Who are you not speaking to?

[Sue J]

I don't share anything on Facebook but I like to see what some of DHs family is up to so I check theirs. It used to be all pictures and family event stuff. Lately, one sibling has been posting all kinds of political stuff with, "don't you agree?" and "YES!" attached to everything. And she believes anything on the internet is absolutely true. Yes, anything! But I don't "friend" any relatives and I don't want them friending me either. It's interesting to see where her politics lie, but I don't think I'd tell her I saw anything on her Facebook page.

DHs family is smart enough to know that everyone has their own opinion and that it's better to not discuss politics.

 

[Options]

I don't "do" Facebook.

The only people I am not currently speaking to are all dead. I wish I could have a few words with some of them again, but that may have to wait a bit.

If any of my current friends or family start talking about the current political situation, I make myself absent from the conversation.

+1
Brian Tracy used to call television "chewing gum for the mind." IMO, the same can be said for FB. I highly recommend reading The Seventh Sense to get an idea of the power relationships inherent in networked connections like FB and how they can be used for control. It's scary stuff.

https://www.amazon.com/Seventh-Sense-Fortune-Survival-Networks/dp/0316285064/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1472662165&sr=1-1&keywords=the+seven+sense

I never have "arguments" over something as silly as politics because the three things I refuse to talk to anyone about are religion, politics, and (just started in the last couple years) diet/exercise (everyone wants advice in this area while few, if any, follow through with it, in my experience). Deceased comedian George Carlin explains my "view" on politics--if I cared enough to have one--better than I ever could.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

It's interesting to see how polarizing Facebook has become when the initial intention was to "bring people together." Now, it's more like a news website's comment section except you now KNOW who the idiot posters are. I just don't see that there are any useful aspects to it (for me).

I have few regrets in life...but two of them are:

1) Didn't retire earlier
2) Didn't deactivate my FB account earlier

 

[Ronstar]

I primarily use Facebook to expand my hobbies, but I have one 'friend' who spouts political banter daily in addition to his relationship woes. I thought about unfollowing him, but haven't yet. It's not too difficult for me to scroll over these posts and sometimes find something worth reading.


Sent from my iPhone .using Early Retirement .//82339)

 

[kcowan]

I find I can quickly get updated on FB by skipping over politics, memes, pictures of food and animals, and any exhortations to copy and paste any post.

What little is left is often interesting.

 

[Major Tom]

And you think this is a US only phenomenon?

No I don't - that's why I said "Politics in general".

 

[HFWR]

I've unfollowed a few "one-note pianos", and permanently hidden posts from many web sites/blogs (the usual suspects). I will say that some of the views espoused by my FB friends, if not a bit surprising, are definitely troubling.

I have, in the past, posted links to others' posts that I thought might present a more accurate or balanced view, all of which were promptly ignored, but lately I've put politics on "ignore". Better for my blood pressure.

Generally speaking, there are few that agree with my version of politics or religion, so I'm outnumbered...

 

[Amethyst]

Same here. I do like animal pics and videos, though

I find I can quickly get updated on FB by skipping over politics, memes, pictures of food and animals, and any exhortations to copy and paste any post.

What little is left is often interesting.

 

[latexman]

I only discuss politics with the folks who go into the voting booth with me - me, myself, and I.

 

[bclover]

first, I've come to the conclusion that my definition of "friends" is vastly different than a lot of folks nowadays.
Next, I don't use facebook for important discussions and I'm leery of folks who do.
and lastly, which could probably sum up my feelings about FB, it's for entertainment purposes only

 

[ivinsfan]

first, I've come to the conclusion that my definition of "friends" is vastly different than a lot of folks nowadays.
Next, I don't use facebook for important discussions and I'm leery of folks who do.
and lastly, which could probably sum up my feelings about FB, it's for entertainment purposes only

+1 and it's my view you should watch the entertainment and not supply it for other people....anyone who thinks I'm influenced by something political they posted on FB doesn't know me very well.

 

[CaliforniaMan]

I find it interesting that some people who are quite enjoyable to be with in person are completely intolerable on FB.

I unfollow anyone who continually posts political or religious or always one-sided depressing news articles or memes. Sometimes I will try to follow them again after a while, but a day or two later they usually get themselves unfollowed again.

But some of those same people that I cannot stand on FB, I genuinely enjoy being with in person. I guess FB ofttimes just brings out all that is bad in people. This seems to be the case on most of the forums I have tried to join as well.

Why can't people just use the internet they way it was intended? For porn and gambling.

 

[braumeister]

I find it interesting that some people who are quite enjoyable to be with in person are completely intolerable on FB.

I unfollow anyone who continually posts political or religious or always one-sided depressing news articles or memes. Sometimes I will try to follow them again after a while, but a day or two later they usually get themselves unfollowed again.

But some of those same people that I cannot stand on FB, I genuinely enjoy being with in person.

+1
Exactly my views.



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[Gumby]

I have a Facebook account, and I do accept friend requests if I know the person. However, I have to the best of my ability blocked anyone and everyone from posting on my timeline and I have blocked any and all sharing of information, tagging, pictures, location, etc. I sign on once a month or so to see what my nephews might be doing with their lives (my primary reason to have an account at all). I do not post anything, like anything or comment on anything. My goal is to eliminate all mindless drivel, not just the political kind.

 

[Dawg52]

However I've actually found this ridiculous political climate easier in terms of friends. The majority of my friends as well as myself dislike both candidates, so there isn't the die-hard advocate for one or the other in my group. Rather it is a lot of hand-wringing over "out of all this talent in the U.S. how in the world did it come to this??"

Same here. I have a couple of relatives on FB who are die-hard Dem and a couple Rep, but overall most people I know do not like either candidate. Not any ugly confrontations in my circle of FB friends or at the local pub.

So to answer the question......no one is off my speaking to list due to current politics.

 

[unclemick]

I follow the sage advice given to me by my dearly departed Dad.

One should never discuss politics or religion in mixed company.

In addition, I think it is typically best to look for those things we have in common rather than focus on those that divide us.

Or at the annual Family reunion neither my side nor the Wife's side.



heh heh heh - dogs and kids on the other hand are fine.

 

[kcowan]

Same here. I do like animal pics and videos, though

Yes but not the 1000th pic of their two dogs! Or a selfie that cries out for Like Me Please!

 

[HFWR]

Yes but not the 1000th pic of their two dogs! Or a selfie that cries out for Like Me Please!

There is more than a bit of junior high schoolishness...

 

[Markola]

FB is inherently narcissist and it is like absolute crack for the real narcissists. I've unfollowed a number of people who just seem over the line needy for attention and affirmation, some of whom are OK in small doses in real life. But enough about me...What do YOU think about me?

 

[Mulligan]

Aaaah, I see. So anyone with a differing viewpoint must, by definition, not be smart, intelligent, level-headed and successful?

Sounds pretty broad-minded to me.

I never put that much thought into it. I always liked someone to have the opposing viewpoint as it was not any fun to discuss when everyone agreed on everything...... But I always thought it was fun and never had any passion or animosity about disagreements. But in 2012 election I learned other recent friends did not share same attitude...So I learned not to discuss it much anymore, ha!


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[Texas Proud]

I never put that much thought into it. I always liked someone to have the opposing viewpoint as it was not any fun to discuss when everyone agreed on everything...... But I always thought it was fun and never had any passion or animosity about disagreements. But in 2012 election I learned other recent friends did not share same attitude...So I learned not to discuss it much anymore, ha!


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Yea, I have to say that I used to go to lunch with a guy at work who had the opposite political view as me... we would discuss some of the stupid things 'their' side did... problem is that we used to agree more often than not that it was a stupid idea... but that was in the early 2000s...

Problem is that the stupid stuff has only gotten worse on both sides...

 

[ABQ2015]

In the last presidential election, it got really vicious and nasty on my FB pages. This election it has been relatively tame. I don't know if this is because of the election or because people are just getting tired of posting and arguing on FB. As a federal employee, I'm not allowed to comment at all or even hit "like" due to the Hatch Act so I just sit back and enjoy the show. When I visit family during the holidays, it will be a different matter. But I can't stop speaking to family. Just bite my tongue.

 

[BLS53]

Facebook has to be the most consensual invasion of privacy ever invented. Of all the useful things the internet has brought us, it has to be the most worthless.

Everybody wants to be noticed. And the folks with 1000+ friends who post the most intimate and detailed pictures of their family. I'm sure they know that all 1000+ of those folks are upstanding citizens. It's an invitation to nefarious activity.

It's a modern variation on the old George Carlin bit about people who mass mail custom made Christmas cards every year.

 

[candrew]

Or at the annual Family reunion neither my side nor the Wife's side.



heh heh heh - dogs and kids on the other hand are fine.

+111111

Mos def!!

 

[gerntz]

I have a Facebook account, and I do accept friend requests if I know the person. However, I have to the best of my ability blocked anyone and everyone from posting on my timeline and I have blocked any and all sharing of information, tagging, pictures, location, etc. I sign on once a month or so to see what my nephews might be doing with their lives (my primary reason to have an account at all). I do not post anything, like anything or comment on anything. My goal is to eliminate all mindless drivel, not just the political kind.

Sounds like a lot of effort for very little value. There must be another way. I've never been on FB & don't feel I've missed anything I haven't gotten via less intrusive (as FB sounds) means.

Really, FB comes across in this thread as satisfying cravings I don't have.