Facebook

[account_inactive]

I don't know about you lot but I fucking HATE Facebook. I am not in the slightest bit interested what you have had for your dinner (and I really don't want to see pictures of it).
Stop telling me how great your lives are and where in the world you are. Stop posting shit that might mean something to you but not to me.. whatever happened to people meeting up and chatting, and  worst of all Facebook pretends to be your friend when it fucking is not.
 I had 369 'friends' when I was on it, 2 of them were actually my friends, and one of them I did not like.

Pretty much sums up my own feelings. I always knew we had something in common, after all.

What's more, the whole purpose of that shit is to generate a giant marketing profile of every user that's on. To be used and abused by every interested and paying party, possible or current employers and the authorities.

I'm not as naive to believe that I'm not leaving traces on the internet. But facebook and other so called social media platforms take data collection to a whole new level.

Something else we agree on.

[ignoramus]

I have never friended facebook. My life was fine before it and it is still fine without it.
What's the big deal, it's just another (anti)social app?

Other than the thousands of people who have been killed because they were checking it out and not concentrating on driving, or crossing the road, or the train track.

[abaris]

I have never friended facebook. My life was fine before it and it is still fine without it.

I had an account years ago. The only friends I accepted back then where real life aquaintances.

[downbeatplumb]

It always amuses me how many people complain about FB but don't consider that maybe it's their own ignorance or apathy that keeps their newsfeed looking like it does.

Without facebook I would not have daily updates of your delightful doggy, which never fails to slightly improve my mood.

[ignoramus]

I basically won't use it for one main simple reason.

I won't let it control my life. That means I may not look at it for days/weeks.
This in itself may be construed as an intentional position towards someone. Then I'll have to explain myself (ring them IRL). bla bla bla

To me, in summary, it's an ego thing for the young ones, it practically moulds their personality and positions them on a rung on their personal social ladder.
Good for the oldies to see what family are getting up to.

[Cato]

Stop logging on. Problem solved.

I stopped, just know loads of people who still live their lives around it. and it really is shit.

Agree with the shit part. I stopped years ago for many of the same reasons you listed. Sad in a way because I like the platform as a means of staying in touch. The other downside was getting to know way more about certain people than I cared to learn.

[Joods]

I appreciate my friends on there. Without some of the connections I have made, I would not have discovered what narcissism was (both my mother and my ex have it). I would not have been knowledgeable about the existence of some of the support groups I now belong to. I would not have met some of the most supportive and loving friends I've ever had. Some of those very people, whom I've never met personally, but who treat me better than anyone in my family (excluding my kids, of course), ever have. So yeah - I'm grateful for that because it allowed me certain freedoms from things/toxic people IRL.

It also led me to this site. So without it, I probably wouldn't be here.

I don't get on it every day like I used to. I check in maybe once or twice a week, if I remember. People understand that I've been busy with school and RL stuffs. But I like FB. I love the connections I've made even more. I'm friends with about 10 of you on here.

As for the memes: Sometimes someone posts a meme that I can relate to. Sometimes I see a meme that says what I am unable to say. Sometimes I see a meme that makes me laugh or cry or gives me feelings of nostalgia. Memes are supposed to do just that: elicit some sort of feeling from the person reading it.

So really, if you can't stand any of the things I mentioned, then get rid of your FB and forget you ever had it. Problem solved.

[Whateverist]

I don't know about you lot but I fucking HATE Facebook. I am not in the slightest bit interested what you have had for your dinner (and I really don't want to see pictures of it).
Stop telling me how great your lives are and where in the world you are. Stop posting shit that might mean something to you but not to me.. whatever happened to people meeting up and chatting, and  worst of all Facebook pretends to be your friend when it fucking is not.
 I had 369 'friends' when I was on it, 2 of them were actually my friends, and one of them I did not like.

Well tell us how you really feel.

Facebook is a tool like any other. It depends on how you use it. You don't like what your friends post? Unfollow them and follow people and things generating content you do want to see.

No one is required to cater to your tastes. Some of us actually do like to celebrate our friends' successes and travels....and still find time to meet up IRL.

^ This. ^

Is it really any more virtuous to come here and give us a status report than it would be to make one there?  

I mostly use Facebook to keep up with people with my interest in plants and gardens.  Along the way I've picked up relatives who don't annoy me, RL friends who I see less frequently (and have subsequently gotten to know better) and a few who post pictures of dogs like my own.  Oh and there is quite a lot of humor there as well as videos of people and animals doing cool stuff that I enjoy seeing.  I confess to being intrigued by the occasional recipe though staring at something really yummy looking the I'm not going to eat mostly just makes me want more of what I'd like to want less of, so I feel you there.

[thesummerqueen]

It always amuses me how many people complain about FB but don't consider that maybe it's their own ignorance or apathy that keeps their newsfeed looking like it does.

Without facebook I would not have daily updates of your delightful doggy, which never fails to slightly improve my mood.

It's my belief that everyone's facebook would be improved with cute dog additions. Way better than baby photos.

I basically won't use it for one main simple reason.

I won't let it control my life. That means I may not look at it for days/weeks.
This in itself may be construed as an intentional position towards someone. Then I'll have to explain myself (ring them IRL). bla bla bla

To me, in summary, it's an ego thing for the young ones, it practically moulds their personality and positions them on a rung on their personal social ladder.
Good for the oldies to see what family are getting up to.

Ah yes. Those young things. They couldn't possibly be using it to follow their favorite businesses or artists, or to check up on what far-flung friends are doing, or family, or current events. Nope. It's all about the narcissism.

[thesummerqueen]

It's really trendy to hate on things like FB because it's easier to be shitty about the platform and the people on it than to consider the benefits it provides and that many of those random people might be intelligent individuals. It's a great way to get your own self-righteous self-esteem boost without doing dick all to earn it.

The FB group for my org provides a closed forum for local atheists to network, vent, find solidarity, community, volunteer opportunities, free stuff, sell stuff, patronize local atheist businesses, learn new things, find friends, etc. That's just what one group provides for one subset of people. Now imagine that for just about any topic or subgroup of people, there are groups like this lending support and information. There are pages devoted to announcements from local law enforcement agencies or community announcements for your neighborhood, or even your workplace. There are science and history pages putting out informative posts. I follow photographers who post their work and tutorials. My friends' businesses all have pages. One example is my friend who gives guided history and ghost tours of Charlotte - every time she posts a photo (and sometimes they're ones I've taken for her!) she tells a story about our locale.

I have friends who are funny and friends who are philosophers and friends who are incredibly insightful about history and politics. I have friends who are artists professionally and hobbyists who post their work for all to enjoy. I have fellow photog friends who post scandalous selfies and we all giggle and delight in sharing our sexuality and pride in ourselves. I belong to a costume group where we pool together our knowledge of sewing. I follow podcast pages for updates and juicy tidbits when the voice actors post in-character. I follow schnoodle and poodle groups for dog training tips and support when dealing with a head-strong breed. I have friends around the world who post updates - so useful when all this shit is happening in Europe. I'm friends with many people here from AF and we can share just a little bit more about our every day lives and I've come to appreciate those people a whole lot more. It's another facet added to the exchanges we all have that don't really have a place on this forum.

I take photos of amazing food I get because sometimes my friends read the description and try to make the meal themselves. I have friends who follow my beer posts for ideas of things to try. I have friends who follow my dog photos because why the fuck wouldn't you follow Kíli? I have friends who follow my rants and my geek posts and my selfies and my clothing posts. Literally everyone is there for something. THIS ISN'T ABOUT NARCISSISM - I'M DOING IT RIGHT BACK TO THEM. It's about an exchange of ideas and values and experiences.

You don't like what you're exchanging?

FIX IT.

And maybe check to see what kind of content you're generating before shaking your finger at everyone else for being a putz.