seriously, as if I'd just resigned from a stressful position. Then, the other night I was looking for pictures on my computer for a project I'm working on. I didn't have many photos of family members. So, I thought of FB. I logged on to look for some pictures and basically copy them from the site (because it's allowed!). I hope I am not the only person disturbed by this? No controls at all on FB regarding pictures.
Well, when I logged on it reactivated my account. . I panicked, my heart starting racing, and I was a little afraid (had no idea I'd have this type of reaction). Why? Because I did not want the influx of instant messages, FB updates via email, game invites, random post updates on my phone, party invites from people who live nowhere near me, you know, all the "stuff" that comes with FB. It can be a very intrusive social media site. Anyway, I got the photos I needed, and quickly deactivated my account again!
IMO Facebook is garbage communication and creepy. I used it for a few months back in 2009 and deleted my account, nothing to see there. I've been given a lot of grief that I need to sign back up. No thanks.
I do find it interesting that a company that produces essentially nothing tangible has a higher market cap than say Caterpillar.
"Social media—from Facebook to Twitter—have made us more densely networked than ever. Yet for all this connectivity, new research suggests that we have never been lonelier (or more narcissistic)—and that this loneliness is making us mentally and physically ill. A report on what the epidemic of loneliness is doing to our souls and our society."
for me - I use it, but I think it has many drawbacks. I think the worse thing is that most people who use it, esp. those who are on it all day, and can't be away from it, or they might miss the latest update on who had hot chocolate for breakfast - these people don't think about the consequences.
All this technology has consequences, so whether we use it or don't use it, we should think about the consequences, not just on the individual, but on society.
I'm very glad the OP asked the question.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fellowjoe
I did thought of quitting it but it is really difficult to do so when most of your friends often rely on it for communication and entertainment.
In fact, using Facebook makes me depressed somehow because pictures of friends having the time of their lives bombarded my newsfeed while i myself have nothing much to contribute on the newsfeed. Don't get me wrong, not that i don't have a life but it just so happens that we are quite busy that we don't hang every week like we used to and also don't take pictures that often.
And not sure if it is just me but has anyone ever felt the pressure to constantly catch up with your friends in being an active user of FB?
I don't have an account and can't imagine ever wanting one. I use the term friend with discretion. Those who truly are my friends are of small enough numbers to keep in regular touch with through e-mails, calls and face to face visits.
Acquaintances are many and I appreciate them. I'm just not invested enough in those relationships to want to share the minutiae of our lives. There aren't enough hours to my day to waste time on that sort of thing.
when I hear someone say they have 400 friends on facebook, I think about my friend, who was 90 years old at the time - I had a blinding headache and couldn't get out of bed for 10 days. I didn't eat. She came over and washed my dishes, fed me cooked cereal...
Now that's a friend.
How many fb "friends" would do that?
I just deactivated my account this week. I had been thinking about doing this for a long time. I signed up for Facebook a few years ago because I found out that even my mother had an account and I was like WTF?? I never went on Facebook much and don't see a point to it. The only people I care about, I see regularly and prefer to be more on the anti-social side. I guess I was always a loner type.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Anyone else simply NOT interested in Facebook?
. I panicked, my heart starting racing, and I was a little afraid (had no idea I'd have this type of reaction). Why? Because I did not want the influx of instant messages, FB updates via email, game invites, random post updates on my phone, party invites from people who live nowhere near me, you know, all the "stuff" that comes with FB. It can be a very intrusive social media site. Anyway, I got the photos I needed, and quickly deactivated my account again!
