How do you feel about facebook?

[luvsic]

Oh don't get me wrong, ALL my information was set to private. I guess I'm more of a private person in general now, however, because facebook can easily be a place to keep in touch with friends, but it can also be a place to let acquaintances you've met once in your life have access to all of your information (well, whatever you display.) For example, "I met this guy at a party, I don't really want to say no to accepting his friend request.." lol. It got to a point where I was just adding random people who went to my college onto my friends list, who were adding me.

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but the moment I found myself browsing through pictures of people I don't even know, I gained some perspective and knew that i'd hate it if the roles were reversed, and some random was browsing my shit.

ITA. This is really how I feel now, because I started to become that way too.

Facebook can be a great tool to socialize with others, I guess it's part of the Generation Y culture for sure. But I guess to me since I saw myself and a lot of other people abusing it, like so:

"So, SHOULD I add him as "in a relationship with" on my facebook? I don't want to look weird and clingy if I do, but if I don't it means he's still under "single" for his status!!"

*eye roll* I just chose to leave it. Meh, it's been better for me personally ever since

 

[Blushbaby]

I use FB daily. I have my privacy settings on lockdown and no longer have my photo albums on my page to view either. You can't even find me in the profile listings.

It's great for keeping in touch with family and friends I don't get to see as much as I'd like and it's been fun to catch up with old school friends and work colleagues too.

Lately I've deleted a bunch of people I barely talk to, or care much for as I got carried away when I first joined, adding everybody I knew!

I'm loving the "Top 5 ..." polls that are popping up in everybody's news feeds at the mo - very funny.

I'm aware that people go on other prople's pages to "read up" on what you've bene up tp lately and I'm fine with that as any posts that are posted on my wall that I feel expose too much of my business I delete and then tell the person to take the convo to my inbox!

I deleted my My Space page months ago. I found it too impersonal and quite childish. Everybody wanted to be a bloody model or rapper on there too it seemed.

 

[vocaltest]

I love facebook. Why? Numerous reasons.. mainly being my friends are on there, easiest way to find out if something is going on, and see pictures from nights out/events. Also, another reason is because I like lurking... I call it 'the facebook rounds' where I see whats going on in my friends lives haha. Honestly... I don't really care what people see/read about me on there.
I have Myspace, but I don't use it as much. I used to use it regularly, but now everyones migrated over to Facebook.

I always hear this argument that myspace is more private than facebook.. its not really. You can change your settings on both so that not everyone can see your information etc.

You have to remember that just because you're not on any social networking sites doesn't mean that you're not 'private' on the internet. There are various ways for someone to find out information about you if they really want to.

 

[zzoester]

I have FB and myspace. I'm so over my myspace......I loved it like 3-4 yrs ago but now I still have it and hardly check it. It's kind of more juvenile, I think.

I do like FB, though. I am friends with lots of people from my work....so there's definitely (IMO) a more professional aspect to it. I can actually consider it networking for purposes other than social (like myspace is purely social IMO). Plus, it seems that most adults/professionals have it. I keep everything like this private so only friends can view my pics or page. Not even friends of friends....I don't want anyone out there seeing me or my personal stuff. I also tend to not get too personal on the internet, anyway.

 

[luvsic]

It's not really about stalking for me, I had all of my privacy settings set to the maximum, so I wasn't too worried about people doing that. But it does give people easier access to save pictures and information about you - all you need to be is a friend of a friend and so on. I've known people who have had their pictures stolen on facebook and people have created faulty accounts using them. haha I'm probably just overly cautious, but the internet can be a scary place. You have to be pretty careful what you post about yourself, and what you do on there. It can be powerful, but scary.

I guess I don't like it because I felt like I was going on it too much. Yeah, so just control yourself..but it's easy to get on there when you're doing homework and checking for a few minutes for me became checking for a few hours. I found myself on some random girl's page who I never even knew before and then I'd catch myself and say "wait a minute..what am I doing?! I don't even know this person!" It's great to see pictures of what parties your friends went to last friday or when the next big event is, but I guess I don't really care about that. There are other ways to reach me than to relay me a message and the pokes and millions of quizzes get annoying. Sure, it's become just another way to keep in touch with people, it can be a great way to do that. I just used to abuse my time on there so I just got rid of it and since then I've been happier.

And the drama that would happen on there, goodness. It was ridiculous.

 

[Shanti]

No.
If people want to keep in touch with me and vice versa, there's MSN and my phone for that. I don't care for that many people.

 

[luvsic]

^^ lol, see, that's kind of how I feel now too. If people REALLY wanted to keep in touch with me, give me a call. Text me. If you wanna keep in touch there's a way. I rarely even get on AIM anymore. I had left college to take time off, and it seemed like the best way to keep in touch with people is through facebook obviously, since every college kid freaking has one. But instead I deleted it. I figured that people who really wanted to keep in touch with me, would. And I found out that my real friends, did. They called me, texted me, and wrote me emails. When I (rarely) got on AIM the friends I wasn't that close with before still instant messaged me. For everyone else once my facebook was gone, I was out sight, out of mind.

There was a guy who only talked to me on fa cebook. He would always message me then just to have idle conversation. But then in real life, he'd barely talk to me. Same with other friends - they'd write on my wall and send me bumper stickers, and act like OMGZ THAT PARTY LAST NIGHT WAS AMAZING UR MY BFF I FREAKIN LOVE YOUUUU when really, we weren't THAT close. Then another guy asked me OUT on facebook. That was crossing the line. I mean if that works for you great haha, but for me I don't know, it's just not one of those things I dig anymore..it's like what myspace is to most people to me. Just a social networking site. I didn't delete my facebook for those reasons I listed above, those were just some of the things that irked me.

When people from my elementary school started adding me, I felt nostolgic for a little bit, but they only added me and that was really it...we had a brief facebook conversation and it was over. I guess if you are in a different country or you do have childhood friends you'd want to reconnect with, facebook can be great. Or if you just like the whole social aspect of it as an easy way to keep in touch with friends, that's cool too. I guess for me I just like something a little more personal. In the past I let fb get to me too much in bad ways - being addicted, stalkerish, etc. Yeah I know I'm weird. But for me, if you want to talk me, you'll find another way.

I think the main reason why I got rid of mine, though, was pictures. Damn pictures. I'm just one of those people who doesn't have a beautiful photogenic face, and there was this FREAKING annoying boy who took a million pictures of every party my fraternity held, and the most unflattering pics would always end up online. Pictures of when I partied too hard, was passed out on a couch, and in revealing clothing. Who's fault was that? Mine, if I didn't want them up there I shouldn't have drank or worn my french maid costume for Halloween. And if I leave if someone decides to post them they will and they'll be up there. But ignorance is bliss. And I don't like being in pictures so I tend to just not be in them now. It's all a mind trip.

Wow I'm getting too deep with this..anyway yeah I got rid of mine. haha.

 

[BEA2LS]

i used to loove myspace! i was so addicted, i would get mad when people moved me off the top 5, i would get mad when people did not post pics of me, lol. it was so bad. but i was young.. i'm over all that now. i do not think there is anything wrong with it but i am really too much of a private person (besides i am getting old, lol) and i just do not feel the need for it.
i never had facebook but i remember when a lot of college kids used to have it.. i have friends who have that stuff and i know there are pics of me out there on their pages (group pics, etc) and i do not even really like that

 

[FiestyFemme]

I have a MySpace and Facebook, but I much prefer Facebook. I only keep MySpace for the people who aren't on FB, but I hardly ever use it. I like Facebook because it's the easiest way to keep in touch with a lot of people, find out who's up to what, see pics, etc.

 

[luvsic]

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Originally Posted by BEA2LS i used to loove myspace! i was so addicted, i would get mad when people moved me off the top 5, i would get mad when people did not post pics of me, lol. it was so bad. but i was young.. i'm over all that now. i do not think there is anything wrong with it but i am really too much of a private person (besides i am getting old, lol) and i just do not feel the need for it. i never had facebook but i remember when a lot of college kids used to have it.. i have friends who have that stuff and i know there are pics of me out there on their pages (group pics, etc) and i do not even really like that

Amen sister...it would cause that type of drama too, like "why am I not in your top girls or whatever.

Also it's SUCH an invasion of privacy in some cases...I would be the type of person who would add acquaintances and not always close friends, so let's say you start a relationship and then break up...do you REALLY want to announce that to the whole world, including your circle of friends? Is THAT the way you want to let them know? lol not me. I know you can "edit privacy" but really, why bother going through the trouble in the first place? Meh, I feel like I'm more private too...

 

[Blushbaby]

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Originally Posted by luvsic Amen sister...it would cause that type of drama too, like "why am I not in your top girls or whatever. Also it's SUCH an invasion of privacy in some cases...I would be the type of person who would add acquaintances and not always close friends, so let's say you start a relationship and then break up...do you REALLY want to announce that to the whole world, including your circle of friends? Is THAT the way you want to let them know? lol not me. I know you can "edit privacy" but really, why bother going through the trouble in the first place? Meh, I feel like I'm more private too...

Well you don't have to state you're in a r'ship on FB if you don't want to

You're not forced to sign up with a gun held to your head.

It's kinda obvious FB just isn't for you, privacy settings or not so I think you just should just shut your page and keep it moving.

 

[luvsic]

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Originally Posted by Blushbaby Well you don't have to state you're in a r'ship on FB if you don't want to You're not forced to sign up with a gun held to your head. It's kinda obvious FB just isn't for you, privacy settings or not so I think you just should just shut your page and keep it moving.

Oh girl I have shut my page down...lol I'm not on a mission to hate on facebook and bring it down at all costs, I was just wondering how other people felt about it, and I am free to give my opinion too. As for the relationship thing, I've just seen drama within the people I know concerning it, so I thought it a little silly. But yes you don't have to state your relationship if you don't want to.