Facebook; a lame, grandiose waste of time-BOYCOTT

I can see both sides of the argument here, you all make sense.
I only know like two people, besides relatives, who don't have facebook, one because I think he's afraid of the Russian mafia and the other, I think she's trying to be a nonconformist or something...

Anyways, I got a profile, I like facebook to share photos and I mostly just use it to keep in touch with people I probably wouldn't otherwise, because they live all around the country...even with Facebook, I find it hard to do though. I also like it because it reminds me of birthdays and things, and the status thing comes in handy to let people know I'm not home if they're trying to contact me, same the other way around..

Point : It's useful, but anymore than a half hour on it per day is a little odd unless you have a specific goal, like writing to someone, finding a group or event that suits your interests, etc.

 

And I do agree that it takes away from face-to-face communication somewhat. Seems like people who you used to know that would never approach you to talk in the street if they saw you, have absolutely no problem adding you and beginning a conversation that way.

 

"Offline communication", wow, that's a discovery!, take good care of your virtual dog. The problem is that for some people, they say that they can get more info through the facebook than through a real face to face conversation, that's sad, that's all.

 

No.

 

I regret to say I went back to check my profile, BUT someone I never thought i would talk to again had accosted me, and now Im so happy I have Facebook. But Im keeping it to a bare min of half hour per day!
It IS good in some ways for some folks. But everything in moderation!!!

 

This view on sites like myspace and facebook is taken from my own exposure in a high school environment.

Facebook is a medium for portraying an image of yourself. It allows you to show a refined and "improved" version of yourself to people you know. You feel popular because you're engaging with lots of people on your terms. You can make yourself look fun, cool, and popular by having lots of photos of you doing things with friends, partying, and all sorts of interesting activities, even when in real life you're just working a lot or are socially awkward so you spend a lot of time alone. But to a visitor you appear to be active and living life on your terms. Nobody posts photos of themselves doing homework, or working a double shift. Because that's not how they want to be seen.

Facebook can make you feel better about yourself in that way, so a lot of people become enveloped. But it's only an image. It isn't the whole truth, and you can never live up to it completely. So while facebook might seem like something you like, it is really just eroding your self-confidence. You cling to the image and the online friends, because they're just images too.

I never got into facebook or myspace, just like I'm not into fashion, it's fake. All about appearances. That being said, I do have a facebook. I mainly use it to send people messages because I'd never be able to get all their email addresses. It can be very useful, but not if you take it too seriously.

Sorry for the long post. I feel like I sort of reiterated a lot of points and talked in circles. And I do tend to overanalyze things.

 

Polecat, amazing post...I was gonna ask you if it'd be alright if I took the two middle paragraphs and put it into a note on facebook (i'm not kidding..), I just thought it was really true and I think you have a really good idea of the psychology of the sites...

I think you should send a letter in to your local paper if they ever run a piece on facebook (mine has several times...)

 

I really hope you meant to say " a max of a half hour per day" setting a minimum for that site sounds, well, stupid. No offense...I don't mean to insult.

 

lol, i totally meant max!!! STONER, LOL

 

Totally understood

 

Thanks man. You're more than welcome to plagiarize any of my posts. Adapt it,edit it, take credit for it, it's all free game. The idea of staking intellectual property is a bunch of bologna anyways.

And I'll keep an eye out if they run an article. I do enjoy writing letters to the editor.

 

Nah I would never edit or take credit for it... I gotta pay the respect where it belongs.

 

Well I don't know about facebook, seeing as how I don't have one. I use my myspace to meet new people keep in touch with ol' cats, and listen to music while I work or play on my pc. Other than that I don't find much use for any of those networking sites. Myspace has gone to hell with a whole shitload of chicks (and a few dudes) using it to display their porn indirectly.

Don't get me wrong I have no problem with people who want to show their bodies, if the human body wasn't meant to be shown why make so many aspects of it so beautiful? But I do have a problem with trying to do it on a site that so many young teens and children use. I mean come on! If I had a child I wouldn't want some slut contacting them. God only knows how many of them tryed to contact me.

So if facebook is the same as myspace then fuck it too. Get out into nature instead of sitting at your damn pcs all day an' looking at stupid stuff! Thats the problem with my generation, so many of them have grown lazy and disrespectful of nature (Not to put down anyone here).

 

But you don't. Everyone gets their ideas, or at least the ideas for their ideas, from somebody else. It's counterproductive to bind an idea to a single person, especially if it would be more powerful if others thought you were its basis. After all, a good idea should be available to everyone -should belong to everyone- if it really is a good idea.

I don't think anyone can truly claim rights over a thought or idea. It's silly. That thought is the result of thousands of years of human language development, and then more recently the many interactions and human relations which effected the author allowing him to come up with it. An honest author would simply sign "humanity".

Just a thought...

 

Man, that's brilliant. I guess I gotta agree there, there's no way I can argue that. Still though...I have issues when people try to compliment me on something I didn't and might never have come up with. But I still think you make an amazing and quite inspiring argument there...You taking any law classes?

 

You said so, that's the whole point of this.

 

Hahaha...oh jeez.

http://www.************/group.php?gid=4307029946

Check it, you may like it...or find it funny like me. Too bad they all don't post their usernames here as well.

 

Hey thats a cool site! Thanks for posting it

 

I just saw a great short about how this virtual life is killing the real face to face comunication all over the world. It started with a young kid, a 14 years old I think, waking up late to go to school thanks to the internet and his virtual friends. The kid rushes to the door and forgot his ipod and his cel phone, well, a lot of images of him going to school on the bus, then he saw a bunch of kids ´bout his age listening to music on their ipods and he sees the faces of everyone of them, all focused of their songs, their playlists, their inner world of entertainment, without even knowing were they were or the people that were right there beside them.

He began to walk on the street and sees another bunch of kids in front of a store, watching what was on the tvs, again, the kids were totally numb looking at something on the tv screen.

Then he got home at night and all his family was ready for supper, the important thing is that the apartment had an electric problem, no tv, and everyone began to talk about their day, and the kid is pretty aware of that real contact with people, not his tipical supper with everyone looking at the tv.

In the end he starts to think about what he was been doing all days, and he realize that everyday he wakes up to open the messenger and to see how many has contact him through the facebook.

His final line was " what do you think, is better to wake up by the sound of the alarm or by the first ray of sun that hits and warms your face?, I would like to keep my life real".

It was a great program, and really, we are getting away from the human contact. We are get used to this media crap that is making us numb and lonely.

 

Damn, that sounds pretty cool...What was the title? I would like to check that out sometime.