5 Recent Thoughts About Facebook

I have always loved facebook. Even through the mass changes they’ve made that always flipped people out, and when they started to really cram ads down our throats, I still loved facebook. But I’m beginning to have second (and third, fourth, and fifth) thoughts about it.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s still great in a lot of ways. But there are just a few things that have been on my mind lately.

1. Paying for advertising on facebook is stupid unless you’re a big brand or have a huge bank account. Seriously, what ads do YOU see most often? They’re either from pages you already “like”, or they’re from sites you’ve already visited, or they’re from hugely backed companies like Infusionsoft or the NY Times or something that can afford to make sure if you haven’t given them any attention yet, they can try to buy some from you.

I’ve “boosted” posts and seen very, very little extra views, much less any real improvement on engagement. I just refuse to waste my money on it anymore.

2. There are more and more really naive people on facebook every single day. I mean, I love everyone on my friends list, but if I see one more “Share this post 100 times so the kid gets a free heart transplant” image or one of those “Disney is giving away 1,000 free vacations this year! Share to enter!” posts or the worst, the images of abused, injured, and bloody animals and/or children… I think I’m gonna scream.

I’m sure you, dear reader, are far too brilliant to fall for this stuff, but c’mon… let’s all get ballsy and tell those in our friends lists how silly they look. If I tell three people, and those three people tell three more, and then so on and so on… yes? Please? *sigh*

3. Facebook groups are flat-out awesome. But you have to make sure you tell facebook that you want to get notifications from the ones you heart the most, or you’ll never see a thing. What makes them awesome is that there’s always a bunch of like-minded people (in the good ones, anyway) and you get tons of sharing and inspiration and helpfulness going on (most of the time, in the good ones, anyway). I’m not talking about the Etsy sellers groups (where it’s just full of people promoting their wares) or the garage sale groups (which is usually full of people arguing with each other) or the this-should-really-be-a-fan-page-but-I’d-rather-trick-people-this-way groups (because lame). I’m talking about the real community groups. Most of the good ones are secret or private, and you have to kind of know someone (or pay) to get in. THOSE are where the gold is, folks… I kid you not. And the best part is that you’re on the dang site all day anyway either playing a game or looking at pics of your cousin’s kids anyway – so why not spend some time being productive in these really awesome kinds of groups, right? Right!

4. Dirty laundry belongs in a hamper, not on facebook. I can’t believe I have grown adult friends in their 30’s and 40’s posting about their latest bad date, or complaining about how their kids’ father is a “deadbeat” because he’s most definitely lying about his car breaking down on the way to pick up the kids, or how much they miss having rough sex with their ex, or how they can’t stand their partner and kids anymore so they wish they could run off to some deserted island and relive their early 20’s every day forever.

Yes, those are from within the last few weeks. There are more, I just think my brain blocked them out already. It’s sickening, and you’re an attention whore if you’re the kind of person who posts stuff like this. STOP IT.

(For the record, I do realize that often people who are in the throes of true depression do reach out on facebook sometimes. I’m not saying to stop if that’s the case, and I’m certainly not one to ignore someone’s post if it seems to me that they’re genuinely on the verge of harming themselves or others. HOWEVER, after a while you begin to see patterns of people who are just trying to embarrass others with their posts rather than really seeking out help. If you or someone you love suffers from depression – please… reach out and connect any way you possibly can.)

5. I feel like I need facebook to lighten and brighten my day more than it already might. No, I don’t need to read stories that belong in horror movies but are true. I don’t want to read about the mom who drowned her kids or the dude who killed someone over $20. I want to see uplifting videos of the underdog winning. I want to see and hear children singing. I want to read stories about the people who run the streets dropping quarters in every parking meter they can find, without telling anyone. I want to know how I can help a fellow do-gooder to do more. I’m over the negativity, can you tell?

So how are you feeling about facebook lately? Do you spend (too much) time there, or do you feel it’s become a waste of time? Share in the comments!