Poll: Facebook use

[Amethyst]

My FB circle is extremely small; family, long-time friends, and a few new friends who got "discovered" during other friends' exchanges.

The politico-religious rants are the worst part. I had no idea what a bunch of ravers many of these people can be. Why they feel comfortable revealing their manias on social media, yet (to my knowledge) have never mentioned them in person, is a mystery worthy of a Psychology Ph.D. dissertation.

Amethyst

[panacea]

Didn't use it for a long time, used it for a while, decided I didn't like it, haven't been on it for a long time. For some reason I feel much better.

[longranger]

Do not fit a catagory. I like facebook as a lurker but do not post about myself.

[Khan]

FB is my main internet connection. Have actually met a few folks. Met friend in Florid;, visited there; he visited here; we are negotiating pre-nuptial.

I find it wonderful to 'meet' folks and negotiate terms online and IRL.

But then, I've been online since mammoths roamed the web (fidonet and usenet).

[Walt34]

I don't use it but DW does just to keep up with friends/family. She asked me to set up the security settings so it's locked down tight. She very rarely posts anything herself and if something important happens (and often not so important) she'll tell me about it.

Like FIREd, DW is my social secretary.

[Ronstar]

Never used Facebook. Don't intend to.

[Richard4444]

I never knew how many friends I had until I joined FB

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard4444 I never knew how many friends I had until I joined FB

Reminds me of some comic I heard on TV "So now I have a thousand FaceBook friends, and I still can't get a ride to the airport!".

-ERD50

[braumeister]

Thanks for all the replies.
I'm going to give it a try for a while, under strictly limited conditions.

[splitwdw]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard4444 I never knew how many friends I had until I joined FB

My one sister thinks these strangers are her friends. She spends more time on the internet then she spends with her local friends.

[Moemg]

I use it to keep in touch with my nieces and their children and some former co-workers . I avoid it during major elections as my family have strong opinions .

[NW-Bound]

We have not been on FB, and see no reason to. My children are in town and I see them at least once a week. I have not seen their FB, and not too interested in their daily life. Perhaps the less I know, the better. Same with other relatives and friends.

[drb391]

didn't sign up til retired. lots more time to (waste?) there now. good way to keep up with folks from work. also, hooked on Candy Crush and DoubleDown Casino

[jerome len]

I'm on it, sort of like to keep up with old friends but don't post anything myself.

A couple of years, ago, I was conerned about it being a dating site; an old friend of my friends wife heard from an old boyfriend that had just become "availble'.....he wanted to catch up and have lunch.....make a long story short, he wanted to rekindle an old romance and it would have become a problem except my friends wife shut him down and exited Facebook. So, I enjoy keeping up, mostly with old business friends, and am careful that nothing interferes with my fantastic relationship with DW. DW can see my page and I see hers.......both boring since we use it so little.

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jerome len I'm on it, sort of like to keep up with old friends but don't post anything myself. A couple of years, ago, I was conerned about it being a dating site; an old friend of my friends wife heard from an old boyfriend that had just become "availble'.....he wanted to catch up and have lunch.....make a long story short, he wanted to rekindle an old romance and it would have become a problem except my friends wife shut him down and exited Facebook. So, I enjoy keeping up, mostly with old business friends, and am careful that nothing interferes with my fantastic relationship with DW. DW can see my page and I see hers.......both boring since we use it so little.

We have two adult children who rekindled old relationships on FB and ended up in messy divorces, but married the "new" folks. Wow, crazy and expensive stuff.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg I use it to keep in touch with my nieces and their children and some former co-workers . I avoid it during major elections as my family have strong opinions .

That is the major reason I've avoided it. I've seen some of the posts from extended family that come across to DW's account. Sure, people can have their own views, but when they post stuff that is just 100% factually wrong, and then use that 'holier-than-thou' tone to put down that other group with their wrong info, well, I would have hard time not jumping in to 'educate' them.

And with no moderators to keep me in check, who knows where that could lead!

If there was some kind of 'stupid comment' filter app for FaceBook, I'd be more likely to use it. It could be nice to get some updates, w/o the 'what I had for lunch' and bone-headed stuff. DW keeps me up to date on family stuff, good enough for now.

-ERD50

[timo2]

Using Facebook is the easiest way I can communicate with my nieces and cousins. That is why I signed up. Since then, I have found that the various social issues I care about all have active pages, and I primarily use Facebook to get updates from them.

[foxfirev5]

DW uses it to keep in touch with family, friends and check on former coworkers. I haven't found the need as my w*rk email is more than enough interaction. Maybe if I ever retire I'll try it.

[HFWR]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 Sure, people can have their own views, but when they post stuff that is just 100% factually wrong, and then use that 'holier-than-thou' tone to put down that other group with their wrong info, well, I would have hard time not jumping in to 'educate' them. And with no moderators to keep me in check, who knows where that could lead! -ERD50

But such is the nature of politics. I would add "these days", but the politics and the newspapers of earlier days were pretty bad, if not worse.

I have chimed in once in a while, but rarely does anyone retract the post, or go "Oops"... In fact, they'll usually post another discredited meme in short order. :-P

I guess I keep hoping that people will discover google...

[braumeister]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR I guess I keep hoping that people will discover google...

I used to routinely send people links to snopes.com to show them the error of their urban legend postings, but even when they acknowledged it, they usually posted another one a week later. I finally gave up and just started ignoring them.