Here are my reasons for leaving the party all by myself. These will be in order of counting down to the most influential and important reason.
5. Facebook has gotten ridiculous with ads
Seriously, between the right quarter of my page covered in unnecessary and repetitive ad for items and services I don't need. I do not want to be an ultrasound tech nor have I ever looked into being one. I want to do that as much as I want to play Candy Crush Saga, which seems to be an ad CONSTANTLY on my screen. Do they honestly think I haven't seen it enough having been bombarded by all of these requests my friends send to me? Not only are they on the side of my screen, but they also are brought into my timeline feed in between friend posts. I hide a lot of them but there are always others. it is like the sand at the beach when you get home; just when you think you got it all out of your crevices, you feel more ten minutes later. Facebook ads are the sand in my crevices.
4. It has gotten dull and the grammar sucks. My grammar is not perfect by any means. My biggest issue is grown people speaking like a teenager in 2005. There is more than one person that, when they post, I literally do not know what they are saying. Each time I read it I wonder if I have actually had a stroke and my brain just is not functioning the way it should. After the fourth or fifth time reading and not getting it I finally give up and move on to literate people that have something to actually say. That in itself is getting tougher to come by though. Not every post needs to be a scream it from the top of the mountain so everyone can hear it thing but really, I, wait, NO ONE, cares about your mundane day-to-day tasks. People commonly say to "leave that for Twitter" but I honestly don't think they care over there either. There are those Facebookers that post the same things over and over. There is nothing more substantial in your like than being on another flight. You travel for your job. Woo freaking hoo. That is like me posting every time I work up a cost projection for my client moving a person to France - again. Would anyone care about that? Nope. That's why I don't do it. If that is the case and there is nothing else going on for you, I think you should get off Facebook and make new friends. Had triplets? Hell yeah, post that!
3. It shows us how our friends can be when they are uncensored. Facebook is many things to many people. Some of use use it as a way to stay in touch with others, some use it as their news source, some are just nosy / curious about everyone else, and there are those that use it as an outlet. We all have opinions, we all need to find a way to get those out. Some people keep them hidden. Until they get their hands on a keyboard and a Facebook account. It is these secret people that shock me. By secret, I am talking about those people that are one way in person and a completely different person on Facebook. They use it as their podium, their safety net to post what they want to say without fear of what others will think. It makes them strong. It sometimes makes them assholes too. Do we all have that friend we love to see in person but hate to read on Facebook? I sure do. I wish I have never befriended some of those people on Facebook because I sure like them better in person.
2. Even with all of the above complaints, it is still addictive. I admit, I like to be cynical and bitch about other people. It is fun and I am good at it. I'm not alone in this, right Alicia!?! *waiting for my high five that may never come*. So, yes, I find myself checking it all the time. On work breaks, off work breaks, at lunch, at home, before bed. All the time. Because - there is no reason. I hate how much time it takes away from other things like Larsipan and StumbleUpon.
1. It gets mixed up with real life.
One day a friend asked me if I had spoken to another of our friends recently. "Yes, of course, I spoke to her the other day" was my response. After this I realized, I really hadn't spoken to her...all we did was comment to each other on Facebook about her status. We had not had an actual conversation in weeks. I believe Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with far away friends or even to make new friends through others. However, it is also a way to avoid actually seeing people that live near you. It gives a false sense of closeness. We take for granted that we "talk" to these people every day or "see" what they are doing in their lives but we really are looking at it as an outsider; almost like a stalker. It seems to be hurting my friendships.
************Update: I am not, in case you have not noticed, leaving Facebook. Here is why:
It is not Facebook's fault that all of this bothers me. It is not Facebook's fault that some of my friends speak like a 14 year-old or that others lead extremely boring lives or even that I turned into a stalker that does not see my friends often enough. It is all my fault. Well, not my fault for the first two but my fault for 1) letting it bother me and 2) being friends with people I don't want to hear about. SO - I deleted those teenage-talking dweebs and the ones that are extremely boring. I also am going to make it a point to see my friends more in real life.
Having so many friends far away and meeting new people through amazing friends on Facebook are what keeps me here. So, I just need to change what I don't like and quit bitching about it. Nah, I will still bitch...I will just enjoy it more.
There are so many GOOD things about Facebook that got hidden by the bad. The bad is and always will be there but I need to focus on the other not-bad things. The great things people do post, the amazing things people have to say about each other, the fun events that I get invited to. It all needs to keep going and I want to be there for it. Facebook is teaching me to refocus my attention on the positive and reorganize my friends into real ones vs. fake Facebook friends. I don't have any of those any longer. My friend list consists of those people that I would have over to my house for dinner. This is something I just need to make happen MORE.
3. It shows us how our friends can be when they are uncensored. Facebook is many things to many people. Some of use use it as a way to stay in touch with others, some use it as their news source, some are just nosy / curious about everyone else, and there are those that use it as an outlet. We all have opinions, we all need to find a way to get those out. Some people keep them hidden. Until they get their hands on a keyboard and a Facebook account. It is these secret people that shock me. By secret, I am talking about those people that are one way in person and a completely different person on Facebook. They use it as their podium, their safety net to post what they want to say without fear of what others will think. It makes them strong. It sometimes makes them assholes too. Do we all have that friend we love to see in person but hate to read on Facebook? I sure do. I wish I have never befriended some of those people on Facebook because I sure like them better in person.
2. Even with all of the above complaints, it is still addictive. I admit, I like to be cynical and bitch about other people. It is fun and I am good at it. I'm not alone in this, right Alicia!?! *waiting for my high five that may never come*. So, yes, I find myself checking it all the time. On work breaks, off work breaks, at lunch, at home, before bed. All the time. Because - there is no reason. I hate how much time it takes away from other things like Larsipan and StumbleUpon.
1. It gets mixed up with real life.
One day a friend asked me if I had spoken to another of our friends recently. "Yes, of course, I spoke to her the other day" was my response. After this I realized, I really hadn't spoken to her...all we did was comment to each other on Facebook about her status. We had not had an actual conversation in weeks. I believe Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with far away friends or even to make new friends through others. However, it is also a way to avoid actually seeing people that live near you. It gives a false sense of closeness. We take for granted that we "talk" to these people every day or "see" what they are doing in their lives but we really are looking at it as an outsider; almost like a stalker. It seems to be hurting my friendships.
************Update: I am not, in case you have not noticed, leaving Facebook. Here is why:
It is not Facebook's fault that all of this bothers me. It is not Facebook's fault that some of my friends speak like a 14 year-old or that others lead extremely boring lives or even that I turned into a stalker that does not see my friends often enough. It is all my fault. Well, not my fault for the first two but my fault for 1) letting it bother me and 2) being friends with people I don't want to hear about. SO - I deleted those teenage-talking dweebs and the ones that are extremely boring. I also am going to make it a point to see my friends more in real life.
Having so many friends far away and meeting new people through amazing friends on Facebook are what keeps me here. So, I just need to change what I don't like and quit bitching about it. Nah, I will still bitch...I will just enjoy it more.
There are so many GOOD things about Facebook that got hidden by the bad. The bad is and always will be there but I need to focus on the other not-bad things. The great things people do post, the amazing things people have to say about each other, the fun events that I get invited to. It all needs to keep going and I want to be there for it. Facebook is teaching me to refocus my attention on the positive and reorganize my friends into real ones vs. fake Facebook friends. I don't have any of those any longer. My friend list consists of those people that I would have over to my house for dinner. This is something I just need to make happen MORE.
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