Has it really come to this?
Recently my love affair with Facebook has turned sour. It’s just not what it used to be.
I used to have MySpace, many moons ago. A friend begged me to switch to Facebook. I agreed, thinking it would never last, but it took over. Not just me; but the world. A revolution of sorts.
I have 437 friends on Facebook. Out of those 437, I have met & know 436. Yes: only one person I haven’t met in the flesh. I don’t add strangers, or people ‘FB’ suggests for me. I used it purely as a means of communicating with my friends & overseas family many of whom are spread far & wide over the world. It was fun; it was a harmless way to socialize.
I don’t believe Facebook has stayed true to its original purpose. Now, people post photos they think are flattering in the hope that others will validate them by hitting the ‘like’ button. Having people ‘like’ something on your page should not be your motivation for putting it there. It is not a measure of how well you are truly liked.
People air their dirty laundry in status updates. People break up & make up in a public forum. Many of my students have upwards of 2000-4000 friends, yet they’ve never met most of them. People use Facebook to vent anger over personal issues that really don’t need to be shared.
People will post a status “I hate my life, FML”, and then wait for people to notice & say, “Oh, are you ok? What’s wrong?” It’s childish. It’s attention seeking. It’s negative. And I’m over it. I’m guilty of having the odd gripe about life, I know it. But I don’t sulk & become petulant for the sake of attention.
Be genuine
I’ve decided that I’ll be using my Facebook account in a more positive manner. The whole point of it was to connect with ‘friends’ & enjoy each other’s company, online. So I’ll be doing ‘friend of the day’ status updates. I want my FB friends to remember that behind my FB account, there is a real woman who they know & like. A real woman who appreciates those she chooses to surround herself with.
I challenge you to commit random acts of kindness on Facebook. I challenge you to back away from people who use FB as a medium for full blown grudge matches. To not feel obliged to say, “are you ok?” when a person posts an obviously attention seeking status. If you feel a friend really isn’t doing OK, then check in on them by all means. But instead of pandering to ‘friends’, whose FB etiquette could use some touching up, look elsewhere. Look at the friends who might not be coping, but don’t feel the need to broadcast it publicly. Call them, text them, visit them. Make a real connection.
Use Facebook to interact, to enjoy the company of people you dig. Make an effort to actually touch base with your friends. Don’t go through endless photos clicking ‘like’ because you feel you have to appease the poster. Be yourself & keep it REAL.
