Ahhh, the subtle nuances of Facebook

[alien99]

Boy oh boy, where do I start? I am on FB, and have been since 2010. Over time I have tweaked it so I mostly get news and hobby feeds, but every now and then, drama comes my way. Today was one of those days.

Despite what Facebook advertises, for the most part, they do NOT reconnect you with former long lost friends, lovers, etc. They push horrible advertising-heavy games, promotions, and horrendous marketing gimmicks. They promote certain posts over others instead of allowing all in a seamless, chronological order. More marketing crap.

There is one person on FB who is causing me consternation today, and I think I know how I’m going to handle her. She posts offensive, inappropriate sexual pictures non-stop, despite being a mother to a tween and a 20-year-old. Then she chats with my wife and sends EXPLICIT FB messages to her. Thanks to intrusive software, this crap is sent to my iPhone (which I do NOT recommend anyone buying - EVER).

So, my solution: off to the deadlands of “acquaintances.”

Please post any negative experiences you’ve had with Facebook (or myspace) here, as well as what your responses have been - account deletion/suspension/deactivation, or just flat-out refusal to use the site. I am NOT a believer in this “social media” crap, and do not have a twitter account. I find the word “tweet” to be a way to dumb people down.

I like being able to get some rather obscure news all in one place, and I love the “underground” scene where there is a place for, in my case, reptile hobbyists to connect, and buy, sell, and trade stuff at non-box store prices.

I’d love for everyone to flood this topic with how much they hate Facebook. That would make my day. (I am in a sour mood towards FB at the moment.)

[metime]

I have a small amount of friends who aren’t total weirdos. I have some republican family members though and they worry about me being to liberal. I have to sift through their stuff. I can see how you would find it to be all orgy porgy.

[anon31002210]

Facebook is a business!

I never had Tweeter or other social media account (except Chinese Tencent’s Weibo, which I am not allowed to close that account before 6 months old), until 2012, I signed up for my first Facebook account merely to make my existence. I deactivated, but was not allowed to delete it. Somehow I managed to delete it later. On Facebook, a friendship can simply be ‘deleted’.
However, I signed up again in 2013 for the sake of signing up. I did not know what my second intention. I deactivated the account again this time, but am not allowed to delete it.

[alien99]

Yes @metime, that is another issue that comes up that I forgot about: politics. I too have conservative-leaning friends/family on there, and I’d like to not be bombarded by their bombastic opinions. That is why I get my liberal news in my feed where others can’t see it, and never share it with my whole circle of “friends.” Good point you made there.

[sohare1981]

I was good friends, well I don’t know how good we were, we didn’t know each other personal, just through the internet. I’d follow what she would say, and occasionally respond, but now she has gotten to extreme in her thinking and her beliefs, and sadly they do match mine. It’s nothing bad, she has devoted her life to saving animals, which I applaud her on doing, but now she has gone completely vegan, and insisits anyone who eats meat are animal abusers, and every one (in her opinion) needs to switch to veganism.

While I don’t have a problem with occasionally stating your belief system, she posts this every day on her face-book page now, in long rambling message. Messages that go on and on about how cruel non-vegans are to animals. How we (non-vegans) are evil torturous creatures. That we are evil and cruel if we happen to enjoy a stroll through our local zoos to see the wild animals we would normally never see in our life time.

I’ve taken offences to her statements because I do not see myself as a cruel person simply because I enjoy eating meat. We are animals, and animals eat meat…While I put up with this for so long I have simply stopped getting news feeds from her. I’m still face-book buddies with her but I know from the past she will occasionally post marks if people don’t respond she will remove them from her Facebook page. (I can understand that, and have done it myself). Next time I wont respond. I’m not going to remove her myself, I don’t care if she sits on my Facebook page friends list…but I’m not going to be upset if she removes me…I mean a person can only take being called cruel animal torturers for so long, right?

By the way I nave never tortured an animal my entire life, not even when psychotic. I love animals. most of my life I’ve had a cat, and have had two dogs in my life time. None of them have been tortured. In fact my little kitty now is a spoiled little brat that gets everything she wants…when she wants it. I can not see how this woman who has never met me has labeled me an animal torturer simply because I prefer to eat meat with my meals and enjoy a nice stroll through our local zoo’s…the aquatic area’s are my favorite with the penguin exhibits and the new seal & sea-lion area where you walk under a glass room and they swim over you, and all around you like in a big aquarium. I also like our bird house area in the zoo. I’ve never heard of them mishandling animals in our zoo’s. Sure it’d be nice if the animals could live safely out in the natural habitat’s but at least in zoo’s they are safe from poachers…though I guess I can see the argument against zoo’s, I personally like our local zoo.

[SurprisedJ]

I am NOT on facebook. I hate the idea of it… always have. Ever since the facebook bullying led to some to those girls committing suicide… I hated it even more.

I know that I’m very weird in that the few people I know who have in my life say I should be on FB so we can talk… I don’t get that really. My girlfriend lives next door. My other friend lives just on the other side of the ridge… I can walk next door faster then I can log on. I can e-mail everyone one else… Or even stranger… see them in person.

My sis has been harassed to no end on facebook by an ex-boyfriend who got told no means no and then he started posting horrid stuff about her. So she quit her account ages ago.

There are times when she comes home saying everyone at her work is mad at everyone else due some FB tiff and since she’s not on FB, she’s not in the drama.

Maybe it’s just too weird that my sis and I… and one or two others are NOT on FB and yet we can still function. We can still make it to work. We don’t have to worry about haunting photos showing up… we don’t have to put up with tiffs and drama.

I LOVE not being on FB and not having that in my life.

[karl]

I don’t like Facebook. Its possibly down to the fact that I have no former friends to connect with.

[Wave]

I never ever considered joining Facebook. I am a private person - a bit on the paranoid side so I dont think it would work out for me - Hey I know my limitations

[bear371]

I don’t see the point in it. Even in the beginning it wasn’t that exciting. It worsened though, as I felt to be the only person who was “real” and expressed my true thoughts on there. Even the friends who I thought to be honest people post this weird crap…just…no. There is nothing there for me. FB is a community to which I cannot and probably will never ever identify with.

[Amplitude]

Facebook has gotten worse over the past years, for all the reasons you stated, @alien99.
I personally dislike it, but I just still keep it on because of family. I don’t talk to anyone on there really, and the “friends” that I have, (about 600) aren’t really friends, just acquaintances. I personally hate seeing people get more likes than me. People just don’t like my ■■■■. That kind of gets me down.

Facebook makes me sad as I am depressed and mostly just sitting at home for the past few months, it makes me a little jealous too.
Sometimes I just want to comment “go ■■■■ yourself” on some peoples posts. It would make me feel so good.

[anon27867610]

My problems with Facebook have always been people posting junk I just don’t want to read and having family as friends. I would always have to be aware of what I was posting cause I had nieces and nephews who could see my posts. The fact that my whole family is super religious didn’t help.

I ended up deleting almost everyone. I think I have maybe four or five friends these days.