Orthodox Christian Posted January 24, 2022 Posted January 24, 2022 I have seriously cut back on my FB use, because I just accepted the fact that for me it is use-less. And this has prompted me to ask, are social networks props? Why do we seem to need them? Do we really believe the people we call friends are our friends? Do we need to be followed or to follow someone...I find that slightly creepy. Does an enormous friend list satisfy some egotistical notion of our popularity? And if we are so popular why are so few of them in the flesh? Do we just want to hear ourselves talk/babble/rant? Are they addictive? Isn't that a kind of evil? Do they cure/help to live with loneliness? Are they the new 'church'? 2
Calm Posted January 24, 2022 Posted January 24, 2022 (edited) They can be addictive. I follow a couple highly informative ones for education and some friends just because they have great senses of humor and take fun pictures. I don’t post anything on my own but maintain a follow on a family website as well as the ward’s and my grandkids’ schools. Other than that I follow a craft and declutter lists to inspire me. Since I have a screwed up sleep cycle, they aren’t replacing anything but watching videos. Edited January 24, 2022 by Calm 1
Orthodox Christian Posted January 24, 2022 Author Posted January 24, 2022 (edited) 58 minutes ago, Calm said: They can be addictive. I follow a couple highly informative ones for education and some friends just because they have great senses of humor and take fun pictures. I don’t post anything on my own but maintain a follow on a family website as well as the ward’s and my grandkids’ schools. Other than that I follow a craft and declutter lists to inspire me. Since I have a screwed up sleep cycle, they aren’t replacing anything but watching videos. I really think we have to choose what is of use to us. It's so easy to just be scrolling and scrolling. I know someone who is on I don't know how many platforms and seems to live on her phone. She is neither married nor in a relationship and she follows this person and that for various reasons. She lives alone in a shared house, and she does maintain contacts with friends and family at least through FB but beyond that she has many many 'friends'. Now she may sound like a sad case, but is she? Are these platforms performing a service that I underestimate the value of. I may have reached the conclusion that they waste my time, but others may differ. And then I ask myself, isn't this platform just another? That for the time being is amusing me? But what other purpose does it serve if any? Edited January 24, 2022 by Orthodox Christian 2
rodheadlee Posted January 28, 2022 Posted January 28, 2022 (edited) On 1/24/2022 at 4:39 AM, Orthodox Christian said: I have seriously cut back on my FB use, because I just accepted the fact that for me it is use-less. And this has prompted me to ask, are social networks props? Why do we seem to need them? Do we really believe the people we call friends are our friends? Do we need to be followed or to follow someone...I find that slightly creepy. Does an enormous friend list satisfy some egotistical notion of our popularity? And if we are so popular why are so few of them in the flesh? Do we just want to hear ourselves talk/babble/rant? Are they addictive? Isn't that a kind of evil? Do they cure/help to live with loneliness? Are they the new 'church'? I used to have a very small Facebook friend list. I'm a sailor and I've let hundreds of sailors become my friends then I immediately got hacked by one of them. I straightened it out and signed up once again and then I got hacked again. So I gave up I haven't been on my Facebook page in 9 months. I don't miss it. But I do miss socializing with close friends from long ago that are now in Far Away places. PS I am addicted to this place and you all are my church friends. Edited January 28, 2022 by rodheadlee 2
bsjkki Posted January 28, 2022 Posted January 28, 2022 Facebook has little value since the ads and algorithms took over. I like seeing my friends and their families and adventures, but they are not posting much. I don't post much. I think people are getting more aware of privacy issues. For me, it is only good for happy times. No politics, no religion. I like twitter for news. For my brain, it's perfect. I can dig deep or not and search topics and follow those who I have found accurate. Plus, I am anonymous. This site is addictive but can also be the more 'upsetting' as topics get contentious at times. And I am anonymous. I think online, I am more comfortable with that. 3
Orthodox Christian Posted January 28, 2022 Author Posted January 28, 2022 3 hours ago, bsjkki said: Facebook has little value since the ads and algorithms took over. I like seeing my friends and their families and adventures, but they are not posting much. I don't post much. I think people are getting more aware of privacy issues. For me, it is only good for happy times. No politics, no religion. I like twitter for news. For my brain, it's perfect. I can dig deep or not and search topics and follow those who I have found accurate. Plus, I am anonymous. This site is addictive but can also be the more 'upsetting' as topics get contentious at times. And I am anonymous. I think online, I am more comfortable with that. I agree about the ads, they are so maddening. And I think that if we deliberately cut out politics, then there is very little else posted of interest. And you're right, once you break the habit you don't miss it.
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