one last thing about the facebook

Doesn't it seems like everyone has an opinion on Facebook these days? You have your proponents, your opponents, your addicts, your stalkers, your casual users.  I honestly cannot think of anyone between the ages of 10 and 80 who don't at least know what Facebook is.


I actually only know a handful of people who don't have a Facebook.  Isn't that weird?  Not weird that they aren't on Facebook, but more like, isn't it weird that this social networking thing has become so much a part of most of our daily lives?  To think there are actual new words and terms associated with Facebook that even my grandmother knows about is so funny to me.  "Friending," "defriending," "liking," "status updates," "FARMVILLE."  Odd to think that just ten years ago, if you threw any of those terms into an average conversation, nobody would have had a clue as to what you were talking about.


And have you ever noticed that when you happen to stumble across someone who doesn't have or use Facebook, they immediately get this shifty nervous look in their eye when it is brought up?  Like they are scrambling to convince you of a good reason they aren't doing it, concerned about your judgement, terrified that they aren't hip to this generation that we live in...


It's crazy actually.  The Facebook generation.  But you have to admit, it is a pretty big part of things these days.  And it seems like it's not going to be going away anytime soon.


So anyway, as luck would have it, I've made a little pro/con list of having a Facebook in case you are one of the few who are waffling on the issue of creating an account.  Because, obviously!  And at the end, I've outlined a little sampling of the most annoying kind of Facebook posters.


Pros


Reconnecting.  Apparently this is the biggest thing.  Who knew that 276 of my closest friends wanted to reconnect with me?  Except, I may very well have disconnected because I didn't want to be friends with about 273 of them.  


Making new friends.  If you aren't making new friends (I'm not), you're at least solidifying old ones.  Or voyeuristically checking out their lives.  Because, who wouldn't?


Easily keeping in touch with faraway family and friends. It is a quick, convenient and easy way to communicate, share pics and keep up to date on each others lives.  And another plus, if there are people in your life that you have to communicate with, you get to do it less personally than if it were in real life!  Win!


Birthday wishes, kudos etc.  You have to admit that it does feel kinda nice when you log on to a page of 97 Happy Birthday wishes, or a good luck or a job well done.  It just does.


Peeking in at other peoples lives.  Not exactly in a stalkerish way.  More like in an "interested in your life" way.  Or, a stalkerish way.


Getting insider scoops and info on the things that you have "liked."   If you "like" bands, authors, TV shows, brands, stores, etc, you'll get notified of anything up and coming, including coupons, deals, giveaways and sales.  I am very pro-deal, sale and insider info, so this makes me happy.




and now, all of the Cons


Reconnecting.  For the most part, you stopped being friends with certain people for a reason.  Right?  Like that girl in 7th grade who told me my boobs were too big, that one who set me up for a lifetime of insecurities and feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.  Yeah, I still don't want to be her friend.


Awkward friend requests from people that I don't know, or barely know.  OMG, it is so uncomfortable when you get friended by someone that you don't know, or someone that you really don't want to know.  You just feel mean and awkward, and it mocks you, sitting there in your notification thing.  Your mean-ness becomes an in your face daily mockery.


Soapboxes.  Ugh, I hate this. I don't want to hear a rant on your political, religious or hot button issues.  I appreciate a good debate, I really do.  But, honestly, I'm not going to get into it on Facebook with you.  And it's a rare person who can sway my opinion on big issues anyway. 


Fight starters.  There just seem to be those people that thrive on drama.  It's like they lie in wait for a person to make the "wrong" comment about something and pounce.  So far I have been in one Facebook tiff, and man, it was frustrating.  I did not start it, but I think I ended it.  Jerk.


Lame or nonsensical updates every freaking hour.  Come on.  Nobody cares what you ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack every. single. day.  Not everybody wants to know everything.


Changing profile pictures of yourself every day, then commenting on how how ugly/bad/fat you look.  Why post the picture if you think you look like shit?  We all know why.  Because you want people to tell you that you look pretty.  Compliment whore.


Stalkers.  Freaks me out that people are looking too deeply into my life.   Or have the ability to.  Narcissistic much?


Time suck.  Good Cod you can spend hours and hours just checking out the lives of other people.  And trying to make your life look better to other people.


Being tagged in hideous pictures.  I love being the one behind the camera.    Because I know how basically impossible it is for me to look good in a picture.  You go into a party thinking you look like a princess, then later discover you really looked like an overdone asshole.  Thanks to the idiot that posted and tagged you in 50 awful pictures, the whole world gets to see that you looked like an overdone asshole.  As opposed to just the people who were actually at the party.


Trying to figure out all of the privacy settings so you are less stalkable.  Damn but they make it confusing to have some privacy on that thing.


All of the fucking changes they make as soon as you finally get used to the latest platform.  Need I say more?  Do I sound a little hostile?


Being defriended.  Well that just brings you right back to the days of getting kicked off the popular table in the lunchroom, doesn't it?


Hurt feelings.  It's hard to avoid the pictures of that great party you (just discovered you) weren't invited to, being that all of your friends seemed to have super fun party pics posted all over their pages.  Or you see an event that your kid got left out of.  Or nobody commented on that thing you thought was worthy of a comment.  Facebook opens up a whole new world of feeling left out/excluded.


And then, last week I wrote this little post about The 18 most annoying kinds of posts, which you can feel free to click on in case you missed it and are utterly intrigued by the title.


I'm leaving you with a clip from a funny post this guy wrote about the pros and cons of deleting your Facebook.  I have to share it with you because (a) I am very pro-pro and con lists, and (b) the whole article was damn funny.  You can thank me with your laughter.  And a raspberry daiquiri with whipped cream on top.  C'mon you know the drill.


"Pro: I will be an overall more productive person
Con: I will be a very bored productive person.


Pro: I will no longer have to read status updates from a girl in my high school about it being a beautiful day in Fresno today.
Con: I will no longer be able to laugh at status updates from a girl in my high school about it being a beautiful day in Fresno today.


Pro: I don’t know anything about my exes!
Con: I don’t know anything about my exes.


Pro: I will not have to field invitations from some event promoter about his party.
Con: I might miss an invite to an actual party I want to go to. And people won’t bother to tell me in person because they’ll assume I have a Facebook. OMG, we are just all technology’s bitch!


Pro: My family members on Facebook will no longer know about the times I get drunk and post a status update about it.
Con: There is absolutely no con to that.


Pro: I will no longer become unhealthily obsessed with people I don’t know.
Con: Strangers will no longer be able to get unhealthily obsessed with me.


Pro: I will have an air of mystery about me.
Con: People might forget that I exist."