Why I Hate/Love Facebook
Image via CrunchBase
Facebook and I have a strange relationship. I love it. I hate it.
Let me explain. Whenever someone says they have good news and bad news I always choose the bad news first so we can end on a good note. So let me begin with the bad news.
Why I hate Facebook:
It’s a time waster. Seriously, did Zuckerberg build in some kind of time vacuum? Time goes way too fast when you’re scrolling down that blasted news feed. I swear it’s some kind of conspiracy to get people’s minds off things that really matter. Think about that. I’m guilty of this one.
It makes your mundane life seem, well, mundane. Everyone is posting about their great vacations, their accomplishments at work, how advanced their children are. They have photos where they’re smiling and laughing and splashing in the Caribbean, eating at some great restaurant, showing off their new car. And you? Well, you just had an argument with your spouse after sending your daughter to her room for the evening. Loser. I’m guilty of this one, too.
(Okay, this one is going to step on toes so I’m apologizing in advance.) It encourages narcissism. Ever notice how many selfies there are? For those of you who don’t know, a “selfie” is a photo taken of oneself by oneself. You know, those shots of someone either in the mirror or holding the camera at arm’s length.
Typically these photos fall into two categories. The I’m-taking-a-photo-of-myself-at-some-special-location photo and the I’m-too-sexy-for-this-camera photo.
The first one I get, I really do. We all like our picture taken while on vacation or while visiting some special location or at the ballgame. It’s great for family, great for memories. And it’s a whole lot easier to just snap a shot of yourself rather than track down some stranger walking by and ask him to take a photo of you or your family. That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about those other selfies. The ones in the mirror, the ones holding the camera and making some I’m-trying-to-be-sexy face. What’s the point? Sure, they get lots of comments. “You’re so beautiful!” “Wow, you look great!” “Aw, what a cute outfit!” “Hey man, bet you drive the ladies crazy, huh?” Oh, maybe that’s the point. I’ll be honest, I’ve only ever taken a selfie once or twice with a webcam and it was a very boring shot of myself sitting at the computer, but I’m guilty of using Facebook to satisfy that narcissistic lean we all have. For more on this selfie craze and how it negatively impacts your relationships, check out this article in the New York Daily News.
Okay, enough of the negative. Now, why I love Facebook:
It’s an easy way to reconnect with old friends and acquaintances. There’s a whole world of people out there on Facebook and it’s a convenient platform to catch up on how others are doing. And let’s face it, we bemoan the current trend in online “socializing” and say how fake it is and all that, but I’ve established relationships with people and maintained them wholly through Facebook. If it wasn’t for Facebook I never would have met that person. Our paths simply would never have crossed. And, truthfully, I’ve been blessed by many folks via Facebook.
It’s a convenient medium for spreading the word about something, anything. Word can spread quickly in Facebook Land and when that’s the intent, it’s a good thing.
It’s a convenient way to connect and share your life with family and friends. We all have family who live a distance away. Facebook provides a platform for sharing photos and news and updates in an easy, convenient way. You snap picture, you post picture, Mom and Dad 500 miles away can view picture . . . all in a few minutes, seconds really.
For businesses, it’s another medium to connect with your customers and promote your work/product. And that’s a good thing. Oh, and it’s convenient.
Did I mention that Facebook is convenient?
I’ll be the first to admit I’m guilty of wasting time on Facebook. Too much time. I’m guilty of feeling like my life is mundane after scrolling through someone else’s photos. And I’m guilty of Facebook induced narcissism. I’ll admit all of that.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the purpose of Facebook. It can serve a purpose. I’m working through what those purposes are and how to use them to better my life rather than tear it down.
So what do you say? What do you love and hate about Facebook? What do you see as the purpose of Facebook? How do you keep from allowing it to dominate and control you?
Posted on August 30, 2013, in Life in General and tagged Caribbean, Facebook, Narcissism, Social network, Zuckerberg. Bookmark the permalink. 10 Comments.
MIKE DELLOSSO 
It’s SO true, Mike! I agree with you totally! I shared it on my facebook page :).
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I totally agree with you, Mike. I have other issues, such as a friends profile page only having Farmville entries and nothing else and all the contact with you is invitations on a daily basis requesting you to play this game. When you post anything, such as how are you? etc, no reply. So Unfriend button, here I come!!
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Peter, don’t get me started on the game requests . . .
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I agree. Sometimes I decide I’m done with it, checking out of Facebook permanently. Then I realize how much I’d miss so I determine to use it in moderation. You know, discipline myself. The next thing you know I’m zombie-like scrolling through the feed, stalking friend’s vacation albums and clicking links to far away lands. ugh.
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The most negative of Facebook, is it can be addictive. I do play a few games on there. 🙂 It is challenging going down the newsfeed if you have a lot of stuff, which we all do, it seems. I just stop after awhile. But whatever I like along the way I post or share. But I think honestly, there is more to love about facebook than dislike. As Mr. Delosso stated above, connecting with friends and family. Some of my friends are people that I grew up with, so that’s cool. 🙂 what I love about it too, is I use it as my blog, to tell how I am feeling or tell things about myself – what I love, what is important to me, a situation I am going through, etc. I post movie, music and food reviews at random, on whatever I like. I don’t post negative reviews on what I don’t like – I feel that is a waste of my time. I also am subscribed to inspirational feeds; Joel Olsteen, T.D. Jakes, Joyce Meyers, Roma Downey, Britt Nicole, Tony Evans, Billy Graham, things that help me when I get home from work or even when i am not working – sayings or scripture that will inspire and help me when I need it. And I share and like them. And I hope sometimes it will help others, And it’s just really cool as well, how celebrities interact with the public more through their facebook, twitter, etc. Thanks for reading. 🙂
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Sorry about misspelling your name. I was hoping I had it right.
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One of the best things about Facebook is making friends! I would never have said that a few months ago but I have connected with some awesome new Christian friends that I would have never met if not for fb. Yep Mike, you know who I am talking about! 🙂
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I gotcha, Amy! And totally agree . . .
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As Amy mentions, FB has enabled groups of people from far away places who wouldn’t have met otherwise to come together in community of support and encouragement. That is pretty special.
But yes, the narcissism and addictive nature of it are real challenges for all of us.
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Well written, Mike. I agree with everything you noted!
I also hate that it is where I find out things going on with my son who has withdrawn from us fairly well. Then again, I can love that it allows me to find out what’s going on with my son. . Surely depends on what I’m discovering. For example, to see a friend of my son’s in the wee hours Sunday proclaim he is “praying” for my son and how bad he feels with no further explanation. . do I love or hate Facebook? My husband, other son and I, after some level of panic and searching, discovered my son, by the way, was in jail. . arrested on his 2nd DUI in 4 months. Let the tears begin.
Then later in the day yesterday we were able to look at photos of that same son’s best friend who hung himself yesterday morning while my son was in court. See his sweet face that we will never see again. I suppose I love that.
Also. . hate that my husband and I can sit in the same room and not say a word to each other for an hour because we are reading and commenting on Facebook newsfeed, even on each other’s posts!! But love that we can post things together that demonstrate or love and commitment to each other for our friends and family to see.
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