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| This is probably illegal. |
Why? It turns out it's hard to do other things while I'm hanging out in the virtual marketplace waiting for people to say things. And of course, people so rarely say things now, not when there are memes to share and articles of dubious fact content to argue over. And then there are the comments--sometimes I just can't stand seeing how rude strangers can be to people I care about. (Strangers to me, that is, not to them. But still!) It all came to a head for me during the Syrian refugee hand-wringing a few weeks back, when I finally couldn't take it any longer and I went on a deleting spree.
And Facebook is desperate to hang on to the time and attention we so willingly give it. The people behind the site like it being a news source (although I find it much too slow to be any use for news; that's what Twitter is for). They want us so badly to never leave the app that they're developing a browser. Why do you think every other website allows you to log in with Facebook? (I don't do that, either.) The more we rely on them, the harder it is for us to quit. A bit like an addiction.
The thing is, I do like being able to connect to so many people in one place. I like that I can post funny memes and giggle over it with friends across time and space, as it were. It's more convenient than email and faster than phoning all of my friends once a day.
It's what brings people to my blog (although not as much on days when I don't talk about Chadwick, it seems. Truly, the most interesting part of me is gone). And I am unwilling to completely walk away from all that, not while friends are still gathering and talking and having a laugh.
Still. If you've noticed my absence, that's why. The rudeness reminded me that I have other life goals, and the other life goals keep me from spending too much time there most days. I'm a bit afraid that if I let myself spend any more time there, I'll fall into a swirling vortex of rude, too. Perhaps I already have and my being gone is a relief to some. And I'm sure there are others who never noticed that I was gone at all. Such is the way of human interaction, especially on a site with a mysterious algorithm that means most of us are shouting into the void, anyway.
How do you feel about Facebook? Fun forum? House of horrors? Somewhere in between?
9 comments:
I think I can definitely empathise with being done with Facebook, but I fear my detachment from it is even further fetched. I have removed myself from Tumblr. And I restarted blogging, but not advertising it's existence (Opps, I guess I just did). I think I realised I need an outlet for writing, but not necessarily an audience. Sometimes, I'd like to speak and not listen to someone else's errant opinion. I will try to check your blog though without the promoting from Facebook, but it does help. Otherwise I miss it altogether. Hope you are well, and you are still interesting. Don't devalue yourself. We all just become so busy with the noise of meme's and articles, that we forget to see people.
I feel the same way. I want to disconnect, but then again, will miss those that genuinely use it to keep in touch, especially those family members I rarely get to see and dear friends that are so far away.
Su, you are an inspiration to me and many. Stay strong!
Love you,
Marty
I enjoy reading about what ever you write. And only knowing you through your blog, or minimal facebook interactions and the goofy things you post makes me wish we had the chance to be friends in real life. :)
Yes, the Syrian refugees, Black lives matter, and all the other social issues bring out the worst in people. And don't even get me started on the election.
I noticed when we moved to the land of sketchy internet that no one posted words anymore (except snarky comments about one another) only pictures, memes, videos, and articles. Those things take WAY longer to load with sketchy Internet. I miss the words only days. Everyone had to have so much more imagination back then. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with all the social media. If I quit, how would anyone know how much snow we got?
I struggle with FB too. I, like you, love the ability to connect with friends and family easily, however, I often find myself spending too much wasted time browsing on there. As a stay at home mom, it can give me the feel of interacting with others. I'm not sure that's a good thing. I have also taken it off my phone from time to time to help offer some distance. I don't think I could quit it all together, since many distant family members use it to keep up with is and my little.
I ripped the facebook band-aid off. Haven't regretted it. I get notified of your blogposts via G+, but I am odd that way.
I actually never signed up for Facebook. My family is on it so I knew I'd never get any peace if I signed up. Thankfully, none of them have mastered Twitter. I guess it's good to be able to connect with distant people, but I'm definitely on the "House of Horrors" side of things.
Wow, this is a popular topic.
I miss Facebook the way it was. Not many people post anything other than pics, memes, and links. I like to know how things are going. I do have enough people on there that I wouldn't be in touch with any other way. My one sister deleted hers. Not just deactivate. Total deletion.
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