I Hate Facebook
I joined Facebook around 2008 to keep track of my oldest child who was soon entering college. Over time, the age range of people I keep track of on Facebook has gotten older… a lot older.
What is good about Facebook?
Facebook has allowed me to renew contacts with old friends. It has allowed me to be in contact with other cartoonists and animators. It lets me see photographs of family and friends I would not otherwise see. The Messenger App has allowed us to text overseas without getting clobbered by cell charges.
What is bad about Facebook?
To put it simply, Facebook is a big downer. Are you having a lot of fun with a wonderful family gathering and experiencing great things? Post a photo on Facebook for the world to see, making sure to include a lot of people whose lives may not be going as smoothly as you. We all experience failures, but Facebook magnifies them.
Facebook also magnifies your social missteps and awkwardness. Facebook kills your filtering tools. You don’t have time to edit. You hit return and your whole comment is thrown out there, literally to the entire planet, before you understand the stupidity of your post. Twitter is yet another platform for this problem. The anguish of knowing you posted something incredibly stupid or unintentionally hurtful can be intense. It is like our children are living a streaming reality TV show and it is a recipe for sickness.
Facebook is more successful when there is more engagement. Engagement is better when anger is more prominent. The anger of the posts has only accelerated over the past several years. Again, there is no filter. On Facebook, our kindly friends and relatives deliver horrifying and ugly rants. Ads now fill my news feed and the service knows way too much about me. Unless you change the default settings, Facebook has access to all of your photos.
Facebook has helped create an insane need for positive “likes” when pictures are posted. “My picture only got 200 likes! I HATE MYSELF!!” Social media is damaging our children in ways we can only begin to understand. Most of my early “Facebook Friends” have dropped their participation. Some quit entirely. Others just stopped posting or responding. Others keep the account alive in case family members post videos or pictures.
Facebook is really a dilemma. It has become “essential” and it is also an out of control weapon. So, what to do about this mental health disaster? Is it wise to quit Facebook? My whole extended family is on Facebook. My mother is on Facebook… a lot! What will I lose and what will I gain? A lot of businesses that I like to track have tied their online presence to Facebook. Via Facebook, I still get an occasional heads up when a family crisis may be brewing. It was on Facebook’s Instagram that I recently found out a long time friend was seriously ill.
Yes, Facebook makes a ton of money. I’m clearly hooked. Our kids are hooked. Our neighbors are hooked. There is no way to regulate this beast.
And please click “like” this article on the Facebook link below. Click it now, NOW NOW!!! Otherwise, I will have serious self-esteem issues and question my very existence! Go ahead!! CLICK IT!!!!!
PLE-E-E-EASE!!!!
No Facebook.
No EMR.
Life is good.
All the Traps of Earth. Waste time and energy using FaceBook.. Too many good books to read,too much to learn everyday. Yes I am on Facebook.I do not post anthing,don’t do messenger. No pics, yes talk to others some but to much else to do see explore ..
https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958434
“It’s Okay for Docs to Refuse to Treat Unvaccinated Patients”
Arthur L. Caplan, PhD. a “Medical Ethicist”
My experience on Facebook and Twitter have been a lot like yours, and I cringe when I think of some of the stupid things I’ve said over the years. I rarely post now and never post on Facebook about politics. It’s not worth it.
I would say it’s like many other tools where you try to maximize the good and minimize the bad. I’ve thought about dropping Facebook, but some of the groups I’m in for my hobbies are invaluable and I really have no other options to replace them.
It is sad that Facebook seems to contribute to a negative self-image in some kids since it often portrays ideal lives that are impossible to achieve.