When it comes to Facebook, the jury’s still out. Do I like it or do I hate it? Perhaps these lists will help me decide.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT FACEBOOK
- Reconnecting with family and friends I haven’t seen or heard from in years. Case in point: Mariana, the Rotary exchange student from Brazil who lived with us twenty years ago. Unfortunately, I still don’t know much about her current life because she almost always posts in Portuguese.
- Keeping up with people I don’t see as often as I’d like. Case in point: my brother Rusty.
- Funny jokes. Funny cartoons.
- Intelligent political discourse.
- Pictures of my friends’ children and grandchildren. Within limits.
- Pictures from my friends’ vacations. Within limits.
- The “Are You Old Enough to Know What This Is?” game. Someone shares a photo of something that only those of us of a certain age might recognize—an eight-track tape player or the innards to a metal ice tray or Captain Kangaroo, for instance—and encourages everyone who can identify it to “like” and “share.”
- Learning about important things I might not otherwise have heard about, like a dog food recall or where to get a shingles shot.
- Up-to-the-minute local updates from Michael “The Weather Guy” Detweiller.
- Belonging to “groups.” I’m a member of two–“Hillsboro High School Class of ’72” and “Guideposts Workshoppers” and enjoy the heck out of both of them.
- Amusing posts that weren’t intended to be amusing. Like the guy that wrote how much he hates when people used sloppy spelling and “grammer” on Facebook.
WHAT I HATE ABOUT FACEBOOK
- Sloppy spelling and grammar. Or is it “grammer”?
- Profanity.
- Ignorance .
- Stupidity.
- Misinformation.
- Bumper sticker solutions to complex problems.
- Games. Including but not limited to Farmville, Treasure Isle, Pet Society, Dragon City, and Angry Beehive. I hide any “friend” who invites me to play.
- Friend requests from people I don’t know. If I don’t recognize someone’s name or picture, I feel a little uncomfortable saying yes.
- Rabid proselytizing–political, religious, or otherwise.
- Vapid, boring posts. A sampling: “I’m tired.” “I’m bored.” “Monday, ugh.” “Today’s lunch: peanut butter and jelly sandwich.” Who cares?
- Pleas to “share” the sentiment if you hate cancer, love your daughter with all your heart, miss your cousin, enjoy country music, can’t wait for that first cup of coffee, or are a “true” American.
Hmmm. Looks like the lists are pretty much equal. So I guess that means I won’t be giving up Facebook. At least not any time soon.
(July 22, 2012)