Monday, February 4, 2013

A Rant About Facebook.

This is a garbled and haphazard attempt at collecting my thoughts enough to write a somewhat cohesive post about something that has just plain been bothering me lately.

I like Facebook. I like the convenience and the way it makes networking a breeze.

And then I hate Facebook. Lately, I've been really hating Facebook, to the point that I feel like I really  must have some sort of heart issue that needs some addressing, ha. But in all seriousness, the social network that in one theory promotes connectivity, is also simultaneously divisive.

Case in point. I open my News Feed. Firstly, some articles that someone remote that I know has "liked" or whatever (titles exaggerated by yours truly):

Twelve Reasons Working Moms Hate Stay-At-Home Moms

Proof That Gun Owners Must Have Flunked Third Grade

Ten Reasons Stay-At-Home Moms Will Someday Rule The World

Obamanomics and the Fall of Society

When in the World Did The Huffington Post Become Our Idea of an Objective Soundboard?

Oh, wait, I think I made that last title up completely. Yes, yes I did.

Then there are pictures that remote people I am "friends" with have "liked":

"Like" if you love God.

If you do not "like" this picture, you do not love God.

Worse, you do not love God or puppies.

If you do not "like" this, you must want to kill puppies.

You are a puppy-hating puppy-killer.

I don't want to "like" a random Renaissance painting of God that some kid named "Teen Angst" posted to try and get a million "likes". I just won't do it. I WON'T! I WON'T DO IT.

Then the ads. Wal-Mart, Tide, random boutiques, blah-blah-blah. I don't care. Facebook is public, I get it. And now it's super-annoying.

So, beyond the articles, the lets-get-a-million-likes-for-puppies pictures, and the ads, then there's the statuses.

Suzy writes: "Today I washed my clothes. Yay!"

To which several people respond: "What detergent did you use? Because if you used THIS kind of detergent, you are killing baby seals. Oh, but if you used homemade detergent, then that stuff is lame and doesn't work anyway...

[Insert someEcard with a picture of someone making fun of people who make their own laundry detergent, because I'm like my kids are up and dressed and that's a miracle, or whatever, etc.]

... and you should really only wash your clothes once a week, Suzy, we're all about conserving water. And baby seals. Also, it's some kind of cancer awareness month and I want you to know the color of my bra."

(I warned you this would be really haphazard.)

And I'm sitting here, checking my Facebook, really only interested in what people are doing. But poor Suzy can't even post about washing her clothes without getting flack. For reals?

So, I've kind of just stopped updating my FB. I've unfriended half of my "friends" (the ones I never interact with anyway .... the fact that we knew each other when we were twelve doesn't mean that I want your spouse, who I do not know, to have the potential to access my page and pictures of my kids, etc.). I'm on Instagram and will share those pictures on FB, because I have a lot of family out of town who are on FB but not Instagram, and they like to see pics of the kids. Works well.

Other than that, I'm kind of sick of it all.

Does this make me an old crow?

Have a lovely day.

17 comments:

  1. blogspot always eats my comments, so trying this again! I've "hidden" most of the people that post annoying crap on FB but my newsfeed is still not pleasant with all the ads and memes that pop up. My primary use for FB now is FB groups. I'm in one for my local moms group where we coordinate activities, several cloth diapering groups, and several other local groups (mostly crunchy mom stuff). Because it's not anonymous like a message board, people are kinder to one another and there is less snark.

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  2. I agree with this SO much. I've realized lately that facebook actually makes me angry. I am tired of everyone's opinions, judgments, begging for likes, and oversharing pointless info. Maybe I'm an old cow, too!! But I have "hidden" several annoying people and defriended people who I am not really friends with, and it's helped quite a bit. But it still makes me angry!

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  3. I understand your annoyances with Facebook. And I agree with everything you just said. But...I try and look past it all because in the end FB keeps me connected. Having moved a few times (& the moving is probably far from over!), FB keeps me up with family and friends in Oklahoma, friends and favorite places in Charleston, friends that have become family here in Arkansas, and everyone else on the "friend" list. Yes, it can be insanely annoying at times, but I just keep on scrolling until I see something I actually care about. Ha!

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  4. I'm with you 100%! I'm so disenchanted with Facebook, I've thought of deleting my account...but I just can't DO IT! :) I just want to tell people, please refrain from telling me about EVERY mile you run, or posting EVERY picture of your baby/child...(I have children of my own and just because I think my kids are cute doesn't mean everyone else cares to see). I don't even know how I made it through the elections... Ha ha!

    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  5. Hahaha. If you are an old crow, so am I. ;)

    I don't understand it. I don't do it anymore. It's all so 'unreal'.

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  6. Amen sista' friend! I feel the same way. I post pictures from instagram on their for my out of town family, and that is about it!

    Couldn't say it better myself!

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  7. Completely agree. Facebook is full of the good, bad, and ugly. I tend to by-pass my feed page and just look at, ahem...stalk ;) my friends.

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  8. I love your haphazard brain in a wonderful way. Also, every time I open my newsfeed, I literally think to myself, I'm sort of over this. I think I'm done. Probably. For reals. Ehh.

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  9. Oh oh oh!! Don't forget that if you don't breastfeed, you hate your baby!

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  10. I so completely, completely agree. I have family that genuinely cares about mine and my child's lives, and I want to share these things with them.

    However, the "Like if you love your Grandma, scroll if you want your grandma to die" pics can just go away forever. It's definitely a love/hate relationship with Facebook. :-)

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  11. Oh my gosh. I'm dying laughing. Those "like if you love Jesus ignore if you don't" posts drive me nuts. I mean stark raving mad. Or how about "like if you hate cancer ignore if you don't"? Because there are so any cancer lovers in this world. Seriously!?! You hit the nail on the head with this one.

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  12. These are the exact reasons I don't have a Facebook anymore. And I don't miss it one single bit. I also hated the person I became when I read that stuff because it would be make me agitated, angry, and then I would say rude things about those people to my husband. I excused it by saying I was just venting to him, but I knew in truth I was being just as mean as some of them were.

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  13. If your an old crow then so am I. It is driving me crazy!!! I am loving instagram and the so far no drama of it. FB just makes me cranky!

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  14. Agreed! Now that i've joined the land of the iphone, Instagram has become my new love! I'll always appreciate Facebook for the way it keeps me connected (especially with our moves and such) but I definitely have done my fair share of defriending and unsubscribing to avoid the things you've mentioned!

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  15. Right there with you! I posted about my Facebook frustrations last week. I love Facebook for being able to catch up with people, but the constant need to "like" stuff is beyond obnoxious. Just because I don't share a picture doesn't mean I don't love God! http://jeremyandamywade.blogspot.com/2013/02/facebook-frustrations.html

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  16. Totally with you! Amen! I do post on FB quite a bit, but only because I have funny stories to share. But I get so sick of all the random crap on there. I use it to keep in touch with family/friends, not to see everyone's random ramblings and political crap!

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