Facebook.

[greypanther]

I am obviously in a very small minority, because I have never really " got it, " with the whole social media thing. I can get my head around forums like this, but the need some people show for Facebook; Twitter, etc., has me baffled.

The thing is, it is getting increasingly difficult to avoid its use, it is annoying. For instance on Christmas day I am busy cooking for five and a half adults, a baby, all, ( except the baby, ) are on Facebook and Snapchat, not talking to each other or me!

There are just so many companies now who use Facebook too, which makes it even harder to avoid.

Are there any other social media sceptics out there to give me more reasons to avoid it? For that matter can other " users ", give me reasons to join?

[Observe]

Are there any other social media sceptics out there to give me more reasons to avoid it?

I know plenty of highly successful people who have never had a Facebook account. I used to have one, but I closed it because I saw zero value having it. Go ahead and try if you like. It may or may not suit you.

[brucewarren]

I have a total of two friends on Facebook. That's because I only "befriend" or whatever the term is people I actually know. In my opinion anyone who makes or accepts requests with strangers, well lets just say I know a man who has a bridge to sell them. Bargain.

I also treat everything I post on the site as public.

[mrbadger]

I closed my Facebook account four years ago and have yet to regret making that decision.

i still use Twitter, but not all that often.

My university had decided that we should start adding students to our Facebook, and join in with their online presence, administering groups and such.

I resented using it for work, and the only way to avoid that was to get rid of Facebook completelly. They stopped bugging me about it when they finally realised my account was gone for good.

Then I blocked every University Twitter account I knew about that was monitoring staff.

At the moment this site repreents most of my online time.

[Alan Phipps]

I'm a social media dinosaur too. My limit beyond the forums is in using Skype (text chat only) on my PC for work and social stuff.

What annoyed my wife and me about the prominence of FaceBook and the like was in relative strangers telling us things (such as achievements and disappointments) concerning our own close family members that we hadn't been told about before they were posted for seemingly the world to see. (Of course some would use that as a justification for us needing to be on the social media apps.)

As to the constant fixation on mobile phones, it is not just FaceBook etc, it is also the constant SMS texts, and even on-screen games that kill the art of actual socialising. I have banned the use of all phones at the dining table (at home or out for a family meal that we are paying for) as I find such phone usage about as rude as somebody getting out a newpaper and doing a crossword at the table.

We are not against their use for business and pleasure in a current generation's lifestyle context - it just does not appeal to us and we feel that there are times and places where you should not be using them, if only out of respect and politeness.

[CBJ]

No, you're not alone. I don't really "get" the point of it either, and although there are occasions when other people make things unnecessarily difficult for those not on there, for me the reasons not to join still outweigh the reasons to join by a considerable margin.

[Golden_Gonads]

I've never used it. There have been a couple of occasions when I pondered signing up and hunting down a couple of old friends I've lost touch with, but... Too many years and I'm a miserable bugger to boot.

Other than that, I really don't see the point.

[euclid]

I had to create a FB account to see the holidays pictures my kids loaded up there .... that's the only reason.

Cheers Euclid

[jlehtone]

I use Toiletpaper (while the seashells are on short supply) -- without account.

[Chips]

My closest friends aren't on Facebook, and since we were at uni when it started, the fact two of them never even had an account means it didn't really catch on with my friends.

I find it useful for keeping in touch with other friends and family; use the chat function the most. Having a quick look, I post about twice a year (and one of those is the thanks for my Birthday). I think I probably use it (if not in conversation) for less than 5 mins a day.

So I use it, like most social networks, to keep up to date with what others are doing, not to inform them what I am doing. It is usually the first place to hear trivial news from friends/family from. However, I also follow things that aren't people. An aggregation of keeping up to date with things of interest. Mainly Youtubers who do stuff I have interest in - who put updates on Facebook/Youtube/Instagram, or entities I am interested in.

For that, it serves the purpose I've mentioned. Aggregation. They don't need a website each, nor forum, and I don't have to visit 2 dozen places to see one update once a month from each. Just look at Facebook.

[UniTrader]

also not using it. they startd to annoy me roughly a decade ago with their Icons spread everywhere, so i blocked them like any other ad.

[pjknibbs]

Not using Facebook, never have. My mother practically lives on the thing, but then, she's always been a lot more sociable than me.

[greypanther]

I've never used it. There have been a couple of occasions when I pondered signing up and hunting down a couple of old friends I've lost touch with, but... Too many years and I'm a miserable bugger to boot.

Other than that, I really don't see the point.

Pretty much sums up my thought process about it really. I think no one is going to give me any reasons to join then, I guess I will just have to struggle on being an unsociable git then...

( Oh and continue being a very old person, according to my 16 year old son! )

[Morkonan]

I don't Facebook or Twit. On purpose. They're stupid. (I barely even email.)

I worry about how pervasive these sorts of social-media are becoming. The only thing of substance I can say that they have demonstrated is to prove that most people are pretty darn ignorant. That's OK, everyone is ignorant about something, but these things promote Echo Chambers of ignorance that have damaging feedback mechanisms that could create serious social problems, like electing barely functional morons to powerful positions of political leadership...

[BugMeister]

I keep it small - a coupla close mates, family..
- I'll always treasure my late friend's page..

[mrbadger]

I invigilated an online test last week for first years
Just before the test started I had to go round telling lots of them to put their phones away and stop browsing facebook.

They were about to take a rather important test and they still couldn't put down facebook....

When I completed my circuit of the room I must admit I'd already put some of those students into the likely lower end of the final degree classification range.

[Morkonan]

I invigilated an online test last week for first years
Just before the test started I had to go round telling lots of them to put their phones away and stop browsing facebook.

They were about to take a rather important test and they still couldn't put down facebook....

When I completed my circuit of the room I must admit I'd already put some of those students into the likely lower end of the final degree classification range.

WTF?

You can't make them turn their phones off while they're in class? Is this some sort of mandate or something that they can have their phones on or use them during instruction?

[mrbadger]

We can, but it's damn hard to get them to put them away.

[Santi]

Not very keen on it, but I must say that it has it advantages, while I do not participate in the whole sharing my life out to everybody, facebook groups is another matter, currently in my workplace, peer to peer shift and holiday swapping is done by a Facebook group.

Events is another useful feature of Facebook, we rely on it for our D&D sessions and tabletop gaming meetups.

[apogee]

Well this thread has put a smile on my face

never been on facebook, don't want to either.

nice to see so many others not iterested in it either.

ps. dont do twitter, intagram, snapchat etc either.