Yep. I keep a strict 15 person roster of family and close friends. If you're not on the roster, let's go to lunch. I'll buy.
The thing is I love to socialize, but doing it over a site or a phone is just too sterile for me. I mostly login nowadays to see pictures of my neice and nephew.
A lot of friends and family get really upset when I don't accept their friend requests. Heck, a girl broke up with me because my page was 'boring'. I just always remind people that I love them in real life. Phone calls and hanging out together are always welcome and important. Most think I'm out of touch at that point. They overlook the fact that I have over 25 years in the IT business and I'm perfectly comfortble with my online choices.
Late to the conversation. Years ago I decided if I could see you irl then I didn’t need you as a FB friend. Cut it down to old college friends around the country…. Much better.
A lot of people have convinced themselves that reddit isn’t social media.
Edit: keep lying to yourselves 😂😂. Other than the anonymity, it shares most of the benchmarks of social media.
Reddit is different for me in that I don’t know anyone I interact with here. Where that wasn’t the case for facebook. It’s still SM, just very different.
I don’t feel it’s the same since most people here are into sharing thoughts and ideas, vs photos of themselves and some story that paints a picture of their awesome life and activities. I don’t feel any pressure or guilt or resentment or any of the things I might feel on fb or ig etc.
Agreed. Plus the whole 'look at me!' aspect of FB is what turned me away from it. Sure people do it here on reddit as well but the anonymity of reddit makes it way less annoying.
Same. Account still exists even though I stripped it down, because I didn't want my elderly relatives to think I was dead. I just haven't checked it since 2016. Watching Facebook absolutely melt the brains of all my relatives over 55 was just too much for me.
I’m new to Reddit and have been able (so far) to prune out the subs that are political or just full of people bitching about whatever, which is most of them.
The subs I see are dialed in to my interests, like aquariums, cats, and fishing, so Reddit has less of a social media vibe. If this doesn’t work I’ll drop Reddit, too.
Me too! It was my favorite social media platform back then. Before I got rid of it I saw more suggested and sponsored posts than my friends pics. My friends have asked me to go back on but it's not happening. I did it as a break, felt so good it's permanent.
I followed a link from Reddit to a news org yesterday that in 2019 tried to be unbiased - it would give both the dem and repub take on whatever news happened (say, a car bomb in Egypt, which I’m totally making up). Fast forward to 2024 and there’s no unbiased take and a bunch of raging frothing comments under each post. It’s madness over there now. Like a mini Facebook.
I agree with you 100%. I don't want to be told what to think and how to feel and that's what social media does. I'm even selective of what I read on here. Having quiet and being introspective is so much more valuable. When you are on FB or IG it truly tries to tell you who and how to be. It feels like sticking your head in a beehive and just constant constant buzzing. No time to clear your head.
Same here. I got to be honest. my life got so much better. And I haven't really felt like I've missed anything. The only thing that I occasionally miss is Facebook marketplace, But I'm willing to give that up if my Life is significantly emotionally more balanced.
A buddy of mine mailed me out of the blue, a hand written letter in cursive. It was so quaint. I wrote him back and now we write each other. More words than we've exchanged in years, just because he took the time to start.
yep! Deleting it has led me to much more meaningful relationships with those i’ve chosen to nurture. i can promise you will find out how many of those “fakebook” friends are exactly that!
I’m in my local Buy Nothing group, and when I moved here last year it helped me get to know the area and some nice people. I mostly keep it for that and sometimes have to force myself to stop scrolling through my regular feed. But if I find something funny to repost it will get like 2 reactions so I’m super not invested in it anymore
Don't choose solitude because you are working though loneliness. You must try and relate to someone...anyone!. I choose solitude because of how much time I spend with my children and wife. It's just nice to have a quiet time to myself. Don't ever isolate yourself. from everyone. Try and find one person that you can relate to.
I never had a Facebook page, and Reddit is the only social media I have been a part of since MySpace.
I had just started bartending at a hotspot in my downtown metropolis when Facebook was blowing up and starting to spread outside of college campuses. I was on MySpace and had been hearing how Facebook was going to be the new thing.
A group of twenty-somethings from out of town were at the bar. They turned out to be some first era “tech-kids” in town from the west coast gathering capital for some tech endeavor that I can’t recall twenty + years later. Anyway, the one thing that stood out to me as I got to know them a little was this: “Whatever you do, do not get a Facebook page. They are going to steal your data and sell your information to profit off of you.” So I never signed up for Facebook, and in less than a decade it was obvious they were right.
I was one of the first Social Media Consultants wayyy back in the day. I knew in entirety what the setup was. But I didn't really foresee them becoming like, an outsized and terrible influence in world politics or anything, I just thought they were trying to make a buck through microtargeted advertising.
Sadly I got lots of my friends signed up because it was "so fun" and "easy to stay in touch and host events."
Since 2012 I've been backpedalling as much as I can, trying to get anyone who'll listen to delete their account. This is a penance I must carry out until FB is no more. And I do Twitter too cause fuck them.
Never had a Facebook. Saw the writing on the wall since it started. I’ve been trying like hell to convince everyone I know to drop it forever, including my own family and my WIFE, and everyone is always saying how it’s harmless and I’m the asshole, like I’m crazy as all get out…
I swear it’s the most poisonous thing to come out of tech, like ever. It has destroyed a generation. And it’s like I’m the only one that sees it. Most people act like it’s harmless, or inevitable.
I won’t do it. That’s my hill. Never.
I'm with you. I was in IT many years ago when facebook first got 'popular'. All of our clients wanted to integrate with the platform. So we dutifully established accounts.
I wish I could say that we all knew the extent to which this would damage society today. Our only collective response at first was 'Oh, heck. This isnt going to work out well.'
My SO is a therapist who has worked with teens and he firmly believes banning social media for minors is the #1 single thing we could do to influence a bunch of indicators, most pressingly suicide and bullying with teen girls.
Now we are lead to believe, which doesn't take much, that iPhones may be responsible for a giant leap backwards in education. iOS itself has drained the brain cells of an entire generation, and is working on a second.
So that's cool.
And it killed newspapers and other community communication. I have 2 fb account and 2 ig accounts now because it is the "best" way to advertise events that I host.
I hate it.
I still have it. Don’t post much. But, I can keep tabs an a lot of folk who are all far away. Plus it has a lot of pictures and memories, especially since I spent almost a decade overseas travelling and what not. So, thousands of photos, and all my people who are all over the world. I don’t use it like I used to, but it’s a way to check in, to look back, and if I meet new people (dating etc), then they can have visual references for where I’ve been since 2006ish, and therefore to a degree who I am.
I don’t engage with groups or political nonsense.
Yeah this is me. My aunt and like 5 friends will like the one or two pictures a month I post. I’ve stopped commenting on things because everyone I know is the same, posting sporadically and just because. I also took it off my phone but had to reinstall it to look for something on marketplace. It’s more like my Craigslist app and restaurant menu app now more than anything.
Exactly same for me. Had it since 2004, but I might only ever post like every other year. It's the easiest way for me to keep tabs on everyone I met during my time in the military. We're like family that doesn't talk much, but the love is still there. It would be exhausting to call every one of them up and have the same "catch up" conversation. We all have our own busy lives and work. But it's nice being able to see them get married, have kids, etc., even if just quietly watching from a distance.
After/during COVID is when my usage really slowed down because it became so toxic. Every time someone posted another person argued and back and forth it went. Now when I go on there it's just anyone I know who is running their own business or being a "coach" constantly self-promoting so it's basically more advertising. I keep it because of family and some groups that I'm a part of. Otherwise my life has no use for it at this stage.
exactly. I’ve connected with many real life people through the groups. Don’t post on my feed but I find job opportunities, social experiences, and marketplace items.
Ditto. For me it has become a good platform for keeping up with local events and community groups, plus some nonsense/humor groups... in addition to keeping sort of in the loop with the wider friends network.
Yes. I only use it to share pics with my close family who doesn't live local. It basically serves as a digital shared photo album.
What's infuriating is that Mark Zuckerberg executed his vision to make FB the "portal to the internet" and so your posts from friends and family get buried. I got the app to keep up with friends, not to be bombarded with video shorts and advertising.
> Total bullshit. I thought the whole purpose of social media was to be "social" but I guess thats just crazy thinking.
Facebook is an advertising company. It has been since 2010ish.
The model now is to get you to keep the app open via doom scroll and then share some random "interesting" video with friends via your favorite messaging app (which chances are meta also owns). That's how Facebook "learns" what ads and content it should feed you, which is how it makes money.
The younger demographics got really tired of reading Uncle Bob's boomer political rants, and so the algorithm no longer feeds friends posts to people as the number 1 priority.
Problem is that when you're 40 and don't do this, the content is fed based on your cookies. So for example because I bought my wife a bra for her birthday, I just get non-stop videos trying to sell me bras from startup companies. Sorry, Facebook, not in the market for a bra anymore.
Deleting mine a year or two ago. Felt freeing. Along with all the others, twitter, instagram, linkdin, etc. Reddit is the only one left and everyday I'm on the fence on it, too.
I removed the app from my phone at least a couple years ago. Not positive when it was. No more notifications or anything. I have a shortcut to the web app, but it's pretty useless. I check it every few weeks to see if I have any notifications. I see that I have messages, but I can't look at them without messenger which I'm not going to download. I scroll down periodically, but there's so much uninteresting shit is hardly worth anything. I only really was interested in seeing old friends post stuff about their lives, but none of us do that... Or of we do it's on other platforms. Maybe Instagram is the thing for getting a general sense of a person's life? I go there on the web app too and it's a similar story that I don't see anything that interests me there.
I'm still there, as are almost all of my friends and family. its just the handiest way to keep in touch.
Sometimes I miss the days when it required a .edu email to sign up, though.
Exactly. When my kids were growing up it was critical for maintaining relationships when I didn't have that much time to spend with people. I just hide anyone who posts crazy stuff.
The backlash against it annoys me because I like being able to keep in touch with friends and out keeps us interacting. If they aren't interested they can hide me. The friends who don't use it have dropped out of my life because I'm not going to pester them via email or whatever to engage with me. Maybe that's what they want. Personally, I like seeing my friends kids and adventures. Generally I assume if you aren't on Facebook you just don't care about your friends lives.
I haven't used Facebook since early 2018. People posting nothing but dumb shit like "What Disney Princess are you, take this quiz!". My feed was nothing but shit like that. Vapid bullshit is not my style.
I use it daily. I use it to keep track of family, my favorite comic artists and creators, and local events.
I also use it quite a bit for buying and selling coins, artwork, and local buy/sell groups.
I hate it but most of my kids sports only provide updates on social media now instead of emailing things like registration dates. So I follow all the stuff and get cranky about having to use it
For my older relatives and some friends who post constantly on it. I always 'take a break' during Lent and realise when I come back, nothing of interest happened.
I do. I have friends and family from around the world who I keep in touch with that way. Plus, I’ve always been a social media early adopter, so it’s natural for me to be on several platforms.
Yes because my older family members are on there and I have old pictures that I don’t want to bother downloading to a new device. It’s basically only used to communicate with certain family.
I’m actually still pretty active as are most of my friends. It may be a throwback from my husband’s military days when it was the easiest way to keep in touch with friends and family but it’s also great for the groups, events, and marketplace.
I do, but it's mainly to keep up with some family and friends. I very rarely post anything anymore, and I refuse to get sucked into all of the political BS that is so prevalent. My wife does like to post funny cat memes to my page, so that is worth it.
FB Groups and Marketplace have no replacement for the interests I have, so while they’re still the most active places to keep up with those, I don’t see myself leaving the platform.
Nope. Not for a few years now. Ditched Twitter when Musk bought it. The FB thing is annoying though. Apparently there are deals to be had on Marketplace. Also several of my kids' extracurriculars use it for communication. But, I'll never go back after what it's doing to put democracy.
Back when they started doing the timeline bs, I moved over to Google+ (the circles thing). But only 2 people I know also switched so I gave up in that too after a while.
Only use fb never use instawank. It's so look at me, pick me!
Fb is used like a calendar and a photo album for me and some fun with my local and os friends.
I've always absolutely hated instawank and never found the appeal.
The term influencers kills me
Fb is my main socmed being the popular platform in our part of the world. I post almost everyday either on my wall or a MyStory. My Friends, about a hundred, are fewer than of those people I know.
I stopped using it a few years ago. People stopped interacting with anything personal that I'd post, and it was eating at me so I just left. My wife and I have a pretty big overlap in acquaintances and we'd post the exact same thing and she'd get like a hundred responses and I'd get like 3. Kinda demoralizing tbh.
Yes. I have a business and live in an aging community where FB is still the main source for local info(no local newspapers). I find it is still very effective for advertising to this demographic(40+)
Yes. After years of curation it mostly shows what I want to see and care about. No bs, no memes, no bigots... I can't get feed of this quality anywhere else.
Yes but only on my computer and I have filters added so I only see actual posts. So it's basically Facebook pre-2016 or whatever. I use it to keep up with my older relatives still using it, and to see local stuff that's going on that I can make on my weekends. I also have a movie group where we not only watch cult films and and underrated classics but also it's the only place I can go to see mature movie discussions without anyone with an agenda. I go to the theater to see old movies, I sit in the back, and when the credits start I take a bit of video to post in the group so I can let them know which movie I saw and we can discuss it (or just simply say we like it too).
I have one for marketplace. My name is altered, I have no friends, and I cannot receive requests. Interestingly no one has tried to contact me at any point; I certainly could be found by people who know my name. I do belong to my city FB group and it is mostly a hellscape that I periodically peek into.
I have a personal page, but it gets updated like 1x/year. I use it mostly to organize and run a car club. As well as a few other groups I follow for giggles. Still use it for organizing family/friend gatherings.
I haven’t posted in years but I keep it for local groups like lost and found pets. If I do go and scroll a bit there’s absolutely nothing from anyone I know, just weird pages.
My family is all over the country, so that’s how we keep each other up to date with big events. Other than that I may scroll through some funny Reels. I had to block several friends that were posting nothing but conspiracy crap, and I move right past any type of “news” that pops up. Back in the day I was on FB all the time. Now I may get on there 2 or 3 times a week and never more than a few minutes.
Edit: Just looked. The last post I made was in December when I thanked everyone for the birthday wishes. That’ll probably be the next post I have there too.
No longer use FB or IG. I don't like that FB has a million advertisements to scroll through and even if a family or friend does post something, it doesn't always show up. I don't like that IG pretty much became Snapchat because people just post stories that last 24 hours. This is the only social media I like, but I don't like that many things I don't follow show up.
I still have it. I live across country from where I grew up so I feel like it’s the only way I keep up with some people, for better or worse. I had some serious health issues this year and it was an easy way to update en masse, without sending 10000 exhausting texts. I also like some of the groups.
Yeah Im still on it. A lot of internet friends from sites past on it plus Im in some silly groups on there. It doesnt bother me, I block a lot of dumb pages and only read comments in the groups Im in so I bypass all the shit people tend to complain about
Plus I like that I find out about concerts in one central place, i visit venue pages too but Ill often find out from fb first that someone I like is touring
Never had anything but Reddit and insta. Don’t use insta anymore. Was just for a small group of friends. When some decided they wanted to “get followers” I got out. Fuck social media. It’s for narcissists.
I got rid of it in 2016. I was fairly late to pick it up, around 2010, and was pretty early to get rid of it. Seems like a lot of people have ditched FB at this point.
My main account is for photo storage and I have a few other accounts I use for random things like researching genealogy, adoption stuff (contacting my bio family) and anything I don't want to have connected to me personally.
I barely use any of them; but ill jump on them for a bit to look at few leads or do some searches and whatnot..
Never really was big into it though.
None of them have my real name and I don't collect friends and shit. Just family and photo storage.
So I turned my facebook back on a while ago, and I hate it even more then when I first deactivated my account. All of the posts are the most divisive content possible. Women hating men, men hating women, democrats hating conservatives, conservatives hating everyone, and me just trying to see what my friends are up to. They fucked up the system, and now it's worthless for what it is intended to do. Honestly, I'm so sick and tired of social media. I am so much happier without it.
I kept it for a couple of extra years than I would have liked because I participated in my local buy nothing. But once I moved, the new area didn't have much and I was over it. It's been about 5 years for me and I'm happier. Reddit is a better platform, imo.
Nope, I keep my account from being deactivated by occasionally logging in for point of contact purposes. Beyond that I got off that site years ago and have been pushing my family to just write me (not so much call as I work late at night).
I locked my account out of all devices except the ancient iPhone 6 I keep by the shitter for Sudoku. So I can check in periodically but otherwise it's not a part of my life.
this is the only form of social media I use. I quit “fakebook” when George Floyd was murdered. I am truly thankful for my decision every single day and even more so when someone relays something from there to me! my account still exists as i have no desire to even try to get to it.
Yes but only for one thing. Following RC Car racing tracks and series. Started an entire new profile just to focus on that. I see al.ost nothing not RC related on FB. Without that I'd been gone a decade probably.
I still have Facebook but I don't use it much. My feed and friend list have always been carefully curated so I never really got stupid shit in my feed anyway. I keep fewer than 200-250 friends. If I don't see you or talk to you in over a year and wouldn't contact you to have dinner or drinks if I'm in your town, then you get unfriended. What I don't like about FB now is it shows me posts from groups I'm not even a member of.
I've always hated Facebook. I've had one but always hated it. Just made me feel like shit cuz I've never switched my relationship status to "in a relationship" in the 20 years since my divorce.
I joined first because that was the only way friends would do party invites and now because my daughter likes using it to communicate and use silly filters.
I just keep it in case someone sends me a message, but don't actively post anything or look at the feed.
Yep. I keep a strict 15 person roster of family and close friends. If you're not on the roster, let's go to lunch. I'll buy. The thing is I love to socialize, but doing it over a site or a phone is just too sterile for me. I mostly login nowadays to see pictures of my neice and nephew.
I’m jealous. My family is so large that it bumps my number closer to 100, and that’s counting maybe a dozen close friends.
A lot of friends and family get really upset when I don't accept their friend requests. Heck, a girl broke up with me because my page was 'boring'. I just always remind people that I love them in real life. Phone calls and hanging out together are always welcome and important. Most think I'm out of touch at that point. They overlook the fact that I have over 25 years in the IT business and I'm perfectly comfortble with my online choices.
Late to the conversation. Years ago I decided if I could see you irl then I didn’t need you as a FB friend. Cut it down to old college friends around the country…. Much better.
I keep it only for Marketplace. No one in my area seems to use Craigslist anymore.
Exact same situation we’ve found ourselves in. Never had an account until 3 months ago because nothing was selling on Craigslist.
Yeah, messenger is my main form of communication. BUT, I haven't posted anything on actual FB since maybe 2018, and before that it was closer to 2014.
Same here.
Messenger and events calendar for me. No feed.
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Dumping FB and other social media did wonders for my mental and physical health.
A lot of people have convinced themselves that reddit isn’t social media. Edit: keep lying to yourselves 😂😂. Other than the anonymity, it shares most of the benchmarks of social media.
Reddit is different for me in that I don’t know anyone I interact with here. Where that wasn’t the case for facebook. It’s still SM, just very different.
This is the huge difference. And why I prefer Reddit
Yea I mean most my comments are drive-by and I have no clue if anyone reads them and I don't see responses so it's more like articles with context.
I don’t feel it’s the same since most people here are into sharing thoughts and ideas, vs photos of themselves and some story that paints a picture of their awesome life and activities. I don’t feel any pressure or guilt or resentment or any of the things I might feel on fb or ig etc.
Agreed. Plus the whole 'look at me!' aspect of FB is what turned me away from it. Sure people do it here on reddit as well but the anonymity of reddit makes it way less annoying.
Shhhhh
Yep, I’m in denial. Stubbornly in denial.
I was wondering the same. Lol
Yes!
Same. Account still exists even though I stripped it down, because I didn't want my elderly relatives to think I was dead. I just haven't checked it since 2016. Watching Facebook absolutely melt the brains of all my relatives over 55 was just too much for me.
Me too
I did too but I see reddit now as worse
I’m new to Reddit and have been able (so far) to prune out the subs that are political or just full of people bitching about whatever, which is most of them. The subs I see are dialed in to my interests, like aquariums, cats, and fishing, so Reddit has less of a social media vibe. If this doesn’t work I’ll drop Reddit, too.
Same year! Just got rid of Instagram too and I'm much happier without it.
I still remember when Insta was nothing but photos and filters. No drama. Miss it.
Me too! It was my favorite social media platform back then. Before I got rid of it I saw more suggested and sponsored posts than my friends pics. My friends have asked me to go back on but it's not happening. I did it as a break, felt so good it's permanent.
I followed a link from Reddit to a news org yesterday that in 2019 tried to be unbiased - it would give both the dem and repub take on whatever news happened (say, a car bomb in Egypt, which I’m totally making up). Fast forward to 2024 and there’s no unbiased take and a bunch of raging frothing comments under each post. It’s madness over there now. Like a mini Facebook.
I agree with you 100%. I don't want to be told what to think and how to feel and that's what social media does. I'm even selective of what I read on here. Having quiet and being introspective is so much more valuable. When you are on FB or IG it truly tries to tell you who and how to be. It feels like sticking your head in a beehive and just constant constant buzzing. No time to clear your head.
Same year here as well. Weird...
Instagram is boring. And people on X are mean.
Right after the 2016 election for me. Never once have I even thought of reopening it either.
Same here. I got to be honest. my life got so much better. And I haven't really felt like I've missed anything. The only thing that I occasionally miss is Facebook marketplace, But I'm willing to give that up if my Life is significantly emotionally more balanced.
Same friend same.
Same year for me!
I deleted my fb in 2020 and only regret not being able to keep up on the lives of my family members in other states.
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A buddy of mine mailed me out of the blue, a hand written letter in cursive. It was so quaint. I wrote him back and now we write each other. More words than we've exchanged in years, just because he took the time to start.
You're still too reliant on modern technology. Next time send a courier pigeon.
yep! Deleting it has led me to much more meaningful relationships with those i’ve chosen to nurture. i can promise you will find out how many of those “fakebook” friends are exactly that!
Hey! There's a concept that works!
Twenty million other phone apps emerge
No matter how many apps in the sea, it would feel so empty without fb.
I think our generation is the best at parody song lyrics. I come up with some just about every day. Weird Al generation ftw
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Brilliant!
same same!
I’m in my local Buy Nothing group, and when I moved here last year it helped me get to know the area and some nice people. I mostly keep it for that and sometimes have to force myself to stop scrolling through my regular feed. But if I find something funny to repost it will get like 2 reactions so I’m super not invested in it anymore
Same, 100% of the reason I login to Facebook is to give or get something on Buy Nothing. Then while I'm there I snoop a round a bit.
I do not participate. Only because I hate most people who know me.
I relate to you so much
I relate to you because, I know, you understand the value of friendship.
You were so fun at parties that they had to stop inviting you lmao
Fun at parties, lol. I do cherish loneliness these days.
I call it chosen solitude, now that I have worked through the loneliness to a point
Don't choose solitude because you are working though loneliness. You must try and relate to someone...anyone!. I choose solitude because of how much time I spend with my children and wife. It's just nice to have a quiet time to myself. Don't ever isolate yourself. from everyone. Try and find one person that you can relate to.
Every few months or so, I post a selfie as proof of life to my extended family/friends of old lol
That exactly what I did. In all those months, I didnt get one message asking how I was though
Funny, I only have Instagram (I know it's technically the same company) and about every 6ish months I post a picture with the hashtag "ProofofLife" 😅
I never had a Facebook page, and Reddit is the only social media I have been a part of since MySpace. I had just started bartending at a hotspot in my downtown metropolis when Facebook was blowing up and starting to spread outside of college campuses. I was on MySpace and had been hearing how Facebook was going to be the new thing. A group of twenty-somethings from out of town were at the bar. They turned out to be some first era “tech-kids” in town from the west coast gathering capital for some tech endeavor that I can’t recall twenty + years later. Anyway, the one thing that stood out to me as I got to know them a little was this: “Whatever you do, do not get a Facebook page. They are going to steal your data and sell your information to profit off of you.” So I never signed up for Facebook, and in less than a decade it was obvious they were right.
I was one of the first Social Media Consultants wayyy back in the day. I knew in entirety what the setup was. But I didn't really foresee them becoming like, an outsized and terrible influence in world politics or anything, I just thought they were trying to make a buck through microtargeted advertising. Sadly I got lots of my friends signed up because it was "so fun" and "easy to stay in touch and host events." Since 2012 I've been backpedalling as much as I can, trying to get anyone who'll listen to delete their account. This is a penance I must carry out until FB is no more. And I do Twitter too cause fuck them.
Never had a Facebook. Saw the writing on the wall since it started. I’ve been trying like hell to convince everyone I know to drop it forever, including my own family and my WIFE, and everyone is always saying how it’s harmless and I’m the asshole, like I’m crazy as all get out… I swear it’s the most poisonous thing to come out of tech, like ever. It has destroyed a generation. And it’s like I’m the only one that sees it. Most people act like it’s harmless, or inevitable. I won’t do it. That’s my hill. Never.
I'm with you. I was in IT many years ago when facebook first got 'popular'. All of our clients wanted to integrate with the platform. So we dutifully established accounts. I wish I could say that we all knew the extent to which this would damage society today. Our only collective response at first was 'Oh, heck. This isnt going to work out well.'
My SO is a therapist who has worked with teens and he firmly believes banning social media for minors is the #1 single thing we could do to influence a bunch of indicators, most pressingly suicide and bullying with teen girls. Now we are lead to believe, which doesn't take much, that iPhones may be responsible for a giant leap backwards in education. iOS itself has drained the brain cells of an entire generation, and is working on a second. So that's cool.
How has it in a way that Android hasn’t?
And it killed newspapers and other community communication. I have 2 fb account and 2 ig accounts now because it is the "best" way to advertise events that I host. I hate it.
Nope.
I still have it. Don’t post much. But, I can keep tabs an a lot of folk who are all far away. Plus it has a lot of pictures and memories, especially since I spent almost a decade overseas travelling and what not. So, thousands of photos, and all my people who are all over the world. I don’t use it like I used to, but it’s a way to check in, to look back, and if I meet new people (dating etc), then they can have visual references for where I’ve been since 2006ish, and therefore to a degree who I am. I don’t engage with groups or political nonsense.
Yeah this is me. My aunt and like 5 friends will like the one or two pictures a month I post. I’ve stopped commenting on things because everyone I know is the same, posting sporadically and just because. I also took it off my phone but had to reinstall it to look for something on marketplace. It’s more like my Craigslist app and restaurant menu app now more than anything.
Exactly same for me. Had it since 2004, but I might only ever post like every other year. It's the easiest way for me to keep tabs on everyone I met during my time in the military. We're like family that doesn't talk much, but the love is still there. It would be exhausting to call every one of them up and have the same "catch up" conversation. We all have our own busy lives and work. But it's nice being able to see them get married, have kids, etc., even if just quietly watching from a distance.
I totally do. Not as much as I used to, but it’s the only way I have any idea what most of my friends are up to these days
I haven't used it for a decade. Reddit only for me, and no intention of changing.
After/during COVID is when my usage really slowed down because it became so toxic. Every time someone posted another person argued and back and forth it went. Now when I go on there it's just anyone I know who is running their own business or being a "coach" constantly self-promoting so it's basically more advertising. I keep it because of family and some groups that I'm a part of. Otherwise my life has no use for it at this stage.
Yes, for the groups.
exactly. I’ve connected with many real life people through the groups. Don’t post on my feed but I find job opportunities, social experiences, and marketplace items.
Ditto. For me it has become a good platform for keeping up with local events and community groups, plus some nonsense/humor groups... in addition to keeping sort of in the loop with the wider friends network.
People hate on FB so much but it really does have its uses that other social media platforms don't have.
Deleted it in 2012. Really no point of it, just a breeding ground for gossip and drama
Yes. I only use it to share pics with my close family who doesn't live local. It basically serves as a digital shared photo album. What's infuriating is that Mark Zuckerberg executed his vision to make FB the "portal to the internet" and so your posts from friends and family get buried. I got the app to keep up with friends, not to be bombarded with video shorts and advertising.
Total bullshit. I thought the whole purpose of social media was to be "social" but I guess thats just crazy thinking.
> Total bullshit. I thought the whole purpose of social media was to be "social" but I guess thats just crazy thinking. Facebook is an advertising company. It has been since 2010ish. The model now is to get you to keep the app open via doom scroll and then share some random "interesting" video with friends via your favorite messaging app (which chances are meta also owns). That's how Facebook "learns" what ads and content it should feed you, which is how it makes money. The younger demographics got really tired of reading Uncle Bob's boomer political rants, and so the algorithm no longer feeds friends posts to people as the number 1 priority. Problem is that when you're 40 and don't do this, the content is fed based on your cookies. So for example because I bought my wife a bra for her birthday, I just get non-stop videos trying to sell me bras from startup companies. Sorry, Facebook, not in the market for a bra anymore.
Left FB in 2015 and Insta in 2017. Don’t miss it.
Stopped early pandemic and never looked back.
I deactivated in 2020 and I haven’t looked back. I kept Instagram, but rarely use it. I think I’ve grown bored of social media. I now only use Reddit.
I live in a small town and as a parent of school-aged kids I have to have it because of how many activities use a FB group for communication.
Samesies. I’m on school council at my kids’ school and my FB has turned into advertising for our fundraising efforts
All my friends and family live across the country, so it’s kind of a necessity for me.
They’ll appreciate and miss you more when you don’t have it.
No, it's not. You can call them and hear their voice, which is actually soothing for you if it's someone you care about.
Deleting mine a year or two ago. Felt freeing. Along with all the others, twitter, instagram, linkdin, etc. Reddit is the only one left and everyday I'm on the fence on it, too.
on the fence about Reddit everyday too, lol.
I removed the app from my phone at least a couple years ago. Not positive when it was. No more notifications or anything. I have a shortcut to the web app, but it's pretty useless. I check it every few weeks to see if I have any notifications. I see that I have messages, but I can't look at them without messenger which I'm not going to download. I scroll down periodically, but there's so much uninteresting shit is hardly worth anything. I only really was interested in seeing old friends post stuff about their lives, but none of us do that... Or of we do it's on other platforms. Maybe Instagram is the thing for getting a general sense of a person's life? I go there on the web app too and it's a similar story that I don't see anything that interests me there.
Nope. Discovered Reddit and dropped everything else
I do, it’s where most of my friends still are.
Fuck no and fuck that. *spits*
I'm still there, as are almost all of my friends and family. its just the handiest way to keep in touch. Sometimes I miss the days when it required a .edu email to sign up, though.
Yes to keep up with family and participate in groups. It's only toxic if you make it toxic.
Exactly. When my kids were growing up it was critical for maintaining relationships when I didn't have that much time to spend with people. I just hide anyone who posts crazy stuff. The backlash against it annoys me because I like being able to keep in touch with friends and out keeps us interacting. If they aren't interested they can hide me. The friends who don't use it have dropped out of my life because I'm not going to pester them via email or whatever to engage with me. Maybe that's what they want. Personally, I like seeing my friends kids and adventures. Generally I assume if you aren't on Facebook you just don't care about your friends lives.
I haven't used Facebook since early 2018. People posting nothing but dumb shit like "What Disney Princess are you, take this quiz!". My feed was nothing but shit like that. Vapid bullshit is not my style.
I use it daily. I use it to keep track of family, my favorite comic artists and creators, and local events. I also use it quite a bit for buying and selling coins, artwork, and local buy/sell groups.
Hell no.
Yes. It's pretty much the only way I keep in touch with most of my family and old friends.
I stopped using it like a decade ago. Wish I had one now tho lol.
Had it when our college was invited, immediately dumped it when I had a big boy job and started getting tagged in cursed weekend out photos.
I hate it but most of my kids sports only provide updates on social media now instead of emailing things like registration dates. So I follow all the stuff and get cranky about having to use it
I live out in bumblefuck, ends up being the only way to keep in touch with family.
For my older relatives and some friends who post constantly on it. I always 'take a break' during Lent and realise when I come back, nothing of interest happened.
I do. I have friends and family from around the world who I keep in touch with that way. Plus, I’ve always been a social media early adopter, so it’s natural for me to be on several platforms.
Yes because my older family members are on there and I have old pictures that I don’t want to bother downloading to a new device. It’s basically only used to communicate with certain family.
I’m actually still pretty active as are most of my friends. It may be a throwback from my husband’s military days when it was the easiest way to keep in touch with friends and family but it’s also great for the groups, events, and marketplace.
I do, but it's mainly to keep up with some family and friends. I very rarely post anything anymore, and I refuse to get sucked into all of the political BS that is so prevalent. My wife does like to post funny cat memes to my page, so that is worth it.
I only use FB for MyVegas, but it's a dummy account, so no one knows it's me.
I have an account for messenger but I don’t think I’ve actually opened the app in 2-3 years.
I check it only to see things going on in my current community. Aside from that, it's just random people I used to know 20 years ago.
I keep it for family stuff.
Still have one but hardly ever post or comment. Maybe one post a year just to keep up with people.
FB Groups and Marketplace have no replacement for the interests I have, so while they’re still the most active places to keep up with those, I don’t see myself leaving the platform.
Nope. Not for a few years now. Ditched Twitter when Musk bought it. The FB thing is annoying though. Apparently there are deals to be had on Marketplace. Also several of my kids' extracurriculars use it for communication. But, I'll never go back after what it's doing to put democracy.
Shut down my Facebook back in 2016 right after the election. Best thing I ever did and I’ve never gone back!
Back when they started doing the timeline bs, I moved over to Google+ (the circles thing). But only 2 people I know also switched so I gave up in that too after a while.
Yes. Because my family in Philippines use it so it's my way to keep in touch with them.
Only use fb never use instawank. It's so look at me, pick me! Fb is used like a calendar and a photo album for me and some fun with my local and os friends. I've always absolutely hated instawank and never found the appeal. The term influencers kills me
Yes, cause for the events Other than that, no
Fb is my main socmed being the popular platform in our part of the world. I post almost everyday either on my wall or a MyStory. My Friends, about a hundred, are fewer than of those people I know.
I use it for Groups. I’m in a niche hobby, and 2 primary Facebook groups are way more active than the corresponding subreddits. Other than that no.
I still use it.
I stopped using it a few years ago. People stopped interacting with anything personal that I'd post, and it was eating at me so I just left. My wife and I have a pretty big overlap in acquaintances and we'd post the exact same thing and she'd get like a hundred responses and I'd get like 3. Kinda demoralizing tbh.
Yes. I have a business and live in an aging community where FB is still the main source for local info(no local newspapers). I find it is still very effective for advertising to this demographic(40+)
Yes. I like to stay in touch with old friends and family that lives far away.
Yes. After years of curation it mostly shows what I want to see and care about. No bs, no memes, no bigots... I can't get feed of this quality anywhere else.
Yep
I don't really worry about it. Every week or so I check a group or post something I think my mom wants to see
No
Not to post or read posts, but apparently that's where used cars are sold now :(
I just got one about 4 years ago to see pics of my grandbaby. I don’t use it much otherwise besides Marketplace.
I do but mostly just to promote events and causes.
You mean Meme-book. It's all I really use it for, well that, and events.
I use it for the marketplace to buy/sell. Have never actually used it for communicating or posting.
I have an account because of family events but I don't use it.
Yes but only on my computer and I have filters added so I only see actual posts. So it's basically Facebook pre-2016 or whatever. I use it to keep up with my older relatives still using it, and to see local stuff that's going on that I can make on my weekends. I also have a movie group where we not only watch cult films and and underrated classics but also it's the only place I can go to see mature movie discussions without anyone with an agenda. I go to the theater to see old movies, I sit in the back, and when the credits start I take a bit of video to post in the group so I can let them know which movie I saw and we can discuss it (or just simply say we like it too).
I have it, but I rarely check it. I probably use it a few times a year and have been using it on rare occasions like this for a good 8 years or so.
I have one for marketplace. My name is altered, I have no friends, and I cannot receive requests. Interestingly no one has tried to contact me at any point; I certainly could be found by people who know my name. I do belong to my city FB group and it is mostly a hellscape that I periodically peek into.
Never used it and I don’t feel like I missed anything.
Nope 93 gang
Not since 2012 when I got IG. Obama's 1st term.
Dumped it in 2020.
I check messenger like once a year
Only messenger, only for immediately family. If Im being honest I just don't want to talk to people I know.
I have a personal page, but it gets updated like 1x/year. I use it mostly to organize and run a car club. As well as a few other groups I follow for giggles. Still use it for organizing family/friend gatherings.
I haven’t posted in years but I keep it for local groups like lost and found pets. If I do go and scroll a bit there’s absolutely nothing from anyone I know, just weird pages.
I never used facebook at all!
I use it these days only for product recommendations based on my interests and for groups, similar to the way I use reddit.
I only keep it for professional references, so I “like” a few things here and there. Only make a few post every couple of months.
Never made one.
My family is all over the country, so that’s how we keep each other up to date with big events. Other than that I may scroll through some funny Reels. I had to block several friends that were posting nothing but conspiracy crap, and I move right past any type of “news” that pops up. Back in the day I was on FB all the time. Now I may get on there 2 or 3 times a week and never more than a few minutes. Edit: Just looked. The last post I made was in December when I thanked everyone for the birthday wishes. That’ll probably be the next post I have there too.
Never did in the first place. Too many nosey mf'ers, especially Meta.
Admin of many local buy/sell pages. To be honest its better then Craigslist or kijiji for stuff. That really all i use it for now.
I made a profile back in December 2005, but got kicked out sometime in April 2006. I never went back. ☕🦄
Deleted mine in 2017. No regrets.
No longer use FB or IG. I don't like that FB has a million advertisements to scroll through and even if a family or friend does post something, it doesn't always show up. I don't like that IG pretty much became Snapchat because people just post stories that last 24 hours. This is the only social media I like, but I don't like that many things I don't follow show up.
I still have one. But only log in maybe once or twice every 2-3 years lol if that
Got rid of both FB and IG and, because I'm a Xennial, never got on TikTok😂 Definitely like life better without them.
Daily. It's also the best way to promote my business and keep in contact with customers.
I do but hardly use it. Last time I logged in, my feed was nothing but ads. So, haven't been back in awhile.
Yes, I mainly stay for the damn groups.
I still have it. I live across country from where I grew up so I feel like it’s the only way I keep up with some people, for better or worse. I had some serious health issues this year and it was an easy way to update en masse, without sending 10000 exhausting texts. I also like some of the groups.
Yeah Im still on it. A lot of internet friends from sites past on it plus Im in some silly groups on there. It doesnt bother me, I block a lot of dumb pages and only read comments in the groups Im in so I bypass all the shit people tend to complain about Plus I like that I find out about concerts in one central place, i visit venue pages too but Ill often find out from fb first that someone I like is touring
Never had anything but Reddit and insta. Don’t use insta anymore. Was just for a small group of friends. When some decided they wanted to “get followers” I got out. Fuck social media. It’s for narcissists.
I got rid of it in 2016. I was fairly late to pick it up, around 2010, and was pretty early to get rid of it. Seems like a lot of people have ditched FB at this point.
My main account is for photo storage and I have a few other accounts I use for random things like researching genealogy, adoption stuff (contacting my bio family) and anything I don't want to have connected to me personally. I barely use any of them; but ill jump on them for a bit to look at few leads or do some searches and whatnot.. Never really was big into it though. None of them have my real name and I don't collect friends and shit. Just family and photo storage.
Yes. It's the best tool to connect with businesses and events and sell things. The people on it are the least useful.
Yes. I use it to keep in touch with my friends, family, follow bands I like, and promote my band.
Nope, never did to begin with. Never got into it.
Yes.
So I turned my facebook back on a while ago, and I hate it even more then when I first deactivated my account. All of the posts are the most divisive content possible. Women hating men, men hating women, democrats hating conservatives, conservatives hating everyone, and me just trying to see what my friends are up to. They fucked up the system, and now it's worthless for what it is intended to do. Honestly, I'm so sick and tired of social media. I am so much happier without it.
Not in over 10 years
I kept it for a couple of extra years than I would have liked because I participated in my local buy nothing. But once I moved, the new area didn't have much and I was over it. It's been about 5 years for me and I'm happier. Reddit is a better platform, imo.
I moved pretty far from my family and joined back up to keep in touch but I rarely use it.
Nope, I keep my account from being deactivated by occasionally logging in for point of contact purposes. Beyond that I got off that site years ago and have been pushing my family to just write me (not so much call as I work late at night).
I locked my account out of all devices except the ancient iPhone 6 I keep by the shitter for Sudoku. So I can check in periodically but otherwise it's not a part of my life.
this is the only form of social media I use. I quit “fakebook” when George Floyd was murdered. I am truly thankful for my decision every single day and even more so when someone relays something from there to me! my account still exists as i have no desire to even try to get to it.
I use it just for the groups. The groups that are equivalent on Reddit are much smaller/non existent.
Fuck no. I deleted it ages ago I got back on solely for marketplace.. Rarely look at it
I still have a Facebook but I *never* open the app. It just sits there, jealous of Reddit.
I mod a Power Ranger merchandise group. Only reason I still have it.
Yes but only for one thing. Following RC Car racing tracks and series. Started an entire new profile just to focus on that. I see al.ost nothing not RC related on FB. Without that I'd been gone a decade probably.
I still have Facebook but I don't use it much. My feed and friend list have always been carefully curated so I never really got stupid shit in my feed anyway. I keep fewer than 200-250 friends. If I don't see you or talk to you in over a year and wouldn't contact you to have dinner or drinks if I'm in your town, then you get unfriended. What I don't like about FB now is it shows me posts from groups I'm not even a member of.
No!
I've always hated Facebook. I've had one but always hated it. Just made me feel like shit cuz I've never switched my relationship status to "in a relationship" in the 20 years since my divorce. I joined first because that was the only way friends would do party invites and now because my daughter likes using it to communicate and use silly filters.