It’s time I went public with this:\u00a0 I totally do NOT “get” Facebook.\u00a0 In fact, despite having giving Facebook plenty of chances, I find it to be the most boring, tedious, horrendous time waster that I’ve ever encountered.<\/p>\n
(Right about here I duck under a table to avoid the flying objects -virtual flying objects, of course – hurled by all of you who love Facebook.)<\/p>\n
I joined Facebook a few months back because of the library.\u00a0 The library has a Facebook page to announce teen events, so I figured it would behoove me to at least put in an appearance as a “fan” of the library.\u00a0 And I’ve become a fan of my favorite tea company, my favorite online clothing store, and Mother Goose on the Loose.\u00a0 I’ve even gained a few friends – a very <\/em>few friends.\u00a0 And most recently, I’ve joined the alumni group for my college class, since there is a class reunion coming up this spring.\u00a0 But I’m still bored.<\/p>\n Here’s what I dislike about Facebook (prepare to be pissed off, you Facebook lovers):\u00a0<\/p>\n It minimizes human contact, so that people are communicating via little badly written blurbs and comments.\u00a0 I like talking <\/em>to people, face-to-face and on the phone.\u00a0 I don’t like trying to sound clever and cute in a one sentence update on my life.<\/p>\n It brings people back into your life who\u00a0have long since moved on, and\u00a0who have moved on for good reason.\u00a0 Many\u00a0friendships\u00a0have a shelf life, and once the friendship has expired, it’s in everyone’s best interest to let things go.\u00a0I probably don’t have much in common now with the friends I had in my late twenties.\u00a0 But I have new friends now with whom I share quite a bit.<\/p>\n It encourages a highschool popularity mentality, even when you’re resisting that trap.\u00a0 I’m way past highschool, and would like to think that I’m mature, but when I see that both of my siblings have over a hundred friends each, and I only have five friends, I start to feel my ego shrink and my posture change and I feel again like the braces-ridden runty highschool freshman that I once was.\u00a0 No thanks.\u00a0 I don’t need that.<\/p>\n It’s an absolute time suck.\u00a0 If I were to become a Facebook junkie, I would lose valuable time that I could spend reading, creating, socializing, blogging (yes, I know, I need to be more consistent with that), or taking an afternoon nap on a weekend.\u00a0 Or cooking or cleaning or volunteering or planting a garden or getting in shape.<\/p>\n But I don’t want anyone to think that I’m a techno-dud.\u00a0 I have a favorite Facebook alternative:\u00a0 Goodreads.\u00a0 Goodreads allows me to see what some of my favorite authors are reading (Gabrielle Zevin, Neil Gaiman), and what those authors think of the books they’ve just read.\u00a0 Gabrielle Zevin gave 5 stars to that book, and says it’s the best thing she’s read in years?\u00a0 I think I’ll go find a copy and read it, too.\u00a0 Goodreads also keeps me in touch with my friends who are voracious readers, and I can read their ratings and reviews on books they’ve read.\u00a0 Peggy slammed that book, giving it only 2 stars?\u00a0 I trust Peggy’s judgement, so I think I’ll skip reading that book.\u00a0 And, Goodreads keeps me accountable for what I read.\u00a0 I find that I forgo television or watching a DVD more often now so that I can settle down and read a book and then post my review on Goodreads.\u00a0 I don’t want to look like a literary slacker, after all.\u00a0 And guess what?\u00a0 I have more friends on Goodreads that I do on Facebook.<\/p>\n So now\u00a0I’ve got two questions: How long can something as inane as Facebook survive?\u00a0 And how many of you are mad at me right now?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It’s time I went public with this:\u00a0 I totally do NOT “get” Facebook.\u00a0 In fact, despite having giving Facebook plenty of chances, I find it to be the most boring, tedious, horrendous time waster that I’ve ever encountered. (Right about here I duck under a table to avoid the flying objects -virtual flying objects, of … Continue reading That whole Facebook thing<\/span>