I just logged into Facebook for the first time in awhile to link up with a lady I met yesterday who makes soaps. She makes a special one for acne. As soon as I got connected to her website, I logged out of Facebook. Facebook is just not a good way to spend time. The best thing about it is keeping up with family, for example I found a Facebook message from my brother asking for my new number, and I love seeing pictures of my daughter, but THAT'S IT. Honestly I hope we find a better way to share pictures and videos of her because if it weren't for her, I'd have deleted my account a long time ago. Facebook is creepy and turns people into zombies.
I don't want to get into the reasons why I think it's creepy and turns people into zombies, many web pages have been written on the subject. I just find that my life is better without it. I keep in touch with family just fine without it actually. If my brother hadn't heard from me long enough, he would have eventually emailed me. My email is visible on Facebook, if he doesn't have it. I send cards to family, and occasionally get one back. I send notes to friends as well, and texting has basically replaced Facebook messaging. There's just no reason for me to be updating the world with what I'm doing every day, and no reason for me to waste my time scrolling through other people's updates and photos of things I really don't want to see.
My last Facebook post was in regards to my deceased father on his birthday. But honestly, for the very first time I felt how shallow it was to have posted it. I don't need twenty-five other people to like, love, ("react to," apparently), or comment on the fact that I miss my dad and it's his birthday. It was more meaningful that my husband and I went to a German restaurant for dinner in his honor. And NO WAY was I going to post about that. It didn't even occur to me to do so.
I guess I just feel like Facebook has contributed to the dumbing-down of society, and might be one of the reasons my friend and I are feeling "less adult" than our parents. Their generation didn't have Facebook. Well, I know that many people from their generation are on Facebook now, but they weren't when they were raising us.
Social media can be useful, but in general I think it's overdone and causes more problems than it solves. Email is still just fine with me for contacting people, as well as texting and sometimes phone calls, depending on who it is. I don't want to see pictures of your dinner, your baby, your toddler, your grade-schooler, your teenager, your root canal, whatever. I am now of the opinion that people should only send pictures of their children to friends and family, not post them for all to see. I realize you can choose who gets to see your posted photos, but it's much more loving and memorable to take the time to send it to an individual.
And this trend of having a child hold a placard with their age, grade, special occasion, or what-have-you written on it for their photo is a tad irritating. It reminds me of old prison photos. I have several photo albums that my dad lovingly put together which chronicles the majority of my childhood, all organized by year. I don't need a sign in the picture to tell me what photos are from what grade. I actually remember these things. And I can hold the albums in my hands. And I only share them with a few people, if anyone.
Lastly, we were recently invited to my niece's wedding through Facebook. The invitation was quite old, and we were out of the loop. No one called us, texted us, sent a paper invitation. If my husband hadn't logged in that day, we still wouldn't know about the wedding and would likely miss it. I understand it might be a financial constraint on their part, but I would have appreciated even a handwritten note instead of the Facebook "invite." My nephew, who is getting married a week before my niece, sent us a lovely invitation in the mail, as did my husband's cousin, who is getting married a month after the first two. Much appreciated.
I hate to imagine a world where nobody knows what life was like before Facebook. We're getting there and indeed, it is creepy.
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