'I've never joined Facebook because...'
10:39 UK time, Wednesday, 4 February 2009
It's the fifth birthday of the world's most popular social networking website, Facebook.
From its humble origins as "The Facebook", a website devised by a Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, it has gone on to claim 150 million registered users - outstripping its closest rival MySpace.
Yet as the site's membership grows, some have resolutely ground their heels in, refused to hitch their social life up to the Facebook bandwagon.
Until this morning, the BBC's Shelagh Fogarty, who co-presents Radio 5 Live's Breakfastprogramme, was one of these refuseniks. Then she capitulated...
"I'd always thought any random online connections (eg dating agencies) were at best ill advised, at worst foolish," Fogarty tells the Magazine. "Rightly or wrongly I lumped Facebook in the same category. I'll find out today whether I was right or not. I've already had a fair bit of unsolicited 'be my friend' requests. We shall see."
Have you held out against the Facebook phenomenon? If so, tell the Monitor using the comments button/form below by completing this sentence: "I've never joined Facebook because..."
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Why would I want any Tom, Dick or Harry to know where I am/what I'm doing/etc?
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I've never joined facebook because........
My real friends have my phone number, and I have theirs. People from my primary school who I wouldn't talk to in a bar or on the street are not my real friends, no matter how many times they poke me.
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I've never joined Facebook because I have no desire to be contacted by old acquaintances who suddenly, ten years on, want to be my friend. If we didn't like each other then, why are we going to like each other now? I'm already in contact with the people I wanted to remain in touch with.
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Oh, and I have enough procrastination activities in my life already.
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... I can't imagine why anyone wants to tell everyone they know about all their personal information, what they're thinking, where they're going, what they're doing. Worse than anything is the Single/relationship facility, which in the event of a relationship break-up immediately forces you into a position where you have to talk about something you probably really don't want to talk about - either that or you leave everyone misinformed that you're still in the relationship, and even worse your ex has probably used his/her Facebook to let the world know you aren't. What a mug's game.
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I have joined, but will soon leave if my "friends" can't do better than "Richard is eating his tea", "Joel is at work", "Kris has finished his tax return", etc.
Bored, bored, bored.
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Being paranoid I joined Facebook out of curiosity and gave entirely fictional personal details. If I was who I claimed to be I would still not want to contact the acquaintances recommended. It is worth knowing that you can tell huge lies and get away with it. Maybe your 'friends' are doing this.
If you tell the truth about yourself I would recommend giving away no more than you would be happy to see on the front page of a national newspaper.
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Can I just say Facebook doesn't actually force you to do any of the things listed above.
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I have never joined Facebook because most of the people on there who would know me either from school, college, uni or work wouldn't bother to contact me in the real world so why should it be different on the internet. Most of them I wouldn't pee on if they we're on fire. My brother just got a Facebook page and he's not that good with computers so it's become a bit of a novalty for him. I do use Myspace though as it is very good for band updates.
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I'm not a member of facebook or any other "networking" site because I don't see the point. As others have said, why would I want to talk to people who've not been in contact for 10 years, but now assume that because we're listed on a website, we should be friends? Besides, my real friends have my phone number and email.
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I've never joined Facebook because I know several people who have and they all compain about its addictive, sleep-robbing powers. They complain that they feel unloved if nobody visits them for a day or two.
I think there's probably nothing wrong with most new media concepts per se- as I recall the first printed books were condemned as the devil's work. It's what you use the media for that's important. The potential benefits of social networking are obvious - and in 10 years we'll probably all have to have one if you want a job or benefit. And other than the frivolous, that's a real concern - that choosing not to join will one day not be an option. Huxley's Brave New World another step closer. Especially the last couple of pages.
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I am obviously over the hill. I have no idea what the benefits of joining Facebook would be.
I am already in contact with everybody I want to be in contact with.
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I have friend all over the country, other friends working abroad and Facebook is such an easy way to keep updated as to how things are going with them and not have to worry about large phone/text bills! Not only that I can see pictures of what they have been upto, and nights outs and parties that I missed!
Oh, and my page can only be viewed by those I approve as real people I know. If you don't want to have someone who didn't like in school add you hit the "decline" button. Simple as deleting a phone number!
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Whilst at Uni a couple of years ago I refused to join Facebook, using the simple argument that before Facebook I had an infinite number of friends, joining would give me a finite number (114).
I did however join as it is a very useful way to stay in contact with people who live a distance away I am actually friends with. It knows none of my personal details, except email and the Uni I went to. I agree that on the whole it is a massive waste of time tho!!
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I never joined facebook because... It's a fad. Don't tell me it's a five year old fad because it hasn't been a fad all that time. And it is dying folks. Ever since the parents got on it's dying and will fade out as soon as the next big thing comes along to subvert it. Just like myspace, blogger, and live journals. I know they're still around, crosswords are still around, but none of these are the 'big thing' anymore.
I like thinking for myself and refuse to do anything just because everyone else is doing it. It has been pointed out to me that facebook would hardly work if everybody WASN'T on it but my point still stands.
In 2 years time when everyone is on the next thing and emails from facebook start being deleted without people looking at it I shall smile knowing I wasn't sucked in. And so can everyone on this thread so horay for us!
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I never wanted to join Facebook simply because I thought it was exactly like MySpace - you add people you know, in some cases you don't know, change your pictures, update your profile, basically let yourself be known to everybody.
Then I thought, meh, why not? I joined last June, and yes there are some old school friends that I never liked but it's simple - you control your privacy and who you add and not add as a friend. I agree with pike321 about the "finite number of friends" but that's just on the internet - in real life, you do have an infinite number of friends.
Facebook is what you make it :)
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I've never joined Facebook because...if I want people to know stuff about me, I'll tell them myself. Facebook is the daily equivalent of a round-robin letter. If a friend of mine has news they want me to know, I'd prefer they made the effort to tell me directly rather than expect me to read their page to find out their news. I'm not going to check my friends' pages just to read: "Eaten a pot noodle", "Taken the dog for a walk". If it's important enough for me to know, it should be important enough to tell me directly. As for long-lost friends, I've not changed my email address nor mobile since I first got them years ago. If they want to get in touch, they can use those, otherwise we're probably been out of touch so long it would be like chatting to a stranger.
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I've never joined facebook because, the people I like have my phone number & email address, and I'd rather look at photos with friends over a glass of wine.
I was actual friendships with people I like!
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I have an account at Facebook but never used it much. Somehow this craze for social networking didn't catch my fancy that much.
Regards,
[Unsuitable/Broken URL removed by Moderator]Anwar
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Hello, Butterfly 9706,
I'd like to take issue with your statement that facebook is what you make it. Without wishing to be a complete stone age relic, is it not reasonable to consider the long term implications of socially-universal web-based human relationships?
Is it possible that social networking web-sites will actually reverse your statment to "you are what facebook says you are"? Warnings have been issued that embarrasing info will be available for ever in caches (which you can't delete). Future employers, the government, the CRB, potential romantic partners: they will be able to see all the stuff you upload and may one day regret typing.
And isn't there an "avatar" effect? Where people describe what they would like to be, rather than what they really are?
And then you have to live up to that expectation.
On a society-wide point - tolerance is increased by rubbing shoulders with difference. If we only socialise with the like-minded - do we not risk creating fear and intolerance of difference?
You only have to review the discussion boards in the "Have your say" section to see the vitriol that passes as fair comment - because you don't have to face your adversary.
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I've been on Facebook for a couple of years now. Like some of the others on here I was a bit suspicious at first but, as pointed out above, you can entirely control who sees what.
I feel the need to respond to some of these points: okay, so I have people's phone numbers and email addresses, but Facebook lets you update people on the little things that are happening to you without actually bothering them with a phonecall etc. It's actually quite a useful tool.
Also, it is a very convenient way to share photos. Okay, once again these could be emailed or posted on another site, but Facebook gives you one location for everything.
As for old school friends etc getting in touch - what a miserable bunch there are on here! I've become reacquainted with a few folk through Facebook who I had lost contact with. Okay, so we were never best friends in the whole wide world, but it's nice to see how they have turned out. I've even met up with a few of them and it's been fun catching up.
As for the "fad" comment - at what point does it stop being a fad? If there is a similar article in 5 years and it's just as popular will that be enough to convince you that it's not just a fad? Of course it will change over time (it already has gone through a number of major changes in 5 years) but why just discount it because it's popular?
Finally though I also have to agree with the relationship status thing - it's a bit weird when you see "so-and-so is no longer married"...
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You can pick and choose how much you involve yourself in the social networking side of it.
It mostly smacks of fear and loathing on this board regarding privacy, old acquaintances etc.
For me, where facebook REALLY makes itself indispensible is as an casual diary management system.
Never before have I had so much information about social engagements, plays, parties, learning activities, concerts, etc that my friends are going to, right down to the time, location and who else is going.
OK, I may not want to go to 3/4 of the stuff I'm invited to, but to have a list of potential events that I am going to for the next three months is just GREAT. From the other side, the ease with which I can organise something myself and invite everyone I care to without so much as a postage stamp or text excite me so much I think I just wet myself.
Also, I cannot get enough of people's photos. For me, being able to share my photos of evenings out is invaluble.
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I've never joined facebook because....
I have no friends
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I've never joined facebook because...
I'm far too busy blogging.
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Regards the lack of privacy on the relationship status, you can turn that off too.
I discovered to my dismay that if you remove your status entirely it tells the world that you are 'no longer listed as single/in a relationship' and you get pages of queries.
At which point I went into privacy settings and discovered you can turn off relationship status in your news feed.
Hurrah!
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I've never joined Facebook because why would I let myself be contacted by people who made my life miserable for years? I don't talk to people I went to school with for a reason...
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After about a year of refusing to join Facebook, I too joined the masses. However it wasn't all I had been promised.
Yes, I can keep in contact with my friends... but I can do that by texting, emailling, phoning or (Heaven forbid!) actually going and visiting them!
I have also had loads of people asking to be my friends from school or other places, but most of them have been ignored... I figure there was a reason I 'Lost contact' with these friends in the first place!
The few friends that I contact on facebook are purely for sharing photos of important occasions or playing online games. Other than that, my profile does not permit anyone outside my group of friends to look at my information.
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I've never joined facebook because I share a computer with my fiancee, and logging in and out of each other's accounts all the time would be a big hassle, and could lead to us missing messages or invitations. Instead we share an account - but it's in her name.
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what jonny pixels said is actually correct....
...you don't have to reveal any more than you want to or do anything you don't want to or be friends with anyone you don't want to
don't you think it's a bit pointless getting worked up about this? you could do with remembering that - speaking glass half full here - you can actually get in touch with old friends, and it doesn't mean that you only see your mates online
i don't see why it's worth getting worked up about - it's only facebook!
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I've never joined Facebook because..........
the rozzers might finally catch me!!
Love, Lord Lucan.
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I joined Facebook, but the only thing about it that really interests me is Faber and Faber's page 'I wouldn't say no to a free book from Faber' - they give away a free book every month.
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I do take the point (though, not having Facebook, I hadn't actually known before) that information such as relationship status is optional, and of course it's up to the user whether you tell people what you've had for tea or upload pictures of the spot on your nose or whatever, and you control who gets to see it. It's just that the discussion point was 'I've never joined Facebook because ... ' and my answer still stands: I don't really understand the impulse to give personal information out at all, except one-to-one and face-to-face (and that not very often). Fair play to those who do, though.
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It is neither safe nor secure. It's all very well talking about how you can restrict who can see your details, but those controls can be circumvented by someone with reasonable hacking skills. On-line the question is not whether you are paranoid, it's whether you're paranoid enough.
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I've never joined Farcebook because my real friends already know how to contact me, and I know how to contact them.
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@ 33
Well I don't think it's quite as easy as you make out, but someone with reasonable housebreaking skills could break in and steal your address books, mobile phones, bank statements etc. Any number of people in the postal service could team open you important letters and steal your details without you knowing. If you're going to be paranoid, you might as well go all the way.
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What is Facebook?
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I tried,
seemed too much like hard work.
Went to Pub instead to talk to people :)
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The more we are willing to be publicly exposed, the more governments will assert the right to pry and spy. Jacqui Smith unrolled proposals for doing that not long ago. Keep your eye on that one.
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@You_know_its_true,
I can't believe that someone can state things so confidently that they clearly know nothing about. Cache can be cleared but has nothing to do with what you're talking about. A cache is a short term memory which the computer will use to store information whilst it's still using it. Imagine it like a notepad where you rip out the pages when you've finished with them.
Also, if Facebook starts sharing the information it stores (which you have trusted to it in confidence and told it that you won't let them share it) then they are breaking the law. Data protection stops them from giving to just about anyone apart from the people who probably know everything about us anyway.
The next part you go on to talk about the avatar effect completely ratifying what butterfly has said. facebook is what you make it. If you make a mask out of facebook to cover your true identity then so be it.
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FaceBook is yet another indication of just how self-obsessed and self-absorbed we have all become. It's nothing more than the online equivalent of jumping up and down shouting "ME, ME, ME, look at ME".
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Hello, Mad_Caeser,
Google "facebook caches risk". You get more than 10 pages of results. You're not arguiong with me...........
Cheers,
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I have never joined Facebook because it is for losers.
I have a life with real friends....
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I work 'online' all day, the last thing I want to do is log in from home... plus...check this out- says it all for me
http://www.93xrt.com/pages/1522317.php
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I don't want hundreds of idiots knowing about me
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What a bunch of curmudgeonly old windbags! 90% of the complaints apart from being inane drivel arew wholly innacurate. You can set your account to private - ignore anyone you don't wish to be in contact with and if your friends updates are as interesting as 'I am eating my tea' then that's because your friends are boring not facebook!
I get a great giggle, some brilliant tips and links from friends all over the world on a daily basis. It's brilliant to keep in touch - at the end connecting with other humans and other sentient beings on the planet is the most important thing, maybe only worthwhile thing doing in life. This facilitates that! Brilliant!
I love the fact that there are people you are distanced from because of the humdrum realities of life that you can keep up to date with in as personal a way as is possible without seeing them all the time - indeed I've found there are people who I am closer with now in real life, arranging proper meet ups etc because you can find yourself rediscovering old shared passions, senses of humour and things in common. Plus there is nothing like a photo to make you remember how much you miss someone.
I can totally understand cynicism about modern life and it's various technological trappings but I think you guys are picking the wrong target here - life is short - so short - surely anything that can contribute towards facilitating more of the good bits - communicating, laughing and sharing has got to be a good thing!
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I have never joined facebook because I have better things to do with my lunch hour, like meet my mates for lunch.
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Once you have posted anything to any internet site it is going to haunt you for evermore.
As people have pointed out, how much do you trust the security of Facebook (or the others).
Even if you subsequently edit the web page
See The Internet Archive
http://www.archive.org
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What is the fascination with being able to contact evryone at any time. Isn't this what a phone and the internet are for without adding another method? The idea of someone being able to access details about you or see who your potential friends are is actually quite dangerous and exposes people to allsorts of dangers!
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I prefer to meet my mates in the pub, and will continue to do so until they're all closed by the Health Fascists and the supermarkets.
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I've never joined facebook because..... I'm too obnoxious to have friends.
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Facebook isn't some kind of religion. You can have one but that doesn't mean you have to use it constantly. It's nothing to obsess over, it's just something you use to keep up to date with stuff you might need. For example, I can increase the crowds we receive at the gigs we set up by advertising it on a group section on Facebook.
Quite a lot of people don't seem to understand that if you have a Facebook, that doesn't mean that you must constantly be on it. This actually applies to both sides of the debate, some people clearly overobsess over something that really should only be used to check up on what everyone's doing and events that may be soon occuring.
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I am a facebook user and though i agree with many of the things people have said here it does have its benefits. I have found people on there who i had lost contact with over the years and have re-ignited friendships as a result. I'm a mature student and i find it has helped to find common ground with students a lot younger than me thus not me making me feel so old and the university has various groups and things on there which help with our work.
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Why am I not on Facebook? Because email and telephones work just fine for keeping in touch with people - and so does visiting them! I don't care about people I've lost touch with - they are in my past for a reason.
Although I'll admit I set up a page so that the emails I was being bombarded with would stop (I didn't write down the password and have never logged in). Why do people assume that just because they use a website, everyone they know should be told to join it? No need to send an email via a third party to keep in touch when you already have the means to do so!
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I've never joined Facebook because.........
I have a life..........a poor one perhaps - but mine own.
"Johnhucky" is thinking along the right lines.
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I've never joined Facebook because
it's more fun to go out and actually talk to your friends rather than watch what they are doing on a website.
Why waste hours looking at what they are doing instead of going out and actually talking to them.
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I've never joined Facebook because...
my age and IQ score are both over 25
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I've never joined facebook because I've never really felt the need.
The story about a student starting it from his dorm room gives facebook a non-threatening, non-corporate air that I'm sure they love, but before signing up, everyone should read the guardian article about Facebook's true origins - an ideologically-driven, right-wing venture fund originally set up by the CIA:
guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/14/facebook
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I already have all my friends contact details and can contact them in various different ways. why would I need yet another way to contact them.
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I have never joined facebook as all it seems to be is an over-rated popularity contest. No thanks.
My friends know who they are and I don't feel the need to share my friends names with the world.
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I haven't been on Facebook for several weeks because it doesn't seem to work any more. Isn't that quite relevant to any discussions of the site?
Or is it just me?
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I've never joined Facebook because..
The only time I would have to use it would be lunchtime, and my employer's system blocks it off. However, I gather a lot of public orgs are beginning to use it to engage with stakeholders, so maybe the times are (as always) a-changing.
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I've never joined Facebook because...
I've never used a computer.
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I'm not on Facebook but then I am a misanthropic git.
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I've never joined Facebook because...
I actually have a life.
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I'm on Facebook, but I don't really use it at all.
Thus, I've never REALLY joined Facebook because...
* I still have the capacity to talk to people in person;
* Because most people on Facebook are about as interesting as fizzy water; and,
* There's some right nasty people on there! Homophobes, fascists, sexists... you name 'em.
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I have never joined facebook to annoy people who think it's the dogs b******s!
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"I've never joined Facebook because... I have a life!"
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I've lied about being on facebook .....
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Call me an old fogey (yeah, I heard you), but I cannot understand what's so great about "social networking sites".
If I want to communicate with friends, I'll call or write them an email -- probably a lot more personal than one message for everyone, however "close" they may be.
Besides, with privacy and identity theft still an issue, I wouldn't want to put much about myself, other than the professional background I have on my own website, in a public place. To suggest, as some do, that "everyone will be doing it" within the next few years is nonsense.
When those whose identity has been compromised are regretting their rashness, us stick-in-the-muds will be sitting back and rejoicing that we, by comparison, played our cards close to our chests.
Besides, I'd imagine most of my friends feel similarly about FaceBook, et al, and so I wouldn't be able to interact with them with them there, anyway!
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I've never joined facebook because my face is too scary. Instead I've joined arsebook, a much better site.
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I have no real idea what it is or how it works. I am interested in other things that fill my time and emotional needs.
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..because i don't run with the herd.
never seen Star Wars
never read a Harry Potter
never used Facebook.
never missed any of it.
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... I have a life.
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@56
"I've never joined Facebook because...
my age and IQ score are both over 25"
and
64
"I've never joined Facebook because...
I actually have a life."
Well I'm 27, have a degree in engineering, so I'm not exactly thick. I work, all my friends work, I and all my friends have lives. Those things mean that our free times don't often coincide neatly so that we can all meet up. Maybe you are lucky that your friends are always free anytime you want to see them but mine aren't.
However I can use Facebook to arrange meetings and events when people are free, and then use it again to share the photos with them.
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I've never joined Facebook because I spend 8 hours a day on the PC when I'm at work.
Going home to spend another 6-7 hours on the PC, telling folks about my 8 hours on the PC at work, is just too mind-numbing for words.
I'm just too busy having a REAL life instead of a virtual one.
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...I have nothing to be proud of.
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my fellow co-workers use it to throw sheep at each other...
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as has been said before these sites are just a fad, they serve no purpose at all except to fill the spam folder in our email boxes
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For the same reason I got rid of the telly - it's where all your spare time goes to die.
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I'm certainly not bothering with FaceBook. I have actually tried a "networking" site for my profession, thinking it might be useful in securing jobs (I am a freelance).
So far it hasn't done me a blind bit of good, and I regret the time I wasted on inputting all my details.
About all I get from that particular website is stuff from latter-day students at my former university -- who of course I have never even heard of, let alone met. Experience shows that if I bothered to answer, at most I'd probably exchange about two emails before it tailed off. What's the point??
And if a webite with a motive fails to live up to its promise, why would Facebook, or any other "social networking" site, deliver anything more than just another way of wasting time -- as some of the comments here indicate?
So, I've "got a life" -- and I don't need to share it with all and sundry. For those that I care about, who are far away, there's email, phone, and Skype+webcam. And I contact them when I have something to say. They don't have to keep checking a FaceBook page to see what corner of the world I'm currently working in.
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I agree with comment 72 by super_critical who doesn't run with the herd.
I think I'll follow him and and not run with the herd either.
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I am a homicidal loner who would just be upset with people contacting me.
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I agree with the commenter at #51.
I think those who don't use facebook aren't "missing out" on much unless you somehow think obsessive use of a website (which many Fb users engage in) is a really worthwhile pursuit.
That said, I do have an account. There are a lot of folks who have said they have their friends' numbers and emails, and don't need it. Now that I've graduated from university, I find it really helpful for keeping in touch with all my friends, who are spread out all over the US, and several foreign countries. Our university email addresses are going to expire, but I can look up their new emails on Fb or send them a message there. So, it's not the be-all end-all, but it can be helpful in staying in touch.
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dribbles_ #45
Can I be your friend :)
That comment about sums it up completely !
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I have a real life.
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I have joined facebook, but never use it, because I actually meet people in real life! The downside is now I'm on facebook, all my friends think they needn't call or speak to me, and assume that if they invite me to something on facebook, I'll know all about it...
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MI5 should do their own donkey work. Plenty of places to hide in my garden and I promise not to shoot. Much.
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I've never joined facebook because of the pathetic bunch of social inadequates who take it so *seriously*...
"I've got 500 friends!" No, no you haven't, 499 of them wouldn't notice if you died and stopped posting updates tomorrow, and the other one's your mum - and you probably still live with her, don't you?
I'm sure there are some intelligent and worthwhile people who use the site, but as with so many other things, they're not the ones who get evangelical about it.
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The idea that joining Facebook precludes meeting people "in real life" is rather odd. It isn't some roleplay game like Second Life. It's a handy way of organising your social calendar, keeping up with events that are going on, and sharing photographs with friends.
I meet people "in real life" more than ever before because Facebook makes it easy to keep in touch, and it's nice to be able to share photos afterwards without filling inboxes with huge email attachments.
If your friends leave boring messages it's because they're boring people. Luckily my friends' updates always manage to raise a smile on even the drabist of Monday mornings. I think some people are just being curmudgeonly for the sake of it. Just set your profile to private and only accept friend requests from people you actually like!
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I joined Facebook because I went through seven schools in several countries, two colleges and four jobs in different towns. All before this internet thingy turned up, it has been fun tracking down and 'meeting' people from those times and even seeing some of them again.
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The comments about identity theft crack me up. Last time I checked, the local phone book had thousands and thousands of names, addresses and phone numbers.
I hope that none of you are listed!
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I was only vaguely aware of Facebook until I met my current partner (who is 50, so hardly a teenage nerd). After months of his nagging, I finally gave in and signed up in January. I have been very selective about who to allow as 'friends' (mostly family so far) and you can easily set your account so that only your friends can see your information and photos. Indeed, you don't have to give much information anyway.
Many of my family and friends are not local, so it's nice to see what they are up to. Other than that, it's actually quite dull and I'm not sure what all the fuss is about.
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Comment 89 I completely agree!
As for all of the pompous one line answers of 'I have a life'.... please! There is no argument in there for starter's it has about as much substance as saying nanananana!
Facebook is a medium for contact not a single avenue. All the many different types of people I know who use it are about as far from the holed up in a dark room in front of a computer stereotype as you could possibly find.
There will always be people who like to feel superior and that somehow by being above the latest thing this makes them cooler, more aloof. Fair play we'll leave you to it and you can leave us to enjoying this wonderfully modern tool for communicating, laughing, sharing and having fun with our friends and family =)
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I have a Facebook account but I usually only log on when one of my friends discovers me and wants to be my friend. I ignore pretty much anything else, don't update moods or what I'm doing. No point in giving them more than necessary.
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I've never joined Facebook because....
... I don't have any Uni ex's I'd like to hook up with for a dirty weekend 'business trip' 15 years on.
.... that's what it's for, right?
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I would not join Facebook because everything that is posted on a Facebook site becomes the property of Facebook forever, including all photos and videos. It can be sold, published, transferred or modified in any way Facebook chooses. You cannot delete anything from a Facebook account. It is impossible to cancel a Facebook account, it can only be deactivated. Even when you are no longer an active member, everything you posted is still archived and owned by Facebook forever.
In the US Facebook sells its aggregated data, sometimes even to private investigator firms or local and state governments, to trace the whereabouts of or gather data on people for a number of reasons. Data mining software companies design programmes to mine Facebook's data for the individual requirements of their clients.
Individual facebook users have no knowledge of or access to the ways their data have been mined or sold.
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Hi, Spinkert,
I for one am not in the phone book. I have had my identity stolen from me and a painful process it was to restore everything. It was all done through my pc.
Once bitten twice shy....
You have no idea how much money and inconvenience identity theft causes.
I am extremely paranoid now; which, when I think about it, makes the non-paranoid like you much more likely to be attacked. I urge you to change your mind-set.
Cheers,
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I joined Facebook because..... I have a busy life and more creative things to do with my time than spend endless hours chatting to friends on the phone or typing endless emails!
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"Danger! Danger Will Robinson!" The reason I don't have a 'presence' on the web via either a website or a social site is the fact that I wouldn't control who could and could not access the information. Too much information is often a bad thing.
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Most comments on here amount to nothing more than "bah humbug" and I'd wager most have never used Facebook, they just don't like anything popular.
If you don't want to accept friend requests from long gone classmates you simply ignore them, if you don't want to advertise your relationship status you opt not to, if you get annoyed with someone's tedious updates you opt to not hear about them, if you don't want your email inbox being taken over you simply opt not to receive emails etc etc You have control over how Facebook works for you, you're not entirely at it's mercy.
What it does do is allow you to share photos of holidays with those who came with you, keep in touch with friends around the globe in an informal manner, make new friends with people who have similar interests, keep informed about local gigs etc. Whenever away travelling for extended periods it is a very handy one stop shop for sharing your experiences with those at home.
It hasn't replaced my "real life" but it's a useful, harmless enhancement. Some people are so bitter and boring and can't stand to see others enjoying themselves, and I suspect they don't have the requisite social circle in order for Facebook to be of any use to them....
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How can you all be on here saying you are not happy to potential share anything with people you dont know when you ARE all sahring opinions with people you dont know...hypocrits
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'..because i don't run with the herd'
'..because I have a life'
'..because I don't want hundreds of idiots knowing about me'
'..because it is for losers'
blah blah blah blah
If you are like a lot of people on this planet, you might find yourself geographically disconnected from a lot of friends, family, and other people you know. Whilst I do have a life where I am, facebook has made it much easier to keep in touch with friends who are scattered around the country and around the world, and who I otherwise might well have lost touch with. It also put me in touch with someone I lived with 10 years ago in a different city, and through facebook found out was living just down the road - now we play music together regularly! It's great for organising nights out, birthdays, gigs, any event you can think of. And good for bringing together people with common interests, and helping to spread ideas and information. It's a prime example of how the internet can connect us with people we want to be connected with, regardless of where we are. No-one's saying anyone has to join facebook or any other network, but to all those people who pretend they are somehow better than people who are on it... get a life!
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I wouldn't join Facebook as the people I want to know again aren't on Facebook
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I'm sure it's a way of checking up on individuals and prying into their lives - which is rather intrusive. Some users may not realise how many people can read/access their profiles.
But saying that, just think how much information may be 'stored' about peoples daily lives (or 'no life' if you look at it in a different light) - it may make interesting reading in years to come if it ever gets released (for example the Census).
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I don't like Facebook as I don't like everyone being able to see who's on my friends list. The same goes for sites that let people see my web bookmarks. I use my web browser to bookmark sites I'm interested in, including acquaintances' personal pages, and if I want to tell people about myself, I put the information on my website, where I have complete control over what information is displayed. With Facebook, even if you think you have the privacy settings set appropriately, who knows when they'll change the way they work, and suddenly make a whole load of new information about you publicly accessible?
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I haven't joined Facebook because I have beer.
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oh dear so many unsociable people on here !!
scare stories about privacy?? its down to the user on what content is available...there is an option for configuring privacy settings so I cant understand some of these comments about privacy...whats the point of a social network site if no one can see you!!
Facebook is a great way of keeping in touch, if some people dont want to be on it fine...who cares 150 million other people are seeing the benefits of it
It helps families stay in touch who are miles apart
It helps some people cope with issues in their lives by sharing their concerns with others
Unites people who have common interests
People who moan about it are just grumpy or unsociable ! Facebook is not for people like this so its better off without them :-0
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@101 - Touché!
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I would rather stick pins in my eyes!
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I never joined facebook because having joined Friends Reunited under a pseudonym I realised didn't have the energy to invent a sustainable identity for facebook.
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The bitterness, paranoia and "holier than thou" attitude on this page amazes me.
It is a phenomenal tool for social activity, you can edit it to exactly how you want it and it's perfect for staying in touch with friends who are abroad.
If you don't understand it or how to use it, don't give the attitude "I have a life" or "I'd rather stick pins in my eyes" - what a ridiculous attitude.
These are probably the same people who complained about Jon Ross without even hearing the program - get off your high horse and accept the fact that 150 million people can't be that wrong!
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I've never joined it because, in the early days, there were questions about the privacy you have. Yes, you can change the settings but, before you change them, Google's already cached the personal details you wanted kept secret and the whole world could find you.
Furthermore, there are articles like: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7376738.stm
and
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7428833.stm
It's made me cautious with the sites I am already a member of but I'm not going to sign up with one that has known insecurities!
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and number 96 - absolute rubbish.
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well guys, everything you have said here is all that the users do...
Face book is justa a platform. it depends on you how u can utilize (or misutilize) it.
so, if this is your frustration against your long lost kinder-garten friends then, why slam against facebook.
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Absolutely ridiculous to whine about, "Oh if I did not like those people when at school, why would I like them now" DON'T add them if you don't want to, no one is forcing you to do anything. For me I think it is great, I had lots of friends in the Army, when we leave and get spread all over the place, it’s hard to keep in touch, on face book it’s easy to get in touch, I am very glad to be in touch with people who I shared a trench, tent and back of an armoured personnel carrier we were close then, but lost touch after leaving. I think the people who are whining about not joining because of privacy issues, fine DON'T join, who cares if you do or not.
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Johnny @35 - the difference between the real world and on-line is that it's a lot easier to cover your tracks on-line, and you're much more likely to get caught breaking into someone's house. Add to that the fact that an address book, mobile 'phone, etc, all provide a physical trail, that you just don't have on-line. Part of the problem is that it's astoundingly easy to get people's personal information from sites such as Facebook, because people are basically lazy and forgetful and assume it won't ever happen to them. That's what hackers rely on, just as con-artists rely on human greed.
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I don't understand why non Facebook users are so uptight about it. Why not let people who use and enjoy the site just get on with it?
People keep saying 'if I wanted to be in touch with someone from ten years ago I would be...' Not necessarily. This is a new technology and a new way of keeping in touch with friends old and new. There are no rules to say you HAVE to get in touch with people from the past.
Get over it!
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I never joined Facebook because I'm much happier leaving anonymous posts on obscure BBC website articles.
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I've never joined facebook because I have a FACE OF MY OWN... besides, I think that too much social activity can devalue the real few relationships that matter... but that's only my opinion and I don't pretend converting anyone.
I can see that a great deal of people gets hooked with facebook because it allows you to satisfy the need for gossip and, why not, bashing other people's lives.
I wouldn't be surprised to find that virtual gossip produces a noticeable amount of dopamine in the subjects' brains.
Of course, Freedom to choose is far more important than any of those judgments!!
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I love Facebook.
I love knowing what people are up to, seeing the photos they choose to share, keeping in touch in the most informal way possible and having a bit of fun with the computer instead of only using it for work.
To think I only joined because it was a Magazine fad at the time...
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One of my worst evenings ever was spent at a colleagues house looking at his latest holiday pics. Now Facebook offers you the opportunity to look at pics of colleagues, friends, family, their freinds and family and anybody else............Why???
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It blows and it is only used to waste time. It's also a bit creepy. I like myspace much better.
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Because I'm busy enjoying my life. People change the world by what they actually do, not by what they make up to look popular.
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..because between a landline, mobile, email and CCTV I think I am TOO easy to track down.
I lived without a mobile for about 2 years some while back then caved in. I won't put myself under pressure to join Facebook.
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Says #101: "How can you all be saying you are not happy to share anything with people you don't know when you ARE all sharing opinions with people you don't know? Hypocrits."
Hmm, you forget, the difference is, here, with a pen name, and no photo, nobody (apart from the BBC) knows WHO we are.
Anyway, as far as I am concerned, people can do what they like -- join FaceBook or others of its ilk, or use the slightly more traditional methods of communication.
Given all the information I have seen about such sites though, I personally would ALWAYS have serious concerns about the ultimate lack of privacy, and the total lack of real CONTROL of your personal information.
Once it leaves you, you never know where it may end up, or how long it may be kept. You can pooh-pooh such concerns all you want -- but you are the ones taking the risk. Not me.
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@ 116
"Part of the problem is that it's astoundingly easy to get people's personal information from sites such as Facebook, because people are basically lazy and forgetful and assume it won't ever happen to them. That's what hackers rely on, just as con-artists rely on human greed."
That's not an issue with Facebook then is it.
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I didn't join because I don't like socialising - can't be bothered with the hassle of thinking of something interesting to say. I don't understand what about the minutia of other people's live can fascinates anyone. It's enough for me to be able to view photos etc of groups I've been invited to.
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When I was "young and foolish" (certainly not aware of how much time I could end up wasting, for no useful effect) I was "on" an early forerunner of social networking sites, SMS.AC -- which seemed to be basically a site for people who didn't know each other, and almost certainly would never meet, anyway.
With loads of photos of the opposite sex from around the world, the prospect was titilating. However, within a very short time I became disillusioned -- it was clearly a pointless waste of time: it didn't lead anywhere. You'd make contact with someone, and that was it: you'd made contact. That was all.
And so, when I saw listings for some of the more attractive members claiming to have over six THOUSAND "friends", I realised it was all essentially meaningless.
Nobody in their right mind in the real world would ever claim to have -- or even want -- 6,000 friends.
It reminds one of that old hippie joke: He says, "I love you".
"Really?!" she gushes, expectantly.
"Sure," he replies. "-- I love everyone."
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I am teaching a class tonight where we will analyze the worth of Facebook and myspace, so thanks for all of these interesting viewpoints.
I like facebook because I like to form a little enclave of some of the people who I liked a lot but didn't devote a lot of time to while I was busy sorting out who I was and what I wanted from life. I never did a great job of staying in contact with people I liked, so it has been wonderful for me.
Some people talked about how boring everyone is (i.e. Joe is eating dinner, Sarah is clipping her toenails), but I think most people live pretty uneventful lives and the point is not to find excitement but to value the intimacy with another person.
My husband, on the other hand, stayed in touch with practically everyone who he has ever liked or valued, so facebook has no relevance for him.
Ultimately, online social networking is here to stay but no one should feel forced to take part.
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I bet The Borg Collective started off as a networking website.........
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for the same reason I've never watched Big Brother, I'm a Celebrity, any other "reality" TV show or joined Friends Reunited, Bebo etc......................................
I have a life.
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I'm fed up with people sounding so condescending when they say they would rather go out and "see their friends" than talk to them online.
You don't realise how lucky you are to have all your friends live within a hour of your house.
I'm studying in California and have been for 2 years now. I'd love to be able see all my friends but they are 5000 miles away. It can feel very lonely. Facebook is the next best way to keep in touch.
I can't even phone people much because of the time difference and cost.
Even if I was in the UK, many of my best friends from university are now spread all over the UK, Europe and the world - travelling or working.
When people move about, it can be hard to keep everyone's phone numbers and email addresses up to date. Having one central place to contact everyone from in invaluable.
On facebook I can easily let everyone know when I'm visiting so we can all meet up. Once I move back to the UK, I'll be doing the same with the friends I've made here in the US.
So stop implying that we're loosing something by having friendships online.
I've gained the ability to do what I need to do anywhere in the world and still feel close and connected to my friends who are doing the same.
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I have not joined Facebook because if I did my children tell me they would have to move to an alternative universe.........
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I have not joined facebook, or myspace, or any other naff 'social networking' site because......
I have a life
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guys get a life seriously, its just some fun interaction with friends or potentials. its not a serious matter so dont turn it into one because that shows that you dont have a life
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Actually I have joined facebook - to stay in contact with all my friends from the US, Aus, Europe. I generally just look at my home page and it tells me what people are up to. Incidently you do get to see what other people say on facebook even if you are not their friends because everything to do with your friends comes up on the home page. So be wise in what you say...
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Wow.....I've read quite a few of these comments - so I'll put in my two penn'orth as well...
Firstly, I have a life. Secondly, both my age and IQ are quite satisfactory, thank you.
However, I live abroad and find that Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with my global friends - I'd love to be able to visit them all in person, but it's just not possible. I can put as much or as little information as I see fit on my profile page and I've managed to find great people that I lost contact with years ago. In fact, I actually know all my Facebook friends and even like them!
P.S.: I laughed out loud at the comment about Lord Lucan! Good call : )
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I've never joined Facebook because it lists your contacts as 'friends'. I honestly believe it is impossible to have 1200 'friends'. They are at best "acquaintances". Some are complete strangers. Facebook does not have those two categories which describe relationships as they really are. To label every Tom, Dick and Harry as friends is superficial and silly.
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I have used facebook for some time now. I find it useful for catching up with old school friends etc but this does not stop me actually going out and socialising too. I do not see why it has to be one or the other. They offer completely different things. I agree with sheffieldwednesday92, its just a bit of fun. The people who post what they've had for tea are the boring ones.
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All good and well saying that facebook allows to edit privacy settings, but what about folk taking photos/videos and putting them on facebook without YOUR permission? A non user of facebook can't ask to remove unwanted data.
There is a reason why there are copyright/security laws so folk can't randomly take photos/videos etc.
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I've never used Facebook because I do not understand or trust the IT behind it enough, and more especially the other users in these 3 categories: 1 - unreliable neighbour/friend, 2 - unpleasant crook, and 3, unscrupulous politician, police, civil service bureaucrat etc.
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I never leave my small village because...
I know all the people I need to...
I don't trust strangers...
There are bad people out there who ay and do bad things...
I don't like buses or other transport technology...
I think that no settlement should be larger than 10,000 souls and that you only ever need to have 24 friends...
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Most of the people above have no clue and are simply 'having a go' because they don't really understand it.
YOU choose how much information you give out. It isn't required that you must list everything about you. In addition, with the privacy settings YOU choose who views your profile. Most people have it set for 'friends only' and since YOU decide who should be a friend then theres only a limited number of people who can see your details.
Personally, I don't like any social networking sites but as people have said, they are good for different things. Myspace is excellent for checking out new bands or just re-visiting old ones. Facebook is good as a picture gallery if you are on your travels.
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I design social networking software and let me tell you, as an industry, its ridiculously under-regulated, and the opportunity for manipulative marketing practices through the use of fake profiles, and a multitude of suspicious practises by the makers of these sites is so huge, and so pervasive, that you cant take much of it too seriously.
But here's the thing ... social networking is entertainment. Taking things on the net too seriously is usually a bad idea, and is often the area where the facebook objectors seem to inhabit.
Privacy is an issue but most people's best defence there is that in all likelihood, no one cares about you or your facebook page.
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Hi, petelock #144,
That's what "they" want us to believe.
Yours,
"just because I think they're out to get me doesn't mean they're not out to get me"
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I've never joined facebook because: It asked me whether I was male or female, but did not give me an option for "other".
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Up till now I never joined Facebook, now I know how's not on it I think I might!
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As some people have said, there are some pretty miserable people on here. I am a member of facebook and while a lot of my 'friends' are people I haven't seen since primary school and probably wouldn't bother seeing again, it has also allowed me to keep in touch with people who have moved to far flung places and who I would never have spoken to again but actually get on very well with. also, through facebook it has been possible to organise a secondary school reunion this year. so it's not all bad...yes there's a lot of stupid applications which I never ever use, but for the basic things like keeping in touch and sharing photos, it's pretty useful.
oh, and for all the media people and people who are misinformed, it is NOT always possible for people like future employers/government officials/important people/stalkers etc to see your daily happenings and personal details and addresses etc. Facebook is FULLY adaptable to suit your privacy requirements - if people complain that people can see their addresses and phone numbers, well that's their own fault for not changing their privacy settings. Facebook doesn't force you to do anything, you can have as little or as much information there as you want.
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Why would I want any Tom, Dick or Harry to know where I am/what I'm doing/etc?
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You're missing the point then.
Only those who you have accepted as friends can see anything other than your name really.
MySpace is the one where people can see you by default
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My real friends have my phone number, and I have theirs. People from my primary school who I wouldn't talk to in a bar or on the street are not my real friends, no matter how many times they poke me.
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Facebook firends is a misnomer, they are not friends, they are often just acquaintences, the word itself causes problems for a lot of people who dont understand that.
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I can't imagine why anyone wants to tell everyone they know about all their personal information, what they're thinking, where they're going, what they're doing. Worse than anything is the Single/relationship facility
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You tell as much or as little as you want to, including relationships, you dont HAVE to fill it in at all.
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wouldn't bother to contact me in the real world so why should it be different on the internet
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Nice to know you feel the internet is entirely fictional.
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Once you have posted anything to any internet site it is going to haunt you for evermore.
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Why would you post anything like that in the first place? What you put on facebook is the equivalent of what you would be willing to announce to a room full of people in the local pub. Think of it this way and why would you say something that would haunt you ?
Most of these points are made by people who simply dont use it and hence have no clue about what it can bring.
Everyone has people who they have lost contact with through circumstances rather than choice, whether it be old school or workmates, family or othr friends. If I got phone calls from everyone who I wanted to keep up to date with I would never be off the damn thing, facebook provides me witha nice easy way to find out what is going on with them on MY schedule rather than theirs. It has lead to the rekindling of some old friendships and the start of new ones with people who I was only vaguely acquainted with before.
Ultimately because of Facebook I now have more close friends and a much more varied circle of friends than before. That CAN'T be a bad thing.
If people would look at the positives rather than trying to appear smart by pointing out the pitfalls all the time then they might actually find it useful and enjoyable.
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i never joined facebook because it's for boring office workers. myspace is better for the creative type...
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Most of these points are made by people who simply dont use it and hence have no clue about what it can bring.
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What exactly does Facebook bring that humankind hasn't been able to do in 6,000 years of civilisation?
If I fall out of touch with people from school, oh well. Harsh as it sounds, they obviously weren't pursuing anyway, since they also failed to chase me up.
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I've been reading all the comments on here so far and Im totally shocked by the amount of negative attitudes - everyone is entitled to an opinion but I find comments such as "I have a life" very offensive and damn right rude. If you havent ever used it - how can you honestly comment on it? All you've done is mutate your narrow minded opinions into a totally pointless arguement
I have an IQ of 124 which makes me reasonably intelligent -
I've been using facebook since October last year - Since then I have got back in contact with people I met while I was travelling (who have posted photos that I hadnt seen before) and I can now keep in regular contact with my family, especially my cousins who are scattered all over the place. I find Facebook a great way to share my life with the people I care about who do not live close to me and who I only see every couple of years.
I have a life - a very fun, happy joyful life that I share with my partner and our friends - who I see and do things with on a regular basis.
I dont spend fruitless hours sitting in a dark room tapping away - I only go on there, check my inbox - respond to any messages and look at anything I may find interesting...............
In todays economic climate I find organising nights out and finding out what people are doing is a hell of a lot cheaper and easier to organise if I do it on facebook (especially if I use my comouter at work
) - rather than spending all my money on phone calls and text messages.
Im also part of a kick boxing club and we have set up our own page so that we can inform people of up and coming events, social nights out, tournament results etc, totally for free...
For those of you who dont use facebook - thats fine - its not for everyone - but dont insult the people that do.
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I have never joined Facebook because...
1. You cannot be completely certain of total privacy and security. Hackers etc.
2. It sets a precedent of life and identity not being totally your own, to be treated as a public commodity.
3. It can damage real relationships, friendships and the true nature of socialising and communication.
4. I don't want to do it "just because everyone else does it" and as a result, I am made to feel like a social outcast.
5. I keep in touch with my proper friends and loved ones normally. That is to say, I see them, go out with them, talk to them and - Heaven forfend - even write letters to them!
5. It is an appalling waste of time when you could be doing something more productive. I spend all day at work using computers and I have no wish to use them after I get home.
6. You can be traced by people you don't like, people who you don't wish to see again, or people who have caused you harm. If I didn't have anything in common with a person 10 years ago, why should that be any different now?
7. After one of my friends plaintively mewed "can I use your PC to check my Book of Face?" (no, really!) I had to do the following:
a) Ask permission to borrow my own computer (?!) when I had to send an email. b) Kick her out of my house at 2am after she had been on it for 3 hours solid.
We fell out over this incident and I speedily came to the conclusion a social networking site is simply not worth it.
My conclusion? I have added Facebook to the Restricted list on my PC internet settings. The function usually reserved for illegal and malicious sites...
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I once checked out a candidate for a senior role in my team on Facebook to find a picture of him half naked in a nightclub snorting cocaine off the bar!
He didn't post it of course but some of his 'friends' did! Do you think he got an interview?
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MyIDisNotGovtProperty:
You obviously havent read previous comments - And AGAIN its another example of someone commenting on something they know nothing about becuase they have never used it -
Your point '6' is totally wrong - You can set the privacy so that If you wanted - you couldnt be found by ANYBODY , you can block people so, as far as they are concerned, you dont exist- I find it so annoying when people have opinions on something they know nothing about...
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for those people:-
- who mention seeing friends in person, that's great if they all live next to you, what if your friends have emigrated to Australia?
- who mention using the telephone to keep in touch: each time something major happens in your life, do you sit and call your 10 friends and tell your news 10 times? Or do you arrange to meet all 10 of them and tell them all at once?
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People say it's great for catching up with all those friends from the past, but what about the people who you don't want to even know you are still around? Plus, i have a distinctive surname, and work in a call centre. It would be murder for me to give out all my details to the UK population. I also know i am the first match when doing google image searches, and it freaks me out!
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As an intelligent, employed 30-something with many friends and hobbies, I love FB. It's great for keeping in touch with my friends in NZ and Canada, to whom I can drop a quick and easy note to let them know I'm thinking of them. I've recently got back in touch with a great friend from college who had fallen off my radar. The groups are great for publicising events, and I don't feel the need to "poke" people on a daily basis.
I do have a life and I love it. FB is just one more aspect of my full and varied life. Happily, I still find the time to go to the pub...
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I never joined Facebook because, to quote Groucho Marx, "I wouldn't join any club that would have me as a member"
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The potential for data-mining is huge. All those happy-go-lucky people posting their favourite this, and most wanted that - ad companies love it! It's like loyalty cards writ large. We can market at you based on your preferences or your demographic. Yay!
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/06/27/business/google.php
Also, the information IS cached by Google - with all the inherent security risks that poses: http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid14_gci1315588,00.html
http://www.google-watch.org/bigbro.html
And yes, you can decide how much information you put up there, and it is a good way to stay in touch with people you can't, or would rather not, actually see. But most people don't know that and wouldn't think it a problem if they did. Because they don't really understand the security risks.
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A little paragraph in their Terms and Conditions that puts me off - loosely translated to mean - "We will delve into the files on your computer and use your personal details in whatever way we choose! So Ha!"
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oh - my - god
You are NEVER going to stop people from getting information from you - unless you moved to the Antartic and cut off all ties.
If the government - or whoever - wants to get your personal details, they'll get it no matter how hard you try- , its the world we live in now - Get used to it..
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This whole thing is about why I haven't joined. So I can speak for myself and I DO know what I am talking about.
Therefore - CLM198 - my "Point 6" is relevant. People can find out I am are on there, just by putting your name in the "search" box.
I object to that, people seeing my name and location on the internet. It is my perogative whether I tell them this information or not.
I also have friends in Oz and Canada and the USA. I email them.
So do not tell me "you know nothing about it". I know how it works. I know all about the so called "security policy" which dictates you can't delete anything and your information is stored.
Also, I took ages reading the above comments, so I do not need preaching at like "you obviously haven't read this..."
Obviously I am in the wrong, having a different opinion...
;-)
I think the people who get angry at me for my decision need to just accept it.
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I've never joined up, partly because I've seen how addictive some of my friends and colleagues find it and how time-consuming it can become. It also seems to be a very fine balancing act between being accessible to people you'd like to be in contact with and avoiding hassle from those you'd rather not.
I much prefer to keep in contact with people by phone and personal email, rather than the Facebook route. Anyone who can't be bothered to email or call me in person when requested to do so (as I'm not, and have no wish to be, on a social networking site) probably wasn't that interested in being in contact anyway....
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You know you can turn off the option which lets you show up in searches........so people can't then find you by searching.
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...... because I have a life already
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This idea that 'I'm not on Facebook because I have a life' is utterly delusional. Facebook is just another way of passing time, no more or less pointless than watching TV, phoning friends or going to the pub.
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........"I've never joined Facebook because I know several people who have and they all compain about its addictive, sleep-robbing powers. They complain that they feel unloved if nobody visits them for a day or two. "........
i suppose people said the same thing when the printing press or the telephone was invented!
Facebook is a great way to keep contact with friends, relations and colleagues As a University Professor i have students now working/studying all over the world, FB is a great way to keep in touch with me and each other and to 'network' for employment opportunities..... I had a student only last week looking for an internship in a law office in America, my FB ex student contacts found three possibilities within 24 hours...sure i could have called them but with FB there is no problem with cost or time differences...The internet in general and FB in particular are great tools and used correctly will enhance your life...
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To all you people trying to assert some sort of superiority about how many 'real' friends you have so you don't need Facebook, well bully for you! I too have a lot of 'real' friends who I spend 'real' time with. However, I live in a different country from most of my friends and family so Facebook is invaluable for quick and easy keeping in touch.
Added to that, through Facebook I have made NEW friends! Yes, imagine that! I have used social networking to actually make new networks! Some of these new friends are in parts of the world I have never visited like Malaysia, New Zealand and the west coast of the USA. Social networking opens your horizons - it's not about saddos sitting in their bedsits surfing the internet because nobody want to be their friend.
Communicating with others is a good thing. It opens our eyes and broadens our minds. I don't care whether other people use Facebook or not, but don't claim to be superior to others while making narrow-minded comments about their lifestyles based only on old-fashioned prejudices!
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I admittedly am on facebook...but use it reactively and very rarely. Its interesting to observe how people use it and who uses it more frequently than others.
I think in amy ways FB is a pure dose of narcissism. People put pictures up..why? Tell us their points of views on anything and everything...why? Some people even comment on their own photos and their own statements...why? Soon they'll be commenting on their comments.
I just wonder what void/gap FB is trying to fill in our lives?...worth pondering over, but I wont be putting down as words on FB...
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MyDIisNotGovtProperty:
Wrong!!!! You can set you profile so that people cant search for you - Ive done it myself so, as Ive actually tried it - I KNOW IT WORKS
As I have said before - If people want your information, they'll get it no matter how hard you try!!!!
Oh, and Im not a preacher, I work in customer services......
;P
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Hello, Jolo13 #168
As an academic, I am surprised at your partial quote. You make an assertion that I freely conceded in the next sentence after the quote you extracted. i.e.
"I think there's probably nothing wrong with most new media concepts per se- as I recall the first printed books were condemned as the devil's work. It's what you use the media for that's important. The potential benefits of social networking are obvious -"
So I am no technophobe. My point is that my antagonism is based on other points than the fact that this is new-fangled technology. My aversion is not based on what many others have pointed out: i.e. is this the correct way to achieve the end in mind?
My aversion is based on secondary effects and impacts of the technology. For myself, the downside outweighs the upside and such is my right. Others disagree and such is their right.
If you refer to the closing pages of Huxley's Brave New World, and compare it to recent house-crash parties, you might see more of where I am coming from. My point is that humanity is being de-humanised.
I don't subsribe to the conspiracy theories that these are created by the CIA and ad agencies; but like most of these theories, if they are not disproved, then caution would be more advisable than recklessness.
Now, you seem to need to brag about your academic credentials: Who do you think I am? Perhaps you only think other academic need have opinions of value? I may be the head librarian of the Bodleian for all you know. Deal with the argument and not the personalities and other vitriol that is flying around in this stream.
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What's Facebook?
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there are various reasons I don't want to join - people you have never heard of wanting to be your friend!! whats that about. but more seriously, I had a friedn who signed up to face book - she had some personal problems - very personal - and her so called friends were chatting about it on face book for the whole world to see - she had phone calls from people she would rather not have known.
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I used Facebook lots when I was travelling simply because its a quick and easy way to share photos with people all over the world.
I don't however feel the need to update my "status" every few minutes with things like "aerris is loving chocolate!!!!!!!" or "Aerris is busting for a s**t!!" like most people on there do. Why would I want 150 million people to know what I'm feeling 24/7?
In fact, my girlfriend and I removed all personal information of the site a year ago or so. You think about all the security questions banks etc ask when you phone up are pretty much covered in the information people post on the site (birthdays, place of birth etc).
Great for sharing photos... but that's as far as it goes.
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I've never joined Facebook because no one has been able to adequately explain to me how it will benefit me?
I can get in touch with my friends and family at the moment and they are the only people who I wish to contact me.
I can look up anything I wish to attend myself.
It's just another login to do things I am perfectly capable of doing myself. If others are happy with it then that's fine.
Don't assume I'm a lesser person just because I haven't joined and I won't assume you're a lesser person just because you have.
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Facebook from what I can see is just one big popularity contest and there are more people leaving the site everyday than are signing up......... Facebook will not exist in 5 years time it's just a fad!!
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Facebook is a poor way of keeping in touch with friends, I do not have one as I prefer my life to be private, and If I want people to know anything then I'll tell them privatly or they can ask.
And...theres no way people should post pictures of their children online.
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I joined Facebook partly because I have relatives living in other continents whom I can't pop down to the pub with at will! It's good to be able to keep in touch and see their photos so easily and instantly. I really don't see the issue re privacy - you choose what you put on there after all and what are some of you so anxious about, I wonder? Just use common sense and there won't be an issue. You give out much more important ID information every single time you send a cheque, or use your debit card. If someone wants to hack into my facebook and find my picture and one of my e-mail addresses I can't see it doing them much good. They could of course play detective with my friends to narrow things down but I doubt it would be worth their while. Facebook is a convenience, just like e-mail, phones, post and the local pub. Too much fuss about nothing!
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Hi, Katescomment #179
I'm not averse to facebook or anything else because of the security concerns; but I would draw your attention to how facebook data could compromise you. This has happened to me.
You have an internet bank account, e.g. Let's say someone has got hold of your bank account and sort code id's from a cheque or debit card. That's not enough, though is it?
There's normally another number which identifies your login account. That's harder to get; but let's just say they've got that somehow.
The next hurdle is that the banks then ask you : what was your first school? Your mother's maiden name? Where were you born? This info is supposedly not in the public domain. But with Facebook & etc. it suddenly is.........
I'm not being stupendously paranoid here: but look at the facts: e-crime is rocketing. Social networking is increasing at the same time. Coincidence?
One of the nastier elements of e-crime is that you have no idea how your details were taken. They don't phone and tell you. So you go on being plundered as and when it suits them.
Oh, and if you are in receipt of child benefit, change your bank account asap. I did as soon as I heard CB was compromised.
It's the incautious who get stung, who then become cautious.
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oh...and an interesting point to consider...
So many people here are condemning Facebook for replacing real friendships and say that they can keep in touch perfectly well with their real friends and that you don't need online websites to contact friends etc.
Hmm. I wonder just how many of those people use email to keep in contact with their friends? Because, surely, email is another web/internet based method of communication along the same lines as facebook.
Think before you comment on Facebook replacing real friendships just how much you yourself may use modern technology to keep in touch with people. If you dont think Facebook should be used for keeping in touch with people, then neither should email.
I am a regular Facebook user and object to people thinking I have no life just because I joined. TOTALLY wrong.
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'I never joined Facebook because....' I've got a life
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I've never joined facebook because i have a choice not to and can't see the point in doing so.
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I couldnt care less if people use it or not - its up to the individual whether they take risks - its up to the individual whether they choose to display their personal information - and thank you to the cautious people on here, i will check my facebook page more thoroughly now.......
However - what I object to on here is people making out that facebook users have "no life" - that is a totally narrow minded opinion which suggest that 150 million people have no lives
TOTAL NONSENSE!!!!!!!
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Social Networks are in my eyes an easy was for predators and perverts to target young children and teenagers. A friend of mine is on Facebook and has about 190 friends. She knows 23 of them.
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174 comments so far! This has certainly be a hot topic.
I use Facebook and did originally get a bit obsessed by it, however I only check it a few times a week these days adding up to 2 hours maximum a week, compared to at least 20 hours a week socialising with real live human beings.
I won't bother repeating the comments most other users have clearly explained but will simply ask this question to those people who have said that they don't wish to be contacted by people who they didn't get along with in the past. Why do you think they would want to contact you? That says quite a lot about you really.
FB can fit into some people's lives well and others not. It's personal pereference and we shouldn't critisize each others choice either way. What's next, 200 posts of people making assumptions about each others personalities based on whether they like Marmite or not?
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@186
Hi, it can seem as trivial as whether you like marmite or not: but the stream was launched to find out why some people are more than disinterested; to the point of hostility. I disassociate myself from the more puerile remarks about having a life, etc., but do agree with those who oppose it in principle.
On the face of it, social networking on the web seems like a boon to humanity and the advantages to a busy person are obvious. But isn't that the point that so many are making?
It's the modern lifestyle that means you need Facebook that's so wrong: not facebook itself.
In our society, individuals are increasingly isolated: neighbours mistrust each other; corpses lie rotting for months before discovery; old peoples' only human contact can be a health worker; everyone is in fear of the PC thought police who can get you fired/suspended for having incorrect thoughts; need I go on?
My point is that facebook is one more symptom of our dehumanised, desensitised society: but not the cause - we are the cause.
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"I've never joined Facebook because..."
My teenage daughter assures me that "old" people shouldn't be on Facebook. Apparently it's just "embarrassing".
She is always right about this sort of thing.
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Loads of people use facebook to keep in touch with people.
To be honest talking about facebook is quite pathetic. If you like it use it, if you dont like it dont use it. Simple, and lets face it, its hardly the end of the world.
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It's potentially a ghastly invasion of privacy with insufficient safeguards. Also it has helped, along with the mobile phone, to create a large group of people who seemingly cannot exist without being connected to one or the other throughout most of their time. No wonder social skills are going out of the window.
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I don't really see a problem here..If you don't like facebook, don't go there..If you didn't have friends at school/uni and don't want to know how these people are doing, don't join facebook.If you think it's a waste of time, don't waste it!
The rest of 150 mln people,including me, will be on facebook and will enjoy it! Facebook Rocks!!!x
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I've never joined facebook because...
I've never joined bandwagons for the sake of it. I don't need it and I have no intention of joining it just because everyone is worried about being left out.
Leave me alone!
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facebook is an excellent tool to keep you in touch with your friends; old and new, close and far. The only reason why someone would not want to join facebook is because they have no friends.
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To: 193 Exactly!
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And all you nay sayers sound like complete squares.
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lol
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Look, Facebook has got it's pros and cons, mainly pros, but those who are complaining prefusely about how their details are going to be stolen by anyone who looks at their page, is to be honest very very naive about how it works. Firstly only those that you accept as a friend can even see anything about you, otherwise all they see is a name and photo, if you even decide to put one on. Secondly you don't even have to put any information on it in the first place. So all those very ignorant people who seem to have nothing better to do but complain about topics they are completely unaware of what they are talking about should get a life!
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I've never joined Facebook because...
I joined myspace instead.
I pondered for a while which one of the 'social networking sites' to join (as one of those embarrassing long-in-the-tooth users, well... approaching 40) and myspace strikes me as a 'website-light' : space to put some stuff that I like and do without getting too seriously into domains and design and all that kind of thing. Plus there are some great bands and musicians on it so I can use it as a radio.
Oh and blogbuster (@70): your comment made me laugh out loud - thanks, very refreshing after spending hours on this idiotic computer
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Well, I had never joined the BBC blog membership until right now. This conversation has motivated me to do so.
So that's got me thinking - maybe the Facebook thing is related to individual motivation.
Those who have joined and are getting something out of Facebook have their own motivations; those who have not joined have their own reasons for not doing so. I used to be in the latter camp (got real friends, don't want to spend extra time on the computer, I like 'real' relationships, etc.).
Then I found my motivation to join - my baby left for university and I missed her. And now she is my Facebook friend and I can still be a daily part of her life. It is one of many tools I use to maintain our intimacy. And it means I don't miss her as much as I otherwise would.
Positive by-products for me have also been keeping in close contact with relatives and friends overseas, whom I can't just pop in and see otherwise. And also my dancing teacher can post videos of our routines online for me to practice at home before the next class!! All good stuff.
And never once have I felt obligated to share more than I want to or have my privacy compromised. I am in control.
To those who 'wouldn't join Facebook because'..... I'd say try it and see ... you might be surprised!
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I am not on Facebook. I went to the trouble of building my own self-aggrandising website from scratch and I broadcast what I feel like sharing about my life from there.
I'm not going to slag anyone off for using Facebook either. I'm sure that it's a highly useful tool for people far away from each other to stay in touch, organise events etc.
I just prefer to preach to the world from my own site, which I wrote simply because I could, to amuse myself and because of frustration at how some earlier social/blogging sites worked.
If I hadn't done that then perhaps my opinion would be different.
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Guys,
it's very interestin' all these reasons why we should join facebook. We've heard it all before and some of it is very worthy. But do please refer to the reason for the stream. It's not about the benefits of facebook. Since we throw-backs don't have facebook to unite us, we have to use this forum instead. (Ah 'ze curious Englisher humour, ja?)
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For the people who are so against joining Facebook because they 'have lives' and 'meet up with their friends' etc, then why are they bothering to write blogs about it on another 'online website' (i.e. here).
Why not call up your 'real friends' to talk about it - with 'real people'?
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'Ze crazy Englisher humour
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Beats what I'm supposed to be doing - overtime
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153. At 11:39am on 05 Feb 2009, MyIDsNotGovtProperty wrote:
1. You cannot be completely certain of total privacy and security. Hackers etc.
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Don't put things you wouldnt want the world to know- ie adress or bank details
2. It sets a precedent of life and identity not being totally your own, to be treated as a public commodity.
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You still have total control of what you put on facebook and who you allow to see it therefore the only people allowed to see it are the people you would tell anyway if they asked
3. It can damage real relationships, friendships and the true nature of socialising and communication.
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Its simply another method of socialising and communicating, if anything it enhances friendships as you get to talk to people more than you would normally
4. I don't want to do it "just because everyone else does it" and as a result, I am made to feel like a social outcast.
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You are being silly- being made to feel like a social outcast is your own fault or your friends
5. I keep in touch with my proper friends and loved ones normally. That is to say, I see them, go out with them, talk to them and - Heaven forfend - even write letters to them!
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facebook is helpful for when you dont want to go out and see your proper friends as you can communicate from your sofa
5. It is an appalling waste of time when you could be doing something more productive. I spend all day at work using computers and I have no wish to use them after I get home.
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something more productive than communicating, socialising, learning about other people?
6. You can be traced by people you don't like, people who you don't wish to see again, or people who have caused you harm. If I didn't have anything in common with a person 10 years ago, why should that be any different now?
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it doesnt need to be any different, you dont need to talk to all your 'friends', just the ones you want to- it simply opens the gate in case you do want to talk to them, only people you choose can see your information- you dont have to add people you dont anything in common with
7. After one of my friends plaintively mewed "can I use your PC to check my Book of Face?" (no, really!) I had to do the following:
a) Ask permission to borrow my own computer (?!) when I had to send an email. b) Kick her out of my house at 2am after she had been on it for 3 hours solid.
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this was your friend being peculiar and not reflective of a typical facebook user- it proves you were so boring she wanted to talk to other people while she was at your house.
xxx
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think of facebook as an extended adress book and anything you put on facebook as something you might send out in a christmas card- it simply means your aquitances can choose to know what your doing as you do it not only once a year
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1) hackers love to know what appears trivial. Where you were born, first school, it's all useful these days
2) But what about when you want to erase info but find you can't erase it from google's buffers, etc (Don't tell me this isn't a problem - see above for dispute)
3) 4) can't argue
5) Yes. just not electronically.
6) yes, but you get the annoyance of their intrusion. I don't really disagree with you tho'.
7) 8) Nowt as funny as folk
These aren't my main objections tho. See #11 #187.
Let's have your clever response to them, please. Look forward to it.
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... i have no friends!!
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187 - You_Know_its_true…
Indeed, hostility from the “Against Facebook” camp appears intense. It’s interesting that most arguments employed by the “For Facebook” camp are along the lines of its just a piece of technology to make our lives easier, use it as you would any other piece of technology, as much or as little as you like and control it (not the other way around). I think it’s fair to say that most of the comments (although I appreciate not yours) from the Against Facebook contingent are more visceral. I would put myself in the For Facebook camp. A new, non-military, technology almost always has a net positive benefit to humanity.
I think you are right in that the new technology, at least in part, is a response to the modern human condition. But, it’s also a response to the problems caused by other technological changes and economic growth that have permitted much greater movements of populations for reasons of employment, education and retirement.
By the way, I think the reason for increasingly dehumanized, desensitised societies is increasing (and faster) urbanization. I don’t see that process being reversed anytime soon.
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Facebook - so much better than real friendship. Social dating while pigging out and telling fibs without recrimination...you'll get found out one day, you'll see.
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...because it's Social Not-working.
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of course, anyone who has written anything about 'why would i want any random person to know where i am, what im doing etc?' obviously doesnt know that your profile can be set to private and that only people who you approve can view your profile, thus solving the problem of any 'tom, dick or harry' seeing where I am/what I'm doing/etc?'
problem solved.....
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A woman who bullied me for all 7 years of secondary school has sent me a request to be my Facebook 'friend'. When I turned her down (she made my life a misery!), she tried again.
I got Facebook to block her so she can't contact me again.
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Animals don't do it!
We as a human race, seem to forget on a regular basis that we are far out numbered by the animal kingdom! We share all the same bodily organs but simply have more complicated and often confused brains! We are not different from animals, that's just religious nonsense ingrained over thousands of years.
Television has almost all humans addicted to its wonderful array of nonsense. Facebook is just another form of wonderfully developed nations distractions from reality! I'm sure that the ignorantly named 'third world countries' have a lot more to think about in the way of survival then how many 'friends' they have on facebook or what they're gonna do on Saturday!
Most people don't know, and it's not their fault, that most of the luxuries we in the 'first world countries' enjoy have been on the back of slavery and unfair trade. Imagine making your own clothes, car, computer, or phone? The UK hardly makes any of these commodities any more so where and who makes them? Are they paid well? Do you care?
Most Western humans are basically mad. They don't realize it yet, but they will when it's all stripped away. And thankfully its not that far away.
How many monkeys or rabbits did you see looking at a computer screen for 8 hours today?
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Its pants!
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I'm on Myspace. I found Facebook a bit silly, it seems orientated more for small Children. I think Myspace attracts a broader range of people from all age groups, and broad interests. It's also good for music and attracts a lot of creative people. Facebook seems dull and boring by comparison.
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I joined Facebook at the age of 67 and have got in touch with people from my past with whom I had completely lost contact. Yes, I admit I have become rather addicted to some of the Facebook games, such as Metropolis, but I have also made contact with a number of very interesting people from all over the world.
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......because I live in the real world with real friends
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.... because they may start collecting DNA information and i have so many skeletons in my cupboard
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Hi, SirLenPage #209
Interesting.
I agree that it is right to be pessemistic about reversal any time soon.
On the other hand, lets look at it from this point of view. Facebook didn't cause social isolation; but it does help to perpetuate it.
150 million people chatting away; yet babies are being murdered and children abused on an unbelievable scale as nobody knows what's going on next door any more.
I don't want to be atavistic, but I can't help feeling that these websites are empty froth - taking time from people and giving them back less than they gave.
Even one "beneficial" example given above is less happy than it looks. A mother whose "baby" has gone to uni and they keep in touch daily. I'm sorry, but "baby" needs to develop and cut apron strings, painful as that is for parents (and I am one, too).
So even "good" social relationships created by Facebook are of a strange, warped kind that rob us of something special. Constantly in touch, 24/7, it's suddenly no longer an event when "baby" comes home from Uni.
E.g. A friend of mine just came back from 2 weeks in Africa without e-contact. On his return, his kids went so berserk it would have made a statue cry. Constant e-contact will rob us of that kind of moment.
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I never joined because I had read all the wonderful stories on the BBC about the security of the site. Then I figured if the government can lose my details why worry about anyone else and joined because nobody on there seems capable of sending an invite to a party by text anymore...
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In answer to many of the comments above, which seem to assume those who don't belong are somehow at war with those who do:
My lack of enthusiasm for joining Facebook is nothing to do with identity theft (though this is, of course, an issue we all need to be aware of). I know I could control who would be allowed to see my profile. The point is that I have no interest in sharing the details of my daily life with anyone except my immediate family (with whom I live anyway) and perhaps the occasional very good friend.
Contributing to a blog like this is nothing like joining Facebook. I can express my opinions but you don't know anything else about me.
I'm neither anti- nor pro-Facebook. My teenage children do have it, and occasionally show me their pages and those of people they know. Good luck to them and to everyone else who enjoys it; it just isn't for me.
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I've never joined 'Facebook' because...
Well, I can't see the point to be honest. I hear people say they have 500 "friends", but frankly they are not really friends, they are at best acquaintances, friends are people who know you well.
At lot of the social networking seems to akin to picking up a phone and dialling a number at random and whoever picks up, becomes a “friend”.
A similar tribe are the people you see carrying a phone before them like a sacred object, waiting for a call to convince themselves that they are popular.
It's all so shallow.
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I've never joined Facebook because....
I am not a commodity;
I don't have a need to sell myself to other people as to;
How creative I can be.
How well I photograph
How 'Fit' I am
What a wonderfully entertaining life I lead
What a fantastic salaried job I have
Neither do I feel the need to;
Live in a fantasy world
Ask to be someone's 'friend'
Place a ten year old photo on the website in order to sell myself to make 'friends'
Lie about the number of my past sexual encounters or that scrotal itch that never seems to go away
Neither am I that desperate to obtain sex/friends by advertising;
How creative I can be.
How well I photograph
How 'Fit' I am
What a wonderfully entertaining life I lead
What a fantastic salaried job I have
Face book users and the like;
Get out, get a life, and live in the real world!
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I joined Facebook a year ago basically because a lot of my family and friends are on there, and contrary to my expectations, it's also turned out to be a really good way to get to know my distant family a lot better. I also have links to University pages and science pages which are really useful for my degree course.
But I am very picky about who is on my friends list - I have a mere 22, mostly family, and have no interest whatsoever in adding every Tom, Dick and Harriet who pops up with pokes and requests. And although I occasionally dabble, I try to avoid all the timewasting 'applications' which drive me insane with their incessant cluttering of my page.
Except for Tetris Friends, which is my favourite antidote to a hard day with the textbooks :)
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I dont see it as being shallow at all jch_in_uk - I have 300 'friends' on my facebook page - ok, so not all of them are proper friends, infact there is only a small proportion that I socialise with on a regular basis - I cant help it that facebook chose to name these contacts 'friends' - Every person on my page is someone I have met while travelling, family members, people that I went to school with and so on. I dont have any personal information that I dont want to share on my page, just little things that people may find interesting.
I think the fact that I can see who's got married, had children, got a successful job, moved to another country, especially people who I went to school with - is wonderful - I can look at photos of peoples weddings, their children - I can share comments with them - even chat if I choose to. And its THEIR decision to post what ever they want for people to see.
new friendships with people I thought were lost forever and improved relationships with family members who have moved away - unlike a lot of people I cant constantly ring and text people becuase I simply CANT AFFORD IT- I have a very sociable life, myself and my partner are always entertaining and going out with family and friends -
To say that broadening how I communicate with people is shallow, is a very narrow minded opinion - it may be the case for a few - but definatley not me!
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I'm now going to summarise this whole thread
Reading back through all the comments - the difference between anti and pro facebook users is brutally obvious
Nearly all the people anti facebook that have posted a comment are nothing more than sulking, sour, moaning old squares who have nothing better to do with their time than moan constantly about the state of everything - everything is negative - whats the point of any of you leaving your house in the morning? "get the real world" ? This IS the real world - you're just being left behind becuase you are too stubourn to embrase life and move forward - totally stuck in your boring, dull ways.
Every body pro facebook seems to have a happy go lucky, positive, happy view on life - they take it as it comes and are happy to embrace and at least 'try' something new - Good on you all!!
Right im sick and tired of reading peoples moaning drivel - Im off to log on to facebook and find out what all my lovely, happy friends are doing this weekend!!!!!
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To No. 220
For clarification, my condition is not 'less happy than it looks' I assure you. I have brought up an incredibly independent girl (and 2 others). Her gap year was spent far away in Africa, so any remaining apron strings are very looooooong. The simple matter is that we just love and respect each other very much and like to stay in touch.
Perhaps that's the use of blogs such as this summed up right there.
My Facebook friends actually know me and would never dream of reading such condescending nonsense into my use of the word 'baby'.
If people feel at liberty (perhaps are even encouraged?) to take personal swipes at each other, it strikes me that these blogs and opinion sites have many more negative and destructive aspects than Facebook.
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I've never joined Facebook because...
I don't know what it's meant to achieve.
If I was doing something really interesting - like going to the North Pole or the Moon or whatever - and I needed to update a lot of people on my progress, then I might use it.
Although I'd probably use a proper blog instead.
But I can't see the point in telling people I went down to the shops and bought a tin of cat food or I got a letter from my Auntie Ethel or whatever.
Either the rest of the world leads much more exciting lives than me or they enjoying posting a lot of trivia for reasons I can't fathom.
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I am on Facebook but it is pretty mundane, I have unaccepted Friend requests that I will leave to rot.. Only reason I joined and stay is that I have managed to get back in touch with my son after some 25 years .....
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I'm not going to judge people on whether or not they have it; it's all about personal preference.
If it helps you keep in touch with your family and friends then use it. It's a great way to post pictures and organise events.
It's not meant to replace other forms of contact. I believe it is to be used in ADDITION to emails, phone calls and personal visits.
I do think it's unfair to imply that people who use the site don't have lives. However, I also think that spending 5 hours on the computer (not just on Facebook) a night is unhealthy.
It's about moderation and balance; I'm sure the vast majority of users (and non-users) are capable of both.
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Farce Burke has to many silly people being puerile and profane. Has silly rules. Left to join a proper social network site free of little children ....joined Skinbook instead
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I love reading all this stuff like "I managed to get in touch with my son after 40 years bla bla"
Lots of the time in cases such as these the person who has been 'missing' so to say knows exactly how and where to conact the people they left behind, they just chose not to.
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Hi, etpbel @228,
I apologise wholeheartedly. No offence was meant. Your clarification puts me clearly in the wrong and I am sorry to have go you wound up.
If you refer to your original text, you can see it was an easy inference to draw.
Sorry again, though.
Best Wishes.
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No problem - many thanks for getting back.
People around here are lovely after all ...... now I'm off back to Facebook!
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Hello You_Know_its_True.
Re: 220. Thanks for your response.
I don’t think that Facebook increases social isolation materially. That trend was well and truly underway and perpetuated by the ubiquitous use of firstly television, then computer games and finally the internet and email. Admittedly, Facebook makes it easier to use internet / email technology and hence stimulates usage, but at least it is an interaction with real people (generally). Many other major IT based pastimes such as computer games and viewing electronic pornography only put the user in fantasy land. I wouldn’t suggest regulating the use of the internet / email as a solution to decreasing isolation.
Also, I would guess that baby murdering and paedophilia have not increased over the years of the 20th and 21st centuries and hence are not symptoms of recent increased social isolation. Sometimes we have collective short memories. Baby murdering has been depressingly common, particularly in those more primitive societies where baby girls are less valued than baby boys, and the phenomenon of “Baby Farming” in Victorian England is a real shock to the modern citizen. I think that paedophilia has perhaps always been a significant problem, and is probably endemic in human societies. It is only with society’s attempt to bring it into the open and trust children’s communication more that we have been able to expose it and help to limit its long-lasting damage.
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Hello, SirLenPage@236
Nice to have some well made points.
I think you miss mine a bit, though. I don't mean that Fb or the others increase isolation or cause these things. My point is that they supply, sadly, a need which derives from our introverted society. I suppose I could rephrase by saying that because we don't know what's going on next door and because we don't check up on the single old lady when the weather is bad, walk past crime and just generally avoid getting involved and each other, we need a substitute; and FB is one of those substitutes.
Plenty of media-types are queuing up to decry FB on it's birthday - but I think they're shooting the messenger.
On a broader philosophical note, I am with Huxley's Savage (Brave New World). I just reread the last chapter and it's so appropriate to this discussion. Huxley predicted, in that chapter, how constant pleasure, news, communication, entertainment and avoidance of any kind of pain or inconvenience lead to a lust for "pain". You could rephrase it by saying that pleasure only has a meaning when grief exists alongside. Why is this relevant to FB? Because I am saying that not being able to be cut off from people, even your friends, is, in the long run, a bad thing. Friendship and time with friends is supposed to be special. If you are never separated, how can you ever meet?
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I have joined but never used Facebook because:
- it's pointless; Myspace was perfectly fine until everyone started migrating to Facebook
- the interface is confusing
- your privacy is not taken seriously (you can't use a nickname - it must be your real name, you can never delete your account - you must 'deactivate' it, my friend complains it wastes her time but is slightly addictive, and I've heard recently that Facebook have been selling personal information)
- they spam you with emails saying '"so and so" wants to be your friend' etc. even after you have supposedly deactivated your account
- you can't easily customise your profile and the information you write is confined to a small nuber of characters per field
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I have never joined facebook because;
I wasn't born here, all the schools I ever attended here have long since gone, never really made many freinds ( although I have a few). I can't even remember many of the my school chums. Echo many of the sentiments here, have little to say about myself. My son and Daughter are on and my interests do not include football, soaps or celebs. Now if anyone has an interest in Steam locomotives, Old cars ( I'm talking about those old enough for a starting handle), old books history and writing, they will know that I am as dry as ditchwater and thus not a candidate.
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You_Know_its_true @237
I think we don’t check up next door, and walk past crime, because we choose to. It’s the easy option that an urban environment gives us (because we cannot know every one in it). Small rural environments are different. Effectively, we are forced to care for our neighbours because there’s no social escape. Like all other primates, we evolved in small groups of mixed sex individuals. A number of anthropologists have argued that this means the number of contacts we can maintain socially probably has a limit (say 50 -100 max). Which means small villages work, urban environments (in terms of caring for everybody) do not. Incidently, it may also be that 300 “Friends” on Facebook is meaningless in a social context, most of them cease to be friends and become merely voyeurs (although that’s OK if that’s what the Facebook scribbler wants).
I still hold the view that Facebook is not just being used by Facebook subscribers (or even mostly being used) as a solution to the more remote urban environment per se. Facebook is being used to increase our contact with our social group that has been eroded away by our free-time poor lives or the extra distances between us. (I mean time poor compared say to the 1950s and 60s for ordinary people, the idle rich have always had lots of time!). However, what the internet generally has given us is much greater freedom to choose our networks, our friends don’t have to be our neighbours.
However, pleasure and pain, good and bad, have always been the bargain of civilization. You cannot have one without the other (as Enkidu the original noble savage in the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh found). Perhaps we do need that comparison to have the right emotional balance. But, but, does this means that it’s right to generate pain (e.g. through not communicating with friends or relatives very often) to make the times we do communicate feel good? I think that’s a very puritanical view. I think we all experience many other types of emotional pain that can serve that purpose!
By the way, sir / madam - I'm curious to know - Are you a user of Facebook?
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I created a Facebook account - for the sole purpose of being able to browse other people's accounts. I put the mimumum possible information on it, and I ignore all friend requests.
I used to run my own internet chatroom - for eight years - so I've been all the way round the block of social networking. Now I'm back to where I started, I've had enough of it. Real life has much more to offer.
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Hello SirLenPage,
As per #11, no I am not a "user". To summarise why not: because everyone I know who is a user gives it bad press. I admit everyone I know who is a user is the same-ish age as me i.e. 40-50. They talk about it like a niccotine addiction.
I've heard of Gilgamesh before, though not read it. Is that the one with the parallel (to the bible) flood story?
I'm a bloke, and along with our Prime Minister, also a Scottish idiot working in England. (I use idiot in the original mediaeval sense that merely meant someone with no Uni degree.)
Love your arguments.
However, I take issue with your urban-community-size theory. I grew up in Glasgow, which, like many other industrial cities, had and still has a far greater sense of community than I have met down here. Equally, on the continent, or even in Ireland, you can find large communities where there is a sense of cummunity. Germans, for example, have a very un-British way of making other people's business their own - I'm not criticising, mind, but it's not for me.
I would propose that we have, since the 80's, and Thatcher's famous "No such thing as society" statement, followed our own paths. By pursuing individualism and materialism (As did I, so no crticism, again), we have ended where we are.
As to choosing your network. Hmmmm.
I think it is obviously "better" that one can trawl the internet for like-minded souls and create self-sustaining groups. I'm sure these groups could add to dedmocracy and campaign for the betterment of issues: but is this an improvement on the old sense of community and humanity?
As things currently stand, I am often forced to deal with people that, at first meeting, I don't get on all that well with. (2-way street, I know). But, being forced, we compromise, we learn, we appreciate the other point of view; and perhaps even end up as friends. We grow as individuals by this process.
Can this happen with FB, et al?
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Hello, again, SirLenPage,
Responding to your last point.
Absolutely, not, I agree with you. It is not right to deliberately generate pain as the means to achieve pleasure. I don't want to come over as meaning that.
No, my point is that, sticking to the FB thread, if there is no "pain" of separation, even the "pain" of loneliness, how can the pleasure of meeting a friend after a period of time mean anything?
On a purely practical front, if you are fully informed of everything your friend has done, watched, eaten and with whom (with pics!), then what in the name of Sam Hill are you going to talk about when you meet?
On an emotional note, where's the joy in meeting a friend, when really, thanks to FB, you've never been apart? Constant satisfaction is not an improvement on deferred but fulfilled desire.
Honestly, it looks to me like the Borg Continuum and looks inhuman to me. I am sure there are some wholly beneficial uses; but it ain't for me.
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I must rebel as “I did join Facebook” and I am so glad I have. There are a few folk that have been part of my life that for one reason and another I have lost touch with. Thanks to Facebook I am back in touch and it is fantastic – yes there are some unsolicited requested to be friends but it is very easy to click the ignore button.
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It would seem that Shelagh Fogarty had second thoughts and has quickly unjoined (or hidden herself away) ??
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I have never joined facebook because; I already have cool friends, why do I want to meet new people again?! Raymond
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Hi, mad_caesar at #39
Please refer to http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7896309.stm
And that's just what they admit to.....
Perhaps your own complacency requires rethinking, rather than simply putting folks down.
Cheers,
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