Fakebook

[nekot]

I think I'm sick of Facebook.

I'm not sure what it is about FB, but I was thinking today that it is more like Fakebook? Or is it just me...that I don't feel I can be myself without someone trying to correct me when I post on FB? I get nervous and don't want to get into some long ass dialog...at least on FB.

I don't get why it bothers me there (on FB), but wouldn't necessarily bother me on a forum. Is it because I go by my real name on FB and for some reason I feel I can't be as transparent because I'm not a screen name? (Gawd, I hope not. Then it's me being fake. Yuck.)

I have become somewhat jaded in the past year or so. I don't like that about myself. Maybe I don't want people to know just how jaded I've become. I sure as hell don't want to post it there. (Something like: "I'm effed up and my heart has become somewhat hardened and I don't like that. Screw all of you!" )

Anyway....do others feel Facebook is fakebook? Or is it just me? Or am I making any sense at all?

Maybe I should come home to the Pages again.

(Hmmm...maybe I need bunches of emoticons on FB so I can communicate clearly. Haha.)

[preston]

Facebook is primarily a data collection site.

Mark Zuckerberg has been candidly honest about this, telling his users on numerous occasions that they have no expectation of privacy - either on or off the site.

Ever wonder how a website like Facebook can have a market value of $113 billion.
That's profits from your data he's selling to the highest bidder.

~

[nekot]

Yeah...I know that stuff about the FB machine. Hmmm...maybe that is part of what I don't like. It's a giant machine...kind of like the government...huge complex wheels pulling people hither and yon. That's not necessarily a bad thing, as long as people know what's going on. Well, it'd be not bad if the people have choices and options, cut choices and options become fewer as more cogs are built.

Anyhoo, I do not like Facebook as a regular online hang out. Though I can't seem to put my finger on exactly what it is that bothers me. I shall refrain from the FB cogs, checking in from time to time. Except for my pet sitting business...I'll still regularly post pet photos.

[bags123]

I use faceschmuck to check up on my kids. Other than that,...it seems a rather vain pursuit IMHO. It's almost like posters are trying to prove that they're as cool, or cooler than their friends. I'm amazed how how many pictures of themselves they'll post. I confess,...I've never been much of a camera buff. Prefering I guess,...to remember people, places, and things in my memory as opposed to on film,...or some internet site somewhere. Obviously,....I'm not the norm in that respect,.....but that's just how I roll.

[nekot]

After pondering around this morning...I think I think that maybe part of my problem with FB is "relationship overload."

I had a previous FB account from around 2008ish to 2010ish. I deleted it, mainly because I felt a responsibility to maintain these "friendships." I rejoined again in 2011(?) in part to be able to make a FB business page.

Anyhoo...I think that's part of my problem with the thing...which is my problem...this feeling of obligation to friends. I mean, if I was at a gathering face to face, there'd be noway to carry on relationships with 100 people simultaneously.

I kind of get that impression too...about cool or cooler. I don't feel I can be as authentic on FB as I am here. Why that is, I don't know.

Anyway, as of today, I plan to curb my FB viewing and reading. I end up depressed too often afterwards.

[heinzs]

A FB business page is very different from the social networking aspect of the site. I have my privacy settings set to "friends only". I'm not afraid to post anything I wish there, and any of my "friends" who don't like what I post are free to block me, as I am free to block them. I use the site to keep in touch with people I would otherwise have absolutely no contact with whatsoever. I have cousins in Germany I have "rediscovered" via FB. I also follow progressive political and social pages, so look forward to getting the various postings. I also keep in touch with a growing Poetry Pages group on the site, though recently the activity has become more "spiritual" than poetic. But that is in the nature of the beast.

I understand your reluctance to use FB and its various negative aspects. In my case, though, the positive aspects outweigh my misgivings. Also, I'm old enough so that I can just say "I don't give a damn!" I could not care less what other people think of me, and it's none of their business anyway.

Always glad to see you, Carol.

[Eternum 1]

I use FB to keep in touch with my children and grandchildren'; often using the Skype feature to talk to them face to face. It's handy for me because I can see when they are on line and page them to use the camera/intercom features. Saves me hundreds of dollars in long distance fees plus I can see the grandkids wearing the sports outfits/school uniforms that I sent them or in wifi zones, I can watch their weekend activities like hockey or a soccer game without actually being there.

As far as contacts with FB 'friends' goes; I'm not much for taking the initiative, as the fair sex seems to do. The ladies in the family and wives of my friends keep me posted on weddings, birthdays and other events. The guys only seem to post when they have a new truck or catch a bigger fish or razz me about the teams I bet on.

[MJPease]

Hello nekot, I think it's a great way for an older person like myself to stay in touch once he's no longer getting around as much as he once did. I still feel connected to the local music and literary scene in a meaningful way without even leaving the house. I've even caught some live acts at my Sister Dianes Bar Dianeagains via Youtube. I don't have anything bad to say about Facebook. It is what it is. Just remember: We relive our lives in the way in which we choose to reveal them. Some of us skip the crap and just reveal the best of times others focus on the worst of times and some are realists that tell it like it is. I've been told that I'm one of the most brutally honest of personal story tellers and that was by a therapist. They may be collecting information as to how I shop my credit history etc. I just hope that I'm protecting the most sensitive information with programs that I've purchased for that purpose. The risk I feel is worth what I get in return. Like I say it's my connection to a world that I would have lost completely do to my physical limitations. It's amazing to be able to communicate with Luciennes family in France at will on a daily basis, at our ages it's priceless. We've probably already made our last trip. We lost her Sister last year the Facebook years were wonderful for the two of them. For younger people I'm sure there is a totally different appeal and once they reach retirement age I can't imagine what they will have at hand in order to reel in the memories. Happy Holidays

[gordy]

i love facebook, there are relatives i would have probably never talked to in my lifetime in other stsates that i talk to every day now, to me that is amazing and awesome. just like anything there are unpleasant sides to it but for me personally the good outweighs the bad a lot! i have several friends on there that i have never met in person and i wouldnt be friends with otherwise. same as the poetry pages.....i dont really see much of a difference between the two other than the visual aspect.

[nekot]

Well dang...now I almost feel bad. (Just kidding! )

As the day went on and I continued to anal-eyes my FB predicament, I realized that instead of "relationship overload,' it's more like emotionally invested information overload. Same thing as information overload with the added emotional pull/feeling of obligation to relationships. That is one of the reasons I deleted my previous FB account. I wondered the other day if I have become "relationship lazy."

I have my personal FB page set on friends only and I haven't been searchable by my name until FB made the recent changes and removed that option. And I have managed to keep my business page separate from my personal page.

The other thing I realized is that (sadly or not), I care more than maybe I should about what certain others (like certain relatives) think about me. I need to ponder it more and see if I can pinpoint what it is that bothers me. (I probably won't bore or boar you with details as I continue my ponderments.) It may be that I have changed quite a bit through the years and I'm not always comfortable sharing those changes on FB, but yet I feel some sort of communal peer-type nudging that I *should* share them if I want to be genuine...or something. And with poly-ticks...half the time I'm not sure what I think as I read all the different sides...other than I think Ted Cruz is a nutcase. Just my opinion.

Another thing is that now I have a smart phone. So...it's always there silently awaiting for me to tap the app and lurk around. The only reason I bought a smart phone is that I need it for my business.

I reckon with this second time of engaging the FB, I've discovered that it's not my cup of regular tea. (A friend prodded me for months to rejoin and put my business page up there.) My problem/discomfort isn't FB, it's my relationship with FB.

I do like that I can keep up with my kids photos and stuff.
I like that I have reunited with certain people from high school and elsewhere, but I don't necessarily want to communicate with them on a regular basis. I'd rather do the phone call thing and (if geography allows), meet up for the occasional coffee.

Michael...Dianeagains. That's clever-funny!

Dennis...I didn't know that FB had a face to face option. That's good to know. Thankee.

BTW, thanks ya'll for the input! Hopefully I'll be around the Pages more now. I do miss this place when I don't check in. Maybe the tide is turning or something.

[LadySaturn]

I call it face booger.

[MJPease]

If you or anyone else here ever feels the need to bore or boar someone with details I'm available. For me personally my heart is and always will be here at the Pages. The way in which I get to Facebook is the rectangular box on the Pages site. Pages first Facebook second if there is still time. That doesn't always mean that I'll have something to post on the Pages. Sometimes it's just a quick look to see what kind of trouble I'm in with LS I'm slowly making the move to a smart phone. I just switched the TV's to Smart and now I'm thinking about a Samsung S-4 or the new I-Phone. I want to get acclimated to the TV's first. I'm going to use the phone as a TV/Lighting/HVAC/Security Remote and I think it will give me more time to stay connected with the Pages and Facebook especially while sitting in Drs. waiting rooms. Happy Holidays

[LadySaturn]

Aww, Mikey you can never truly get in trouble. You're one of the few Westie Boys I don't have to worry about. It usually the younger ones I have to chase down with a stick.

[nekot]

Thanks Mike.

Yes, the Pages has been probably the best online community where I feel I fit (as a misfit ).

LS....face bonger.... haha.

[nekot]

Today is Monday...just in case you didn't notice.

Only us human animals recognize what day of the week it is never notice what day it is.

Speaking of human animals, have ya'll heard the crickets chirp in slow motion? I'll start another thread with that.

Saturday, I deleted my personal page FB app off my dumbphone. That way I won't be as prone to check it out as often. I did keep my business page app so I can post pictures of doggies. If you haven't seen my business page here's a link. Like if you want to! *hint hint* http://tinyurl.com/po29sk8

Another thing in my ponderings with my FB problem....I think I'm the one feels like I am being, in a sense, fake. I don't like that. I guess I already said that above when I stated that I felt I couldn't be as genuine on FB. Point is...maybe that's why I feel it's fakebook.