Dear Facebook,
We used to have so much fun together. You were a place to post funny or interesting links. I could share my pictures or look at other peoples' pictures. It was good times. Do you remember those times, Facebook?
Because then everyone started using games. Really crappy games. And you kept telling me about it. You kept telling me ALL about it. Then eventually you let me tell you to shut up about it, and it was good.
But then the status thing started getting worse. People started enjoying talking about themselves, and the 'like' button just fed their ego. The results? Chaos. Madness. Now I have friends who tell me half a dozen times a day that they're washing their car. Or going to the mall. Or watching TV.
Facebook, I feel dirty. I feel like I know way too much about the lives of people I don't know. I feel like I need help. I need a restraining order. I need the world to give itself a little more privacy.
Because if I really wanted to know, I could always, you know, ask.
Your friend,
bluefish
The Charming Mr. Wheaton
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My Dearest Gentle Readers,
It is with the greatest pleasure that I am able to inform you that on this
very day I was so delightfully privileged as to meet t...
15 years ago
Fly you fools! Facebook has an adverse effect on relationships because it exposes you to way too much information about other people and it creates drama.
ReplyDeleteIsn't that what the internets are for? For people to talk about themselves into the great white aether? COUGH*blogging*COUGH
ReplyDeleteI don't think that facebook has an adverse effect really. I think that it puts an emphasis on casual relationships that aren't otherwise there. It does give insight into the drama llamas around us, for good or ill, and it helps the quiet facebook stalkers weather those long, cold nights.
There are some interesting (and often irritating) side effects of the Facebook movement, but for the most part I feel more in touch with the people I care about than I have in the past. And thank god for the "hide" button.
Also bluefish you should never, ever, ever start twittering.
The difference is that, when I blog, I have a reasonable reassurance that people want to read what I'm saying. People who don't want to read my blog just don't come to the site. On the other hand, with Facebook, every little thing I'm doing appears on the front page of every single person who is my friend, unless that person wants to cut me off completely.
ReplyDeleteThere should be an option to give a person, say, a certain number of updates a day. After that, it stops giving it to my in my feed.
As in "You've had your limit, buddy. I'm cutting you off. There there, don't cry. It's for your own good."
ReplyDeleteAnd theres also, like Russ said, the Hide button if youre getting over saturated.
ReplyDeleteWhat's the best thing about the zombie apocalypse? No more Facebook status updates.
ReplyDeleteI would actually go back on facebook if there were a zombie apocalypse. The status updates would probably be more interesting.
ReplyDeleteyes, i am a big fan of the "hide" button. i've also done a vast purge of my friends. if i'm not interested in what you might be saying, there's no reason for me to see it. bye! i think that as we hit more and more saturation points with the social media thing, people will become more selective. we will have to.
ReplyDelete