It's beyond doubt the most popular of social networks available on the wire and today it turns 10.
I joined Facebook on November 2007 when it wasn't as popular in Italy yet. Actually I mainly had contact with my (many back at that time) penpals spread all over the world. Soon after that a few aquaitances signed up to Facebook too and what had begun as a big love turned to a love/hate relationship for me.
Now, I am moderately social and, while I love to share my personal life with close friends who live abroad, I can't accept the idea of sharing the same news with people who live nearby but who don't really care about me. This is problem number one with Facebook: your community soon grows too wide and you are soon busy changing your posts and photos setting. As for me, I have got most people on my f-list neatly organized into various groups and each group is part of a definite setting. Most people who live here and still are not so close to exchange with me more than a couple words when accidentally meeting in town, but are close enough to ask for my friendship on facebook, are of course grouped as Aquaitances and most of my posts are hidden from said group.
Anyway, in the 7 years I've spent on Facebook my love for the social network has started to fade, slowly but relentlessly, to the point that now I only check it for my closest friends'feeds but hardly post anything on there. I am one for new instant loves when it comes to the net and I am presently engaged with Instagram. It's fun and creative, far better than Facebook if you ask me. But then I may be biased.
But let's go back to the birthday boy: Facebook. I think it is a great mean of communication, especially if you need to keep touch with someone you're close to but living far from where you live. It's interesting to see what other people share. And sometimes there're funny videos or photos going around.
Today Facebook is giving a special gift to its thousands users all over the world: your life in a movie. I see many of my contacts sharing their own life movie. I will abstain from doing one of my life. No thanks, it's something I don't like to share.
I was checking my own facebook page earlier today and I was surprised to see that there's pretty much all that anyone needs to know about me: not only I gave information about my profession, but Facebook also knows where I live, when I am born, who my relatives are, what I like and dislike. And it even keeps track of my agenda!
Facebook really forces sociality out of you, even if you are the antisocial that I am! It won't come as a surprise if in some years time more and more users will start to give it up and regain their life back.
What use do you make of Facebook?
I had FB for just a short time, I ended it very soon. ;-) In my opinion I thought many were very shallow, and a lot of people that I knew from the past didn't always reply or some even didn't reply after sending me one message and a friends request. I didn't like the FB setting and got it out of it.
ReplyDeleteSomeone told me that it didn't help deleting your FB account and that one could google one's name and still find it floating online. I tried googling my earlier FB account also putting the name I used during this time, but I haven't seen my "deleted" FB account anywhere to be found online. So perhaps I was one of the few where deleting my account went well with, or the person talking to me never really fully deleted her's.
I don't miss having FB nowadays, I know that one could have their curiousity fed by seeing or knowing about how people from our past is doing, e.t.c... Same as keeping contact with family or friends from abroad. I don't mind having become one who has less contact with most people, it is also good just having your own privacy too. ;-) :-)
I love your blog too!!! and of course I am now your follower on bloglovin!!! :)
ReplyDeletelove,
Marta