I ran across this interesting piece on BuzzFeed about what it means not to be on facebook. Apparently mass murderers tend not to have established presences on social media (because, duh, loners don't have any friends), and in turn I guess some people are worried about the mental health of those of us who aren't on facebook. Well, two things come to mind:
One, I think it's safe to claim by this point that pretty much everyone who wants to be on facebook is on there, unless they're kids who aren't old enough yet. Mass murderers aside, folks like me who aren't on there are choosing not to be, for one of two reasons: we feel it has nothing to offer us; we are uncomfortable with the way the site is run with regard to advertising and privacy; or, in my case, both of the above.
Two, I blog here pretty much every day, so you readers would have some inkling if it seemed like I was heading off the deep end. There would be clues, warning signs, causes for concern. (Obsessions with things like clothes and watches don't count, obviously.)
One advantage of being on Facebook is networking. I quickly became adept at negotiating its privacy settings so that almost no one except the friends that I designate can see my info or my posts, or even contact me in any way. But if I were job-hunting or networking for my own business, Facebook would be one of the best free tools available to spread my message. It's worth reconsidering, I think, especially since the advertising is basically a non-issue, esp. compared to many public sites, and the privacy settings can be tweaked quite easily to guard precisely as much info as you want. You seem to think it's much worse than it is. There's nothing to fear from Facebook if you are an intelligent person who understands its implications and its privacy settings and doesn't post while drunk. There is a lot to gain in terms of friendship and a sense of online community.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I was just forced into having my info converted into the new, standard "Timeline" format rather than the original format, and that's annoying. But you'd have no old info to worry about, so you'd be golden. I don't have anything to worry about, either, but I don't like having change thrust upon me. But that's par for the online world, and it's still worth being a part of it.
Your input is appreciated, PB, but it's more a matter of principle than actuality. FB users have to be far too diligent to maintain their privacy, and it's a constantly moving target.
ReplyDeleteAs for the sense of community, no offense to you or any of my other friends, but as I've said before, it has nothing to offer me. I'm doing fine with professional networking on LinkedIn.
To each his own! But I thought that Buzzfeed article was bizarre. When someone's not on Facebook, I think most of us, beyond a certain age, first assume that the person must be lot older than we'd thought and/or can't figure it out. The first assumption is "geezer" not "psycho." If I can't find a person who's in their 20s or 30s, I don't assume they're a psychopath, I assume they really are on Facebook but I can't find them because I'm too close to the geezer realm myself. Or they are temporarily blocking their info because they have too many exes stalking them, or something.
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