Remember Myspace? Believe it or not, it still exists, but you don't hear it talked about much, these days. How about Friendster? The domain is available if you'd like to purchase it.
Then there was Facebook.
Facebook is everywhere. It has taken over. It's unavoidable.
Sort of.
There exists a population of people whose number grows smaller every day. They are like unicorns or leprechauns. An urban myth of sorts.
Who are these people, you ask?
Non-Facebook users.
My mom has a Facebook profile. So does my dad. I'm starting to see Grandmas and Grandpas who are entering the Facebook universe.
Anymore, it's odder to hear that someone is not on Facebook than to hear that they are. Seriously. Who doesn't use Facebook?
I'm always intrigued to hear the reasons that people use for not having a Facebook profile. There are many, but this has to be my favorite:
"I don't have time for Facebook."
Really? Are you that busy and important? You working on curing cancer with poetry? Maybe you're brewing up a recipe for brownies that give eyesight to the blind?
What do you have going on in your life that is so important and time consuming that you can't write up a quick bio, upload a couple of pictures and update your status a few times a week.
Honestly. You can update your status and interact with people on Facebook now using your smartphone. It's as easy as texting.
But you probably are too busy to text too, aren't you?
I guess I just don't understand people who avoid technology or act "too cool" for it. I've never met anyone and thought: "That person is way too cool to be on Facebook. In fact, they should probably create a website devoted solely to them and how awesome they are."
It just usually weirds me out a little. I'm not impressed. I just think you're avoiding the inevitable and trying to get attention.
Facebook's gonna get ya. It's just a matter of time.
What do you think of people who refuse to get on Facebook?
But are they cool enough for Twitter???
ReplyDeleteMy in-laws and my parents are not on Facebook. In fact, my father-in-law's computer is so obsolete he doesn't even turn it on anymore. We offered to get him one for Christmas and he didn't want it.
I've heard that some just think of it as a time-waster. I'd tend to agree, to a point. But I have a Facebook account, so what do I know?
ReplyDeleteI feel like Twitter is still sort of "fringe" enough that I don't expect everyone to use it. Shoot. I feel like half the people on Twitter aren't even sure HOW to use it. ha.
ReplyDeleteI agree. It can be a time waster. It also can be a great way to network, stay in touch with friends who live far away and even to grow relationships with people you see in person, all the time. It just depends on how you use it. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying Facebook is the best thing ever. I'm just saying the reasons people use for not having a Facebook profile (at all) are usually lame.
ReplyDeleteNo wonder I haven't been getting my friendster notifications any more... dang it all.
ReplyDeleteSorry hoss. That ship has sailed. Hard to figure what went wrong. Friendster was the bomb dot com.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this. The "too cool" attitude is what gets me.
ReplyDeleteWe actually have a friend who is so bad about keeping her cell phone handy that we just call her husband. (no, she doesn't have facebook)
We all have friends like that. Must be nice to be that important. :)
ReplyDeleteThey must have been home schooled (I was home schooled until High School). Just kidding.
ReplyDeleteI hear people say it waists all their time so that's why they don't use it. Its hard not to have it consume you but so important when you want to connect with other people. Great thoughts.
I was homeschooled up until HS too! I feel your pain! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I have strong opinions but when I find out that someone is not on Facebook, especially if he or she is younger than a certain age, I automatically think "what the f*ck is wrong with him that he's not on FB"? But there might be a good reason for it. I don't know. I do need to get back to FB stalking my old HS boyfriend now.
ReplyDeleteThese are the same people who don't watch TV, read anything but non-fiction, or eat at McDonalds. Do you want these people as your FB friends, anyway? I'll answer for you - NO!
ReplyDeleteHa. Good to see you were able to finally comment Jana. :)
ReplyDeleteStrong point. Hey. I didn't say I wanted to be friends with them. It's just weird they don't have a profile.
ReplyDeleteYou're totally right though. Not eating at McDonald's is unacceptable. :)
My husband isn't on Facebook. Because he's pretty much a monkey with a typewriter when it comes to computer literacy.
ReplyDeleteJButt has graced my blog with her presence. This makes my mouth smile.
ReplyDeleteNo offense to your husband. I guess I just don't get it. I'm a judgmental tech-nerd. Admitting it is the first step towards recovery. :)
Thanks for commenting, Jessica!
Oh man. I'm probably about to be crucified for this, and I hate that this is my first comment on the very first post that I've read on your blog, but...
ReplyDeleteI've been off of Facebook for about three months, I just got back on as I needed to connect with folks out of state that I don't have contact info for, but I am planning on getting back off very soon. I've had Facebook since my Freshman year of college, so... like six years now.
I think the statement "I don't have time for Facebook" is more valid than you may give it credit for. It's not necessarily that I literally do not possess the ability to get on Facebook with the amount of time that I am allotted each day. It's more that when I am on Facebook, I cannot escape it. I'm constantly being notified through e-mail, through push updates, at home, on the road... everywhere. When I'm not being notified, I'm checking it anyway because there is a line at Starbucks, or an awkward lull at the social event I'm attending, etc.
I find that the more I am on, the more dissatisfied I feel with my life, my friends, and my family. There are actually study results that show people who are on Facebook for more than a few hours a week feel less satisfied with their lives than those who do not.
I find that I grow annoyed with people I know as I am constantly exposed to their complaints, political grandstanding, and late night drunken status updates.
If I run into an old friend that I haven't seen in forever I find that I really have no need to ask them questions about their lives because I have this false impression that I actually know what is going on with them through Facebook, or, worse, I don't want to talk to them because they've turned me off by aforementioned annoyances.
So, no, I don't have time for all of that. I don't have time for my life to be overrun by the complications of feeling the need to share every morsel of my personal life with an audience eager to pass judgement. And I say that because I am guilty of it.
I've chosen to have time for other things, like being completely engaged in a conversation rather than checking my phone. I take the time to make eye contact with my barista and say hello rather than check in.
I guess what I am saying is that those of us who "don't have time" for Facebook aren't simply being ridiculous. Some of us have very real reasons for not being there. Facebook is a great tool, and it very well could be here for the rest of my life, but just like any tool, it can be abused. We live in an age where people are literally addicted to their phones and social media. I still use Twitter, I have my own website with my name and everything, but I think a lot more about what I am going to share these days, and when I find myself being annoyed or put off by social media, I do what it takes to remove that hinderance from my life.
When it really comes down to it, I only have so many hours in my entire life, and I don't want to have the time to spend them checking on how great my ex girlfriend's life is without me, you know?
PS. Your blog is great, and I look forward to reading more of your stuff.
ReplyDeleteQuite the novel there, young man. ;)
ReplyDeleteWe weren't really talking about people who don't spend a lot of time on FB, as much as those who refuse to even create a profile. Nothing wrong with taking some time off from the social networks.
Welcome to the fold! Great first post.
You know who's not on Facebook, but totally should be: Ricky Anderson. click to email Ricky to tell him how you feel about that.
ReplyDeleteI'm not on Facebook. I was, but I dumped it, and I don't see myself going back. It's not because I think I'm cool, but because I don't like FB.
ReplyDeleteI don't like how the powers that be seem to think that privacy is unimportant. It's important that my account stay locked down, but I found myself all too frequently having to go in and hide things again because FB made some update. I got tired of having to unsubscribe to everyone's likes and comments because there was a bug in that feature, and I kept seeing far more about my friends than I ever wanted to know.
I also didn't like the algorithm that FB used. Popular posts would appear in my feed, those with few "likes" didn't. They also truncated down all my Christmas and birthday greetings, showing me two and hiding the rest, and adding a little notification that they had done so.
As far as not having time for FB, I think that's a fairly legitimate statement. FB is a time suck. If I'm only taking the time to post my own stuff and not following up on my friends, I'm not being that great a friend. I am a writer with the attention span of a caffeinated toddler. FB is just one more distraction.
It's hard to read tone in a comment, and I am aware that I may come across as grouchy. That isn't my intent at all. I'm pretty ill today, and I'm having a hard time being witty and lighthearted. Now, get off my lawn you darned kids!
Hee! I don't watch TV, I love non-fiction, and I despise McDonalds, (though I would eat my weight in Chic-fil-a on any given day, I am a Jasper Fforde fangirl, and I have a sleeve of Girl Scout cookies hidden in an empty tampon box so my kids don't find them).
ReplyDelete