So I've been considering the idea of deleting my facebook. I have TWO friends who have taken the plunge to delete their facebook just in the last week. This is a super difficult decision though so here is my list of the pros and cons of facebook:
PROS
*Keeps me in touch with:
people from Australia and Haiti, kids I interned for, people I used to be close to that now live everywhere but here.
*Random encouragements from random people
*Allows me an easy and convenient way to send a little post-it to someone, like, "hey girl thanks for eating your weight in ice cream last night and crying your way through Steel Magnolias with me when i know you had better things to do!"...but facebook is public so I condense that to, "hey friend, thanks!"
*It's a sneaky way to get the inside scoop on a person I just met
*I can advertise anything that needs advertising, like if I were to start a business, or to need to buy or sell something, through the avenue of people I know.
*I can get free and quick advice from someone I know, whom I may have forgotten was a reliable source
*It's the most convenient way to invite people to a party, or be invited
*I've actually met a couple of people through facebook because they knew a friend of a friend and needed a place to stay or something
*It's a social norm these days just like everyone having their own cell phone, would I be an outcast without it? I mean I already am still without an ipod or the Internet attached to my phone, so do i really want to go full cave woman and cut this out too?
*I get to see current pictures of my little nieces almost daily because their parents are so good about posting them!
*I love taking pictures and sharing them. And I LOVE comments, getting to hear peoples reactions to those pictures.
*It's like reading People magazine about people I actually know.
CONS
-I'm addicted to it. Every time I get on a computer I check my hotmail, then my facebook, THEN I get to whatever reason I got on a computer in the first place. I don't like the feeling of addiction...to anything.
-I spend way too much time on it. How much more productive would I be if I didn't have it? Especially at work...
-What if I don't want to be your friend you weirdo? But it's polite that I accept your request to stalk me.
-I constantly get friend requests from my kiddos from school, and I feel like a huge jerk when I say no, and they don't understand that they are little walking lawsuits waiting to happen.
-What if the wrong person sees a picture of me with a beer in my hand and that causes them to somehow stumble or think I'm some sort of lush...when in reality I'm a ginormous featherweight that regulars about 2 drinks/week, if that.
-I think it robs people nowadays of GENUINE intimacy and friendship...I.E. you feel like your really close to someone because you look at their profile a lot, when in reality you haven't even spoken to them in years.
-I don't want to see that my ex-boyfriend just "checked in" some place with his new flavor of the month every 3 minutes. (though his deletion helped to nip that in the bud)
-It's a very vain concept that I feed into, putting pictures and things of myself on my page to somehow try and look as cool as possible
-Old people are now on it, and co-workers, whoever else I could possibly face scrutiny from...for example: when jesting among friends I might use a phrase like "kick some ass", but now that my mom and her friends are on facebook, I'm inclined to use a phrase less strong like "kick some booty"...which would in turn give my comment less umph!
-It unknowingly easily offends people, like if you don't reply fast enough, or don't comment here or there, or didn't notice this or that, etc...you might hear someone say, "well i posted that yesterday didn't you see??!!!!"...um no, I'm not working my way through every meal with a phone in my hand.
-Facebook keeps getting more and more exposing. In the beginning you had more control over what people saw, now everyone sees business all the time.
-I have the potential to create unwanted jealousy from girls who may be interested in a male friend of mine...so when I post a phrase like, "lets have dinner", on my side I'm thinking, "hooray i can't wait to catch up with my old buddy from childhood who is a nonsexual being to me because I was in his life pre-puberty"...and that girl might be thinking, "where is my knife?"
-Facebook changes their layout like every 60 days, and its annoying, and each new page is worse than the last.
-I don't like the separate levels of meaning that it holds for everyone, some people get real offended at the slightest comment or slack in response time...while others don't even check their facebook...ever.
-I can't stand cryptic status updates that say things like, "Some people are just [insert adjective]." And then I think, are they talking about me? Because we did just get into a fight so maybe they are talking about me? Should I ask them about it? If you've got something to say, say it to my face!
-It's like this super-big bitch move if you delete someone...even though you may have only met them one time, at some random event, and they tend to post things you don't care about. Or perhaps it's simply a healthy decision for me to delete certain people.
Perhaps I just need to figure out some self-control in this matter? Perhaps it is me who needs changing rather than just cutting off that hand? Perhaps I'll just take a break and reassess the situation much later?
