Photo credits: Thos Ballantyne
As you know, Facebook has been a part of our lives since 2004. Feels longer, doesn’t it?
Time Suck
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How many hours do you think you spend on Facebook? In a week? In a day? If you actually kept track, it would likely be a lot more than you think.
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Facebook is so much of a draw on our time that some consider it an addiction and there are therapies designed to help wean people from it.
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Many employers and schools ban access to and use of Facebook system-wide. It’s not even allowed on personal cell phones in many workplaces.
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These employers know full well the time that people will spend scrolling and clicking rather than getting those TPS reports in.
Kids, Cats, Lunch
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Not saying that one’s children and pets and precious meals are trivial, but, how many moment by moment photos does the world really need to see?
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We all know that if cats and porn were removed from the Internet the entire system would deflate with a lack of content, but many people complain about seeing so much of the same things over and over again on Facebook.
- Facebook’s self-reinforcing algorithm adds to the problem by spying on you and then feeding you more of the same in an endless positive feedback loop.
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Much reporting has been done on how this perpetuates only monotony, and much complaining has come from users about not being able to see all the content that their Facebook Friends post.
Zero Closure
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Facebook has been open to the larger populace for many years now. While it began as a connector service catering to the student attending Harvard University, it quickly opened to anyone with .edu in their email address, and is now accessed by anyone claiming to be at least 13 years old.
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So, basically, everyone you know, have ever known, or ever will know. It’s exhausting.
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Facebook has over one billion users and it has been said that 8.7% of those users are fake. Why? To spy!
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Because of Facebook’s massive user base, there really is no full way of closing yourself off to someone. Break up, block even, but everyone else still knows your ex, which means you do too.
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Connections are what Facebook is; you no longer have the ability to break them.
TMI
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Even with knowledge that everyone is watching, people give up too much for comfort.
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Everyone has that one Friend posting about every headache, liveblogging their grocery trip, or fighting with their significant other on Facebook. Things that they likely wouldn’t stop by or call you about.
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There are still those people who don’t seem to understand that, no matter how private your settings are, things can still get screen captured and spread.
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These people should know by now the risk to their job, future employment, schooling, and family with risky and risqué posts.
What Does the Future Hold?
How long have you gone without Facebook? Do you need to quit? Could you quit? Better go ask your Friends on Facebook.
