I am a Facebook virgin. I have never had a FB account. I will confess though, that I have used my sister's account and creeped.
I'm stuck in between two conflicting worlds. A good friend recently asked me if I've made a judgment against FB (thanks Arlene). Ummm, yeah, I definitely have.
I'm told that I'm missing out. "On what exactly?" I ask. On pictures, on catching up with high school friends, on playing games, on seeing who's making chocolate chip cookies tonight? Nope - don't feel I'm missing out on any of those points. However, to be fair, FB does have a lot to offer (at least that's what I'm told).
I'm interested in a dialogue for any of you who read my blog. Why do you facebook? Why don't you facebook? I have my reasons for keeping my abstinence, however, am open to hearing others opinion...
6 comments:
I originally went on FB three years ago when my dear daugher went away to England for six months and I wanted to be able to stay in the loop and be part of the pictures she posted. Since then, I have found that FB tends to be the best way for me to communicate with the younger generation....it seems to be their language. I appreciate being able to celebrate someone's birthday or engagement through FB as well as, which has happened on many occasions, find out about someone's sorrow, whether sickness,accident or death and then be able to offer support or condolences. Many times the information would have taken a lot linger to reach me than it did. Often, I have heard relevant news before it has even been in the paper.
I find it very easy to skim over that which is nonsensical and irrelevant and infrequently choose to engage in the dialogue. My concern is indeed the privacy issue, thus you will rarely see any pictures up on my wall or any comments re family or fiends.
A question I have....how is being public on a blog different than being public on FB? :)
Love you and trust you are having a great holiday.
well, I have been on facebook for a long time now - originally I think just to prove, perhaps only to myself, that I was not yet over-the-hill and still "with it" - it does seem to be the main method the younger folks wish to communicate with one another however I very recently heard that it is actually us over 65 folks who are the biggest users ..... I appreciate that FB has enabled me to re-establish contact with some I went to school with way back when, and some I trained with also way back when - I had completely lost track of these folks and have enjoyed getting caught up with their lives and now hearing regularly about their significant moments ........
the whole facebook thing though does make me terribly sad from time to time as, to me at least, it speaks of a huge loneliness "out there", a reflection of a deep desire to be in some sort of community, a need to be connected ........
I too blog, have for many years now, but have deliberately chosen such an obscure blog name that it is much more private than my facebook account - mind you anyone reading this will now be able to access my blog - YIKES!
missing you these days Lauren ...........
Ah, the facebook debate. I also abstained from it for a long time, for similar reasons to you I think. However, I'm so glad I finally signed up, probably about 3 years ago now. Here's why: Most people use facebook now to connect, make plans, etc. Email has become far less important (but still very important in my books). I found myself often out of the loop with things going on in people's lives. Now staying at home, and living out in the country, it definitely helps me feel less alone and less isolated as I can still connect with people, hear about what they're up to, etc. The best part It has allowed me to stay connected and reconnect with many people, who I otherwise wouldn't have had the chance. You could argue (and I used to) that you wouldn't stay connected with half these people in your regular day-to-day, so why do so through facebook where it is more superficial, but I don't think that is a very valid argument anymore. If you are choosy about who you allow yourself to be friends with, you're only connected to people you want to be anyway....there was probably a great reason why you met and became friends, right?! Photo updates are wonderful through fb, and they best part about them is that you can browse through them at your leisure. I think you can be superficial with relationships on fb, but I don't think it needs to be that case, and hasn't been for me. Hmmmm...well, I'm kinda rambling here now. I think those are the main things. You can make it what you want it to be! I'd love to see you on fb sometime soon Lauren! But I'd still love you, and stay connected even if you choose to stay away!
I went through a massive "de-friending" a couple of years ago. There are only a limited amount of people who I'm interested in hearing and interacting with them about their lives. Albeit, mostly in a superficial way.
If people start posting about the dinner they are making or details about doing the laundry, it's pretty certain I'll hide their updates.
So really, it helps me find out what my closer friends are up to. I don't understand how people can have 1000+ "friends". I think that really de-values the word friend.
Hi Lauren,
My nieces signed me up a couple of years ago so we could all stay connected. My nephew is now on as well. I do post about what I am having for supper (once in a while) or what we did on the long weekend, because they feel like they have stepped into my home and been apart of what is going on here. Right now they are loving being part of my family in this small way. For them it is meaningful and important, so I have set aside my own thoughts about fb to keep a connection.
Post a Comment