Let's Talk About Facebook

[Lethos]

It's 05:12 in the UK right now, and as I was just about to close all my tabs and go to sleep I realized something, every day, without fail, the first tab I will open will always be Facebook. For the majority of the time I'm browsing it will lye dormant on my browser, occasionally being given attention when I notice a "(1)" appear in it's title.

It got me thinking: how has this website, where I essentially do nothing, become such an integral part of my life?

That's quite a depressing thought, if I'm honest with you. But I'm 19 now, which means I first created my Facebook account when I was roughly 14. Depressing as it may be, I have spent the majority of my teenage years devoting what must be a considerable amount of time to Facebook. In that time this website has attached itself to my life and bloated considerably. My Friend List is full of literally hundreds of people I never talk to. I'm routinely subjected to frankly asinine thoughts ("went outside and it's raining", "got drunk and beat up an old lady YOLO"). And I'm bombarded with adverts for shit products and annoying events.

There are certainly good things about Facebook, don't get me wrong. Chat is great for talking to my international friends. Picture albums are fantastic for sharing my photos and seeing others. And events is essential when trying to arrange a party or a night out. But when I think of all the hours I must of spent senselessly scrolling down my News Feed reading shit I don't actually care about. When I think about all the dodgy privacy issues that have been resonating from Facebook as of late. When I ponder why I have got into a routine of Facebook just sitting on my browser waiting for me to give it some attention. Well, I feel a bit odd. Yet despite all these problems, the thought of me, and the majority of people from my generation not having a tool such as Facebook to communicate seems insane.

Anyway, I'm rambling. Probably not the best idea to create a thread at this time in the morning, but I figured it could have some decent discussion value.

What are your thoughts on Facebook? Do you have a Facebook account? Avoid it like the plague?
Share and converse.

 

[Rawne1980]

Never had a Facebook account, never will.

There was no internet when I was a teenager and by the time it became a household thing I was in the army and had no need for it.

Left the army when I was knocking on 29 but didn't get the internet until a couple of years ago.

Social networking is one thing i've never wanted to use. My friends all live close by and they don't use it either. We have "gasp" landlines for contacting each other and we are round each others houses on a regular basis.

I have no need for Facebook at all.

 

[roushutsu]

I tried it once, but I quickly abandoned it. Just wasn't my thing. I'm much more of a Twitter person myself.

 

[aba1]

I use it here and there though I use MSN and Skype for my talking to friends. Facebook is mostly so people who are dependent on it can get a hold of me. Though it can be useful for networking for work n junk.

 

[triggrhappy94]

I hate Facebook. I try to check it as little as possible.
I like to think of myself as a nice person, but when I go through my friends list I realize how many people I don't like.
None of my high school friends talk to me anymore.
The only updates I get anymore are from the Argonian Fan Club.
And the stream is dominated by 4 or 5 people spamming idiotic things.
It's addicting though.

I only hope it wains in popularity and we can all move on to the next dumb thing.

...Now the Escapist on the other hand...

 

[triggrhappy94]

Double post... like a boss

 

[Basement Cat]

I'm reading a mini-sized "Facebook for Dummies" book right now because I'm curious about it.

On the other hand I don't want to give out any real information on myself. I don't like the idea of anyone putting 1+1 together and figuring out where I buried the bodies.

 

[YuberNeclord]

I first got a Facebook account in 2007 so that I and all of my classmates had a quick way of all keeping in touch with each other. I also found it really cool that I was able to find old friends and classmates who I had lost contact with over the years and that I was able to reconnect with them.

These days I'm on facebook almost every day, because it is just a really easy way for me to keep in touch with family and friends(especially when I don't have phone credit and it's my only form of communication). I also use it to keep me connected within the film industry, it allows me to quickly organise film shoots, or promote my or someone else's work or just share ideas with other film makers who might be overseas.

It's also a great way of finding work for me that I might not have otherwise gotten. An example, one of my old lectures ended up moving over to Canada. When he did that he created a facebook account so he could keep in touch with us. He's now back in Australia and looking to do some filming. Thanks to him and me being connected on facebook, I've now got a filming gig coming up in a few months that I might have otherwise not had if we hadn't stayed in touch.

So I personally find it a very handy tool to utilise. I can see why people have issues with it(the privacy thing is a big concern, for instance) but I think it is also great for keeping people connected and organised.

 

[krazykidd]

I don't have facebook , and i won't get one anytime soon . Everyone gasps at the thought of not havin facebook . Anyone i actually want to talk to i have on my cellphone . My girlfriend however , has facebook and checks it first think in the morning , and a couple of thimes during the day . I made it a habit to ask her every morning :" what's new on facebook" to which she responds " nothing.." Every morning . For the last 2 years . She doesn't post anything ( but useless info )and nothing interesting happens but yet she checks it every day without fail .

I don't know whether to pity such a futile activity , or envy the sense of contentment such a futile act can bestow .

 

[Berithil]

Meh.

Don't have a Facebook, and don't plan on getting one any time soon. However, if ever a time came where I could use it as a useful tool as opposed to a pointless time sink, I might get one.

But for now, I have no use for one.

 

[Screamarie]

I have a facebook account and I like it. I have some friends from college that live a couple of hours away and it's the best way for us to keep in touch. Not to mention I like to play Chefville and Farmville 2 (yes, I know Zynga is evil, but I'm easily addicted).

But as a person who uses facebook I'm also not STUPID about it. I don't put up pictures I wouldn't want people to see, I don't just write anything up there, just the random "hey something vaguely important/new is going on in my life just to let people know," I don't update with my location, and it's locked so that only actual friends can see what I put up.

So I think facebook can be an alright thing, if you know how to use it properly.

 

[Dangit2019]

I keep up a Facebook just to get news from all the bands, organizations, and other crap that I like in one place. The bulk of my actual social interaction is through texting and email.

Also, I'd definitely be careful with morning threads. This one worked out nicely, but one time I made a thread at 6 AM the morning after I first watched MLP, and well...

It got out of hand after a while...

 

[adamsaccount]

I dont have it, It pisses me off no end when employers check it your page and then view you as a pervert if you dont have one.

(i am a pervert but not because of that)

I only really have 3 close friends anyway, so I dont really see the need

 

[an annoyed writer]

I don't have one and don't want one. I'm a generally private person and a service whose mission statement is basically "broadcast your life for all to see" is not something I'm interested in. I use Skype for chatting with people and organizing stuff, as well as file sharing, so there goes the usefulness of the Facebook chat feature, and I use image hosting sites where I'm able to keep the rights to my photos, so there goes the photo-hosting feature's usefulness. Other features already have their places filled via other venues, so Facebook becomes useless to me.

 

[Pink Gregory]

*shrug*

I choose not to broadcast anything important unless I want the people I have on there to see it; my 'likes' are my way of keeping track of things in one place, I don't plan to go above 20 acquaintances.

My acquaintances often have quite interesting inconsequential thoughts.

Depends how you use it.

 

[Scarim Coral]

I have an account but it is nowhere as addictive as some people make it out to be but in saying so I only have around 30 friends on my list where others can haver over 200 (and it's also the fact I'm not that social in real life).
Even then my profile is still not as revealing as other have theirs (I have a job but I haven't mention where and when I worked and my town address is still my University address).
Sure I do used it everyday but it not one of the first websites I open. I merely log in to see the status from friends and other info stuff I had "liked". Heck there have been a few times I competely forgot to check it out and not visit it for a day or two!

 

[hazabaza1]

I got one. Check it a couple times daily usually, maybe a bit more if I'm really bored.
I'm not one of those obsessed people like a lot of others are, but it's helpful.

 

[vrbtny]

Seeing as I was just dumped over facebook...

Yeah, not a massive fan right now.

 

[lechat]

i held out as long as possible getting a FB account after seeing how much time ppl wasted on it playing shit flash games and posting 3 words status updates that would barely be read if you were an A list celeb
i had to finally resort to getting an account after writing a botting program for a facebook app so all in all i feel like i've fucked facebook more than it's fucked me

 

[Idlemessiah]

I'm not a massive fan but it is handy when your friend has no call credit left but has free internet on their phone.