If your not a Facebook person , why ?

[Yoshi]

I signed up back when you had to be a college student to get an account. I thought it was an interesting idea but never liked it much once it was available to everyone and maybe log in once every few months.

I don't like posting under my real name online, and I don't have any photos on my account because I don't want people to know what I am up to probably because it would lead to criticism (I stopped telling most people how much I like going to amusement parks because of the criticism). I get friend requests from people I went to school with who I never talked to once and also get friend requests from family members who I have no interest in ever communicating with again.

Some people post nothing but political stuff multiple times a day every day and I go online to escape that discussion, others just whine about something every day like their job.

I lurk in some groups about some hobbies and it seems like people are horrible towards each other in those groups compared to moderated message boards on the same topic. It also annoys me that Facebook killed one of my favorite forums because everyone switched from the forum to a group on Facebook.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I got rid of it about 5 years ago. Honestly i got rid of it because too many “older” people got on it. My mother, grandmother, aunts, SOs aunts and Mom too. It got to be where we would post pictures of us out and it would become “you guys are always out” along with the “whole did you drink. How did you get home.” My SOs family is worse and will throw in little shots to him about going out with friends but not visiting his mom that weekend. It got to be exhausting.

Then my SOs mom would send me blinking flashing gifs to my wall every morning noon and night saying good morning or good night. My whole wall was a flashing light! Lol

I notice the older people in our families treat Facebook like it’s life. It is their world. They don’t know how to separate social media from reality.

Anytime my SO talks to his mom we get the entire FB run down. Updates and all.

I am on Instagram and that’s it. And i don’t post much.

 

[maxaroni]

Not on any social media, not sure the DIS is the same thing, but who knows? As far as FB, no interest in being sought out by former classmates, co-workers, or anyone else. Small family, so no one of interest there. A few distant relatives, if they want me, they can email me, or call me. Here (DIS) it can me as much or as little as we want to say and it is more anonymous, IMO. I know you can make your profile private but have no interest in having “friends” able to find me, either. DS25 goes back and forth with it, phases of being on it and then off for awhile.

 

[Starwind]

I have a FB account, but it is as locked down as FB lets me make it -- if a setting lets me set it to "only me" I do, and if it won't it is set to "friends only"; if I can leave a field blank I do. So I don't get friend requests. I have 17 "friends" on it and they are all people I know/knew in RL, who for the most part are now living elsewhere in the world; only two are family -- FB has been a good way to stay in touch, and a useful tool for reaching out in private message to ask companies a question. All posts are set to friends only, and I do not reply to public posts. If a friend links my name in a public post I ask them to unlink it [they know now to just not link me and forward me something they want me to see via Messenger or email]. Definitely not using FB the way FB wants people to be using it.

SW

 

[CdnCarrie]

My MIL checks fb constantly. Every single persons page with her morning coffee. Shares everything and really thinks if it’s there it’s true.

My FIL unfriended me years ago when my kids stayed at his house while I traveled to a friends wedding. I posted pics of the trip and it annoyed him.

My mother blocked me because she got mad that I didn’t share details of my teenage daughters boyfriend passing. Because protecting her privacy (and not broadcasting all her bad choices) is such a bad thing.

Literally I can’t handle the drama.

Thing is that drama is caused by the people you associate with. It has nothing to do with the software.
Its like the ever popular American argument about guns. You can't blame the gun just the shooter. That drama is
already in your life you just avoid it on social media.
I never have drama on my FB friends as my family aren't drama queens and neither are my friends.

I'm sorry but I can't stand it when people blame social media for their family drama.

What I really like about FB is able to follow a business and message them. Much more interactive than a website.

Other thing I like is keeping in touch with out of province relatives like cousins. It's a nice way to see pictures of their kids.

I only have maybe 120 friends all that I know IRL except for couple good online friends.Also have it secure to friends only. SHocked at how may people don't do this.

 

[Lynne M]

I'm addicted to Twitter, and I like Instagram. I loathe Facebook. I have an account, but I rarely check it. I never post there.

Why? Way too many unpleasant experiences. I've learned things about friends and family members that I'd really rather I hadn't known. I've seen people overshare in ways that I know they're going to regret, either professionally or personally. I've seen people be unbelievably cruel.

Yes, I've seen some good things happen because of FB. But in my experience, the bad has far outweighed the good, and I don't need that kind of unpleasantness in my life.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

I do have a facebook account but its really a little under the radar so to speak due to my dh job. I dont twitter or instagram. I honestly mostly have the facebook account to enter book contests. I do belong to one cancer group on facebook but its not too active.

 

[Tigerlulu]

Thing is that drama is caused by the people you associate with. It has nothing to do with the software.
Its like the ever popular American argument about guns. You can't blame the gun just the shooter. That drama is
already in your life you just avoid it on social media.
I never have drama on my FB friends as my family aren't drama queens and neither are my friends.

I'm sorry but I can't stand it when people blame social media for their family drama.

What I really like about FB is able to follow a business and message them. Much more interactive than a website.

Other thing I like is keeping in touch with out of province relatives like cousins. It's a nice way to see pictures of their kids.

I only have maybe 120 friends all that I know IRL except for couple good online friends.Also have it secure to friends only. SHocked at how may people don't do this.

Totally agree but I’m not blaming fb for my family drama. I’m explaining why I don’t like using fb. Because my ridiculously dramatic family likes to have it as a tool to be nosey and to hurt people. Not my cup of tea.


On a separate argument that has nothing to do with my family drama is my issue with Facebook algorithms. I think social media was so much more useful before it became big business.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

Trust me, the "friending and following was done to "stalk", one of the relatives literally sits on facebook all day while working, can't imagine, but that is the truth, high paying position as well. They are involved in way TOO MUCH DRAMA,!

We could be related! I have relatives who stalk the kids....... so annoying. Then when there are family get togethers, they said,” oh I know all about such and such!” Ok? So what? You are just using FB to stalk and be nosey and stir the pot . I feel like telling my nieces and nephews to post a bunch of untrue stuff.

 

[mousefanmichelle]

I have it and am on it daily but I don't post but a couple times a month and it's not really too personal. For me, it's something to do. I remove it from my phone then I get bored and put it back on... it a cycle. I do hate some of the posts, I really do. I don't need to see videos of you sledding with your kids, so seeing them eat apples. I hate the attention seeking comments people make. Don't get me started on the political garbage.... Your opinion is your opinion and I am fine with that but stop trying to shove it down my throat. I unfollow people. A lot. I wish I could quit it. Like it said it a time filler for me though. I will say this - my kids are on it (23,21,19) and I rarely post on their stuff - they don't want my comments on their stuff they want their friends so I do try to stay off their stuff. My MIL on the other hand does not and neither does my SIL. They will post on my kids stuff all the time. It bothers my kids.

 

[paisleys]

I got rid of it about 5 years ago. Honestly i got rid of it because too many “older” people got on it. My mother, grandmother, aunts, SOs aunts and Mom too. It got to be where we would post pictures of us out and it would become “you guys are always out” along with the “whole did you drink. How did you get home.” My SOs family is worse and will throw in little shots to him about going out with friends but not visiting his mom that weekend. It got to be exhausting.

Then my SOs mom would send me blinking flashing gifs to my wall every morning noon and night saying good morning or good night. My whole wall was a flashing light! Lol

I notice the older people in our families treat Facebook like it’s life. It is their world. They don’t know how to separate social media from reality.

Anytime my SO talks to his mom we get the entire FB run down. Updates and all.

I am on Instagram and that’s it. And i don’t post much.

Ha, the older relatives love it. I don't have a relationship with my mother (abusive) but my MIL (who only met her twice and is quietly manipulative) friended her then tried to friend me. I know I could block my mother and add my MIL, but I really just didn't want to deal with this little web so I refused her friend request and told her why. She said she would delete her right away, but she never did (my mother told my SIL that my MIL sent her a porn site when my MIL invited her to join Facebook--this is how my mother is so good luck to MIL...) My husband won't accept her request either. I can't post anytime we visit where I am from or go on vacations because I have random cousins who demand (yes demand) to meet up with us. We prefer to spend vacation time with my own family rather than people I never hung out with when I lived there. I don't care for some of these cousins who admittedly know how horrible my mother is, but still shame me for not having a relationship with her. This is why I rarely ever post on Facebook. It's like a love/hate thing. I love staying in touch with some people but if I posted, it could really have a huge drama affect on my life. I probably shouldn't have accepted the cousin friend requests in the first place! I deleted and blocked an aunt who will go on about how terrible my mother is (another thing I don't need to hear) but then posted and tagged me in. a bunch of Christmas pics with her a few years back.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Ha, the older relatives love it. I don't have a relationship with my mother (abusive) but my MIL (who only met her twice and is quietly manipulative) friended her then tried to friend me. I know I could block my mother and add my MIL, but I really just didn't want to deal with this little web so I refused her friend request and told her why. She said she would delete her right away, but she never did (my mother told my SIL that my MIL sent her a porn site when my MIL invited her to join Facebook--this is how my mother is so good luck to MIL...) My husband won't accept her request either. I can't post anytime we visit where I am from or go on vacations because I have random cousins who demand (yes demand) to meet up with us. We prefer to spend vacation time with my own family rather than people I never hung out with when I lived there. I don't care for some of these cousins who admittedly know how horrible my mother is, but still shame me for not having a relationship with her. This is why I rarely ever post on Facebook. It's like a love/hate thing. I love staying in touch with some people but if I posted, it could really have a huge drama affect on my life. I probably shouldn't have accepted the cousin friend requests in the first place! I deleted and blocked an aunt who will go on about how terrible my mother is (another thing I don't need to hear) but then posted and tagged me in. a bunch of Christmas pics with her a few years back.

My friends and family now use Group Me. It's a texting app. I'm on about 5 group chats. We share pics, chat, post memes, make plans, joke around, etc on the group chats. It even has an invitation/calendar option which keeps you updated. So we do our invites for bday parties or holidays or family gatherings right on there. It also has a poll option so we will do "what day should we see Black Panther." Everyone votes on a date and we go from there. I don't even miss FB with this.

 

[Cubbiecakes]

I'm on Facebook but everything is on my terms. It has its uses... coordinating small group events, keeping in touch with certain members of my family - they're all in another state and we all hate phones. I belong to a private Disney group that is fun to follow, and I help manage a group page for an organization I'm a board member of.

Facebook is great if you want to become disappointed with humanity in general and depressed for the future of our society. Nothing quite like finding out your favorite teacher is a rabid racist right-wing nutjob, or that half of one of your family member's friends are apparently drunks/druggie trash. It's really a cesspool of narcissism, attention-seeking, and shallowness.

My profile is completely locked down, and I've set it so that the only people who can send friend requests are "friends of friends" (ie., no one can look me up using Facebook's Search feature). If someone I loathe or otherwise find objectionable happens to send me a friend request (because they are a friend of a friend), I just ignore the request and let it sit there. With very few exceptions, every "friend" I have is someone I know personally in real life (hence, "coordinating small group events," above). And even though I have allowed a few people on my list whom I would rather not (racist right-wing extended family members), you can simply "unfollow" their feeds so you never see whatever garbage they post.

Even then, I find myself pulling away from Facebook more and more every month. No one actually "says" anything anymore, they just post memes at each other, so as a medium of discourse, Facebook has already become irrelevant. But honestly that's just indicative of society as a whole these days... shallow, empty-headed, entitled, and willfully ignorant.

 

[1911]

I have an account but I find facebook to be one of 3 things, A political soap box, a pity party or a brag fest. I couldn't stand it after a few months.
I use my online time as an escape from every day life and don't need to be reminded of mine or some one else's.

 

[Snowflakey]

Never have been. Those that care for me are in my life. I see too many people who are on FB and see posts from whomever they are friends with and it makes them feel like they are connected when in fact many of them don't see these people for years and years. I know to a degree they are connected but I want real, face to face, voice to voice contact.

 

[Boardwalk Jedi]

I posted in other thread why I don't do FB. It started off as cute and fun, but overall I'd say it's a waste of time. When my sole reason for being there is to see who the latest train wreck is, then it's time for me to do something else.

 

[runwad]

I created a fb account 9 years ago when my first kid starting using it to keep tabs on her. Never really had friends or used it much. But then 4 years ago not sure why I started using it more. My page is private and only friends of friends can find me. I have a ton of friend requests that I just ignore. If I haven't seen you in 30 years since high school, i'm not interested in you. Nor do I know how you turned out and don't want you to know my business. But some people that I do accept friend requests from, I might make them acquaintances instead of friends. Then when I post something I can pick my audience only my friends can see it or I can pick to have Friends plus acquaintances to see. My friends are all my family and real life good friends. Acquaintances are just that. Some of my kids friends, parents,old sorority and college friends, people of that nature. I find I can be a bit nosey and like to see what they are all up to but I don't let them see what all I'm up to.ha

I also have some family that are friends but I hide their posts from my feed so I don't have to be subject to all their meme's. But I was finding I was left out of a lot of family chatter and events because I didn't do facebook and no one would think to call me. So now I'm in the loop. And using the controls that FB provides makes the experience a more positive one for me.

I do twitter too and I like that so much better! My only friends on that are my kids and then I follow social causes and news sources or celebrities that I like. And I even do snapchat, but that is to totally annoy my kids with my stupid stories. I don't friend anyone else but them or let anyone follow me.

 

[CdnCarrie]

To me following celebrities would be the biggest waste of time. I would much rather now what a old school friend is doing than some dumb celebrity.

 

[luvsJack]

To me following celebrities would be the biggest waste of time. I would much rather now what a old school friend is doing than some dumb celebrity.

I don’t know. I follow Will Smith, Tim McGraw and Keith Urban. Will Smith was the first celebrity I followed. Love the pictures that are posted from places they are-I guess I started seeing them when Jayden was filming Karate Kid. The other two, I like seeing their new videos. Much better than all the crazy fake “news” posts.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I like it. It's an easy way to keep up with friends and family who I only see once a year sometimes even once every few years. My sisters and I set up a private group just for us and we keep in touch that way. Otherwise we'd be too busy to keep in touch which is how it used to be before Facebook.

Plus we have another private group that my Mother is on - she likes to post nonsense so we set that up so we don't have to see her nonsense all the time and that way she can't clutter up our sister group.