Carl and I had a discussion this week about why I was not on Facebook. I am not necessarily against Facebook, I just can't see why it would improve my life to be on it.At first, I didn't want to sign up because I don't like to fill out those profiles online. Not because of the time it takes, but because I don't like to describe myself by filling out a few boxes and have someone "understand who I am" because of them. Another compelling reason not to join (originally MySpace) was because I was a teacher and it was something all the high school kids were really into. I just couldn't get caught up in something like that.
I would hear friends talking about people they found on FB and what was going on in their lives. Other friends wanted to share pics they had added to their page. Some suggested that the best way to get a hold of so-and-so was to 'facebook them'. None of these things were persuasive enough for me to feel the need to sign up.
Carl isn't a super-active user of Facebook but has an account and uses it sometimes. He said that one of the reasons he likes FB is being able to share pictures. To which I reply, that is the exact reason that I started a blog. I feel like the friends and family who care check my blog so I should be covered there.
One last time, I am not against Facebook - I'm just not looking for one more thing to check, add to, and worry about. I have no void to fill, I have no trouble filling my time on the Internet, and I feel like I generally know what my friends are up to.
At the end of the conversation Carl said he had come to a conclusion. Before he could even say his theory about why I didn't like FB, I finished his sentence. I have spent so much time and energy in my life nurturing friendships, writing letters, remembering birthdays, and keeping in touch with people that to have Facebook come along and make it so easy for everyone to do the same is kind of a slap in the face. Although that thought had never occurred to me before, I don't disagree.
End Result: My new year's resolution is to get on Facebook. I have a year to think about it. It may or may not happen but if it does - will you be my friend?
And Twitter...who even knows what that is anyway?
8 comments:
I am not on facebook either and I'm not against it either. I just don't care to be on it. But I did want to let you know that you are one of the best people I know at keeping in contact and being a good friend...sending notes, remembering birthdays and whatnot. Just thought I'd let you know! Also, I loved your Christmas card!
I haven't wanted to do it either. I feel the same way about the blog - if they want to check, they will. My husband's whole family is on it and apparently we miss out on everything because we are not. I still can't bring myself to do it. If/when you finally break down, let me know how it is. Julie
I have a facebook account. I used it a lot at first, and it was really fun connecting with friends from long ago; however . . . I found it to be a huge time waster. One can easily be sucked into being on it all the time. Plus I found that the people I connected with on there . . . well, there was often a reason that I hadn't stayed connected with them over the years. I'm actually thinking of closing my account with them - maybe it will be one of my goals for this year!
I have an account but use it rarely. I also do twitter but that even less so. I enjoyed facebook at first but not much anymore.
I am a Facebook fan! I totally understand your frustration with it though, especially since you are great about keeping in contact with people anyway. The thing is, it's like any other internet tool and it is only as useful as you want to make it. So yeah, there are lots of people on it but not everyone is utilizing it in the same way.
For me it is really fun to find people from all kinds of places in my life...and to NOT have to read 1 million blogs in order to see what all those people are up to and how they are doing (not to mention not everyone blogs). Plus I really like that you can have a conversation with a person on Facebook whereas on a blog you can only ever comment. I also am never going to post all the pictures I take in life or vacation on my blog, but it's nice to be able to create whole albums on Facebook and I love to look through other people's albums too.
And since it's not like MySpace and is clean and a place where kids and adults all gather, it's pretty cool how generational it's become. I'm in much more constant contact with extended family now because all my mom's siblings (and my grandparents!) are on it; regardless of how much I see my aunts and uncles, it's still fun to be able to joke around with my Uncle Pat in the middle of a work day about something. I've also been able to reconnect with my Clifford cousins who I haven't seen in years so that's cool. I saw all of my cousin's Natalie's bridals and wedding photos and there is no way I could have done that unless I was holding an album in my hand.
I think Facebook is a really great way to get in contact/stay in contact with people and even though it's convenient, that doesn't have to make it less sincere. Just cus you're on Facebook doesn't mean you immediately become great at wishing someone happy birthday you know? It's still all about effort and knowing you, you'd own that site in a week!
And you can totally set privacy settings so your profile can be as private or as public as you want in case you don't want Tom Peterson looking you up ;)
so FYI - there are 7 Callie Brewers already on facebook...why not make it an even 8...or not ;-)
I don't check mine that often but I will definately be your friend :)
What in the trash IS twitter? I am lost, and I appreciate that I am not the only one. I just haven't wanted to say anything to anyone in case I was the only one in this boat.
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