There are 845 million users on Facebook. I’m one of them, although for the past year I’ve come close to cancelling my account a dozen times. I suppose I stay on there because it’s the only way I ever hear from some of my relatives anymore. Although a repost of someone elses wall photo, or the latest update on whatever Facebook game is being played can hardly be counted as “hearing from someone”, but it does comfort me that at least they must still be alive.
I hate Facebook because it serves as a platform for people that are supposedly your friends to express opinions in a medium that by its very nature discourages any meaningful dialog or response.
Maybe I’m just old, but you can’t learn who people are by trading one liners on the internet, or posting 300 pictures of your infant a week, or by pressing that damned “Like” button that is nothing more than another way to add another nickel to Mark Zuckerman’s pocket.
I try very hard to keep my Facebook privacy settings at the maximum possible level. It’s hard to do this when they are a constantly moving target. I only allow people who are proven family or friends I’ve actually met in person be on my friends list. Even this isn’t working for me, since apparently half my family are babbling idiots when it comes to Facebook. They say things on Facebook they would never dare to say in person.
Anyway, this is a new blog and a new place. My old Internet Provider killed off my blog without notifying me by deciding to just discontinue the software I was using, so I just pulled up stakes and moved. It means starting over, so things look a little weird until I figure it all out.
1 comment