I know that a lot of people get right into Facebook. But I don't like it at all. I think it's a complete waste of time, to be honest.
One thing that really annoys me is this use of the word "friend". I thought a friend was someone that you actually met regularly in real life, cared about and gave support to. But most Facebook "friends" are anything but. They just add you to their list so that they can get an ego boost, or to promote events, products and other things.
If people want to do that, fine. They just shouldn't use the word "friend". (I know that the users themselves don't choose that word. It's built into the site design. But the fact that so many people seem at ease with its misuse is a bit of a worry.)
The allure of Facebook is that it makes its users feel important, as if they're celebrities. And you only have to look at celebrities to see how dysfunctional their relationships are!
I know some may think I'm a Luddite for saying this, but I'm anything but. I think the internet is a fantastic and revolutionary tool. (Obviously, I'm right into blogging!)
But there's a real problem when people would rather spend hours "poking" each other, posting silly photos of themselves, chatting with six people at once and playing stupid games online instead of actually conversing one on one and face to face. The fact that so many people are addicted to this already is quite depressing.
I hate facebook. If I don't hear from someone within a month again I delete them. I now have 20 people as friends, I had 50 but I'm done with it. I want to quit it but I'm sortof starting a business so I feel obligated to keep it to promote my stuff. I hate the obligatory "catchup with" conversations that put you in touch with people you havent talked to for 20 yrs (for good reason), and then you feel obligated to add them as friends or vice versa and then you never hear from them again. Whats the point?
ReplyDeleteI think there will be a backlash against it. The Slow city movement, the slow food movement and the slow friend movement....that's what's next.
It really reinforces the idea that its all about you. Twitter is worse because who on earth cares what you do all day anyway every ten minutes. But nevertheless, thanks for the article. :D