Social Media is Evil

[Fidel_Castronaut]

I was on FB almost from its inception. I joined in 2006 when it was exclusive to university students.

What it was then was a fun alternative to MySpace (lol) and a way of quickly communicating with other friends at uni.

What it is now is unrecognisable. I quit about 2 years ago and haven’t been back on since. In fact apart from some Instagram followings (mostly for car pictures) I’m not on any social media, including LinkedIn, twitter etc.

And I don’t miss any of it. I speak to the friends I want to speak to in RL or on the phone and it works just fine. . The 500+ ‘friends’ I had on FB were mainly just people I’d met a few times and would never normally speak to ever again. There’s only so many selfie pictures you can look at before you want to smash your face into a wall

[zebo-the-fat]

Never used fakebook or twatter, never seen the need

[emjay]

As much as I dislike Facebook for secondary reasons... it being a massive monopoly, mining data, and being such an addictive waste of time etc... I don't have a problem with it from a functional POV; I don't see it as a threat to forums or even trying to be like one... I see it more like a networking/broadcasting, mail-merge type app than a place to have long, detailed discussions like here. A place defined essentially by sharing soundbites. Which is fine if that's what you want to do, but a forum it is not.

I used to use it a lot but realised how addictive... and largely pointless... it had become to me, so made a conscious decision a few years back to stop using it, and have never looked back. And getting rid of the app from my phone was such a weight lifted, in the sense that it was both a massive app and relentless in its constant notifications, updates, requests for new permissions etc... not a day went by without some notification of one kind or another coming from that app, so there basically felt like there was no escape from its constant attempts to encroach into your space in new and novel ways and to maintain that addiction. So yeah, felt great when that app was gone... I could have my phone back I still have an account, but only for the sake of using Messenger, which remains a useful way of getting in touch with the few friends and family I had on there, but other than that, I don't use Facebook proper any more.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

There’s nothing more depressing than seeing people eating in a restaurant and between every bite or drink being in their phones.

No doubt you’ve all seen families around a table all on their phones, not taking to one another. Everywhere, people looking down at their phone.

It’s the next thing I’m trying to wean myself off. I try and leave it at home when I’m on holiday or in my bag when I’m meeting people. I don’t put it in my pocket when I’m out anymore either just to stop myself reaching for it.

[Shell B]

a ukulele jam group

Can....not....fucking....resist....

Has there ever been a more fucked up song? I say no.

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I like Facebook. So many strange and interesting strangers with public pages. When I can’t sleep I browse through random strangers Facebook pages and read their posts and look at their pictures. Like a fucking stalker lmao

Whoa, Losty. That was a glimpse into your psyche I could have done without.

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Facebook was fine until adults came along and ruined it

Hahaha, I feel that way about the older people in my family. Like, what the fuck, guys? I didn't know you were low-key racist or thought atheists were evil until you had facebook. Also, can you not use the comments section of my posts to say confusing things or make it obvious that you're an alcoholic by literally always talking about booze in every post. Oh, old people.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Katherine MacLean wrote a story back in 1971, "The Missing Man". It won a Nebula Award that year. It was set in the far distant future, 2013 IIRC. Good story, but one part hit home. People carry "personal TVs" around with them. When Our Hero is on a subway train nobody notices him because they're all staring at their TVs, oblivious to their surroundings. 

Nailed it.

[DodosAreDead]

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Facebook was fine until adults came along and ruined it

Hahaha, I feel that way about the older people in my family. Like, what the fuck, guys? I didn't know you were low-key racist or thought atheists were evil until you had facebook. Also, can you not use the comments section of my posts to say confusing things or make it obvious that you're an alcoholic by literally always talking about booze in every post. Oh, old people.

Thankfully all these things I basically learn about older people in my family by irl interaction.
I once called my best friend my bitch tho (in a completely friendly way) and some random family friend I haven't met in over 6 years sent a message to my MOM on facebook asking if I was hacked. My mom asked me about it, and the next minute I deleted the facebook app from my phone. Now I call my friends bitches on Instagram and use FB to promote my blog sometimes, coz, ya know, adults like that kinda stuff. 

[emjay]

There’s nothing more depressing than seeing people eating in a restaurant and between every bite or drink being in their phones.

No doubt you’ve all seen families around a table all on their phones, not taking to one another. Everywhere, people looking down at their phone.

It’s the next thing I’m trying to wean myself off. I try and leave it at home when I’m on holiday or in my bag when I’m meeting people. I don’t put it in my pocket when I’m out anymore either just to stop myself reaching for it.

Yeah, I know what you mean. That used to be a big problem for me when I used Facebook... basically checking every few seconds/minutes no matter where I was. And I agree it's not much fun to see nor try to talk to people with their heads buried in their phones all the time.

It's still a problem for me here but much less pronounced than with Facebook. AF is basically the only 'social media' I use now and the only thing I check regularly. But one difference is it's not constantly alerting me with stuff when I'm off it so that makes it a different kind of addiction than FB and much more escapable... in theory In practice my phone still follows me into the toilet to check AF , and periodically throughout the day, and in advert breaks watching TV etc but it doesn't really impact on my family time unless I'm deeply engrossed in a thread or playing Mafia; in which case then it may follow me while I'm eating or physically socialising, because I can't easily switch off from it and to the extent that people find me distracted and difficult to get through to.

So it is still an addiction here for me, but not as much as FB was, and much less all-encompassing. I do sometimes try to wean myself off it, but basically if I don't use AF I hardly use my phone at all and feel kind of empty and at a loss of what to do... which only shows up its addictiveness I know but nonetheless, that's the tradeoff. So yeah, that's the problem but much less pronounced with AF than FB.

[Foxaèr]

I don't use FB on my phone. That way I avoid being sucked into the abyss of the site.

I only use it when I'm at home on my laptop.

Since I work as a nurse, I am not at home all that much.

I do access AF on my phone from work, though.

[emjay]

I don't use FB on my phone. That way I avoid being sucked into the abyss of the site.

I only use it when I'm at home on my laptop.

Since I work as a nurse, I am not at home all that much.

I do access AF on my phone from work, though.

The only reason I'd ever use Facebook now was if I wanted to add a contact to Messenger... but that would only be RL friends and family, not the hundreds of pseudo or single-serving friends... to use Tyler Durden's terminology ... that some people seem to accumulate on Facebook. I never used it like that even when I did use it... so never had more than about twenty friends on there but all people I actually know.

As for accessing AF from work.... I don't think you're alone in that ... it seems one of the most common places for accessing AF, especially when playing Mafia is at work and/or in the toilet