#Facebook #Woes & Cons...

I came across this article when I thought of a new subject for a blog post and decided to "Share"... what a gut-wrenching story !

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/05/is-facebook-making-us-lonely/308930/

"Excerpt from article in The Atlantic Magazine

In some cases it does.  I love seeing pictures from my children who live across the country, friends who live across the country, relatives across the country and their families.  Yes, it is great to keep up with family and friends you don't see every day, but the trouble is we never are far away from our computers or phones.  Yes, I take my phone everywhere, except I draw the line on the bathroom! Like the excerpt from the article states, "Among 18 - 34 year- olds, nearly half check Facebook minutes after waking up, and 28 percent do so before getting out of bed".   How sad is this?

Of course, my generation turned on the TV in the morning for the news and weather before heading out the door for work.   We got in our cars, without a phone, turned on the radio to our favorite music channels and had a few moments of peace while traveling to our workplaces.  We didn't need to talk on the phone, or text to begin our day.  I have gotten to the point that for years now I haven't turned on a NEWS channel because it is so depressing for me. 

Suffering from #Rheumatoid Arthritis is depressing in itself but I am just as guilty of grabbing my coffee and head for #Facebook to see what is happening with friends and family.

The workplace and schools are  saturated with workers and students checking their Facebook page during the day (when I was in school you couldn't chew gum!!!), grabbing their phones when they receive a notification of someones baby taking their first steps, or someone spewing their political views, who is getting married, who is divorcing, funny pet pictures, videos galore, shark attacks, who caught the largest fish, who died, what your friend ate for lunch, why you should eat the food you eat and why you shouldn't eat the food you eat, who graduated from pre-school, kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, high school, prep school, college, the next high school reunion, the latest "Housewife" (you know OC, NJ, BH, MIAMI, NY) who is getting married, having a baby or getting divorce, who had an affair, what she wore on the "red carpet", what plastic surgery they had and how many, where they went on vacation, syrupy posts about husbands, wives, kids, grand kids, the latest of "what to wear", how to decorate, "cute" quotes, prayers, how much we love our jobs, how unfair our bosses and teachers are, the first time Little Johnny pooped in the potty, selfies, "throw-back" Thursday pics, "share if you love your children posts", what businesses you should love/hate, what you can do for the environment, or "what" you are "doing" to the environment, self-help groups, what's new with technology, etc.

Now look to the right of your FB screen, and ponder whether you should click on the myriad of commercials (now FB takes all of your activity and helps you out by CHOOSING which ads you receive), or how to find your high school friends that you haven't seen in 40 years and who you didn't like 40 years ago, or which "friends" you should add by stalking your friends' FRIENDS.  This should keep you busy for six hours or more!!!

Now, let's see, I'm sick of seeing so-and-so's posts,  should I "defriend" so-and-so?  What the hell is defriend? 

Let's first of all settle the debate of "Unfriend" or Defriend"...from the horse's mouth:

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2009/11/its_defriend_not_unfriend_says.html

NOW, you have the dilemma of deciding if you want to see someones posts, DO I HIDE ALL THEIR POSTS?, DO I DE-FRIEND THEM?, DO I IGNORE AND SCROLL THROUGH THEIR POSTS because they will know if I de-friend them?  I don't want to hurt their feelings, but I don't like their opinions on most topics or their political views, so what should I do?  Of course, this dilemma just adds to your "everyday woes". 

NOW, if you decide to respond to a post, WHICH EMOTICON do I use in my comment to a friend's post?  In case you don't know the meaning of "Emoticon" here it is:

And if you are corrected by your granddaughter when referring to these cute little pics as "emoticons" when they are called "emojis" in her world, here is that definition:

So which one you prefer Emoji or Emoticon here are some examples:

Do I  "Heart" it?    Do I "Smiley face" it?,   Do I "Poop" it?    Do I "airplane" it?  These are all big decisions.  Do you want to do the "cute" thing or the "politically correct" thing or the "I love it" thing, the "I'm OK with it" thing or the "I hate this" thing?

Now I am totally bewildered over which Emoticon or Emoji to use.  I sit and scroll through all of these FREE pictures for five minutes that I can use to tell my friend how I feel about their post.  NOW,  I have TOTALLY FORGOTTEN what the post was about and NOW I really don't want to post a comment because I really don't care in the first place !!!

Back to the subject matter of Facebook causing loneliness.  For me, it helps me some days because I am lonely and it does keep me connected, whether good or bad.  Some days, believe it or not, it motivates me because I tell myself to get the hell off FB.  On those not so happy days dealing with #RA pains and anxiety, FB can really give me a boost.  AND there are days when I "flip the lid" on my MAC and hit the couch with an old movie and say NO to FACEBOOK and of course, wash, cook and clean, paint and crochet!

All in all, times have changed and most of us don't want to be left out of the "Loop" so we use what tools are available to keep us "posted".  LOL

So I say, put on your pearls, earrings and lipstick and have a great day with or without FACEBOOK !!!  There is always something to be grateful for, PINTEREST !  HA