Does Facebook help or hinder your effort to connect with others in a meaningful way?

[HongDou]

I found my room mate because of my college's secret Facebook group. We both realized we were what we wanted in each other as room mates and it was better to request each other since we get along rather than risk being paired up with someone completely different from what we want. Because of that, I got his phone number and now we frequently text about who's getting what and such rather than us getting two of something we only need one of. For that, I am glad Facebook was around for that.

It's also an easy way to organize fun ways to spend time my friends. I wouldn't call it connecting in a "meaningful" way but it was certainly useful. I think the group message thing is pretty helpful since not everyone gets group texts on their cell phones.

 

[cafe]

I don't know about meaningful, but considering that my interaction would be next to nil without it, it probably helps more than hinders. My in-laws would probably never get pics of the kids if it wasn't for facebook.

 

[Coriolis]

I don't know about meaningful, but considering that my interaction would be next to nil without it, it probably helps more than hinders. My in-laws would probably never get pics of the kids if it wasn't for facebook.

Can you make sure that no one else has access to these photos? Is it even important to you to limit access?

 

[garbage]

Moreover, I have virtually nothing personal on my profile, as those who should know that information already know it.

Also, I've had people become outright offended that I'm missing information that would link them to me on my profile. That further separates wheat from chaff.

My most egregious offense was that I didn't sign up for some app that allowed me to list my best friends, or something. Odd, because the victim wouldn't have made it into that list because they're the type of person who takes offense at things like that.


~Carin' 'bout Facebook~

 

[Randomnity]

Helps, tremendously. There's a bunch of people I'd never see again if not for facebook, and it makes it way easier to organize social events. Easier = more likely to happen, at least for me. It could theoretically be done by email, but facebook is much more convenient to use for a lot of things.

Also I'd never remember anyone's birthday without it.

 

[cafe]

Can you make sure that no one else has access to these photos? Is it even important to you to limit access?

It's not really important to me to limit access. The ages my kids are, they and their friends are posting pics of themselves on facebook anyway. When they were little, I was funnier about it, though. Like, every year the elementary school kept sending home a form asking for permission to publish my kids' names and photos online, which I always thought was kind of crazy, especially since they usually also included where the kids went to school on those things. I never signed those. But the kids are big enough not to get into the car with someone they don't know and they generally use the buddy system when not at home.

I pretty much assume there isn't any privacy for anything I do online. If somebody wants the information badly enough, they will get it.

 

[Usehername]

Tremendously helps.

1. I'm an expat, so I stay connected to people at home.

2. FB Groups are an infinitely better version of 90s Listservs. My colleagues are constantly posting FYIs of varying importance that I need to keep up with to varying degrees. FB notifies me, but doesn't bombard me with data if I don't want to click to get it at that moment, so I can focus on my deep work without missing the info like I might otherwise in a buried email inbox. FB Groups curate passive streams of information in a far more readable and useful format than email listservs (and even RSS). It does it in a way that respects my time and meaningfully connects me to information that I need.

 

[Totenkindly]

2. FB Groups are an infinitely better version of 90s Listservs. My colleagues are constantly posting FYIs of varying importance that I need to keep up with to varying degrees. FB notifies me, but doesn't bombard me with data if I don't want to click to get it at that moment, so I can focus on my deep work without missing the info like I might otherwise in a buried email inbox. FB Groups curate passive streams of information in a far more readable and useful format than email listservs (and even RSS). It does it in a way that respects my time and meaningfully connects me to information that I need.

Great point.

Yeah, the linear nature of the listserves (and information glut) was a real headache to wade through back in the early 90's.

 

[Lark]

After 12,000+ posts, has your well-being been undermined? Confess your sins, my son.
As for Facebook, someone ought to take a flamethrower to it.

Friend request received.

 

[Jaguar]

Friend request received.

What are you talking about?

 

[Coriolis]

I pretty much assume there isn't any privacy for anything I do online. If somebody wants the information badly enough, they will get it.

So do I. That's why I don't participate. Yes, if someone wants it badly enough, they will get it. If someone wants to rob my house badly enough, they will get in there, too, but I still lock my door when I leave.

2. FB Groups are an infinitely better version of 90s Listservs. My colleagues are constantly posting FYIs of varying importance that I need to keep up with to varying degrees. FB notifies me, but doesn't bombard me with data if I don't want to click to get it at that moment, so I can focus on my deep work without missing the info like I might otherwise in a buried email inbox. FB Groups curate passive streams of information in a far more readable and useful format than email listservs (and even RSS). It does it in a way that respects my time and meaningfully connects me to information that I need.

This is one of the more worthwhile uses for Facebook I have seen, but it seems much more professional in nature than personal, almost more like LinkedIn. Facebook has also been useful in helping troops deployed overseas stay in touch with family, but that is a rather specialized function.

 

[Betty Blue]

Facebook has helped me connect with a couple of relatives who were, to all intents and purposes, long lost. It also helps me keep in touch with some distant relatives and a smattering of longer distance friends. Other uses are social meet up planning... (birthdays/celebrations etc... much easier than sending out paper invites and waiting for postal replies though they are more charming), and *yawn* networking.

It also has it's downsides, though I rarely make any announcements/wall posts I sometimes feel some kind of pressure for social niceties...that it is expected for me to respond to other's public posts and have to faff around with privacy settings or delete posts others have put on my wall. The wanking 'liking' aspect really pisses me off too. I do not like to like things... it feels bland and pathetic... i do though... i have been assimilated... to a lesser degree than most yet still assimilated. I regularly cull my friends list. I recently managed to delete approx 150 'friends' and left myself with approx 50... it felt like a weight had been lifted, I prefer not to have too many aquaintances...where possible.


Facebook lacks sincerity and dignity but I do sometimes use it.

 

[93JC]

Facebook lacks sincerity

Mmm, very succinct yet profound.

 

[Tiltyred]

I love Facebook. I don't use my given name for most of my Facebook time, granted, but plenty of people know it anyway, and I'm ok with that. I interact in Facebook groups, mostly, and belong to about a dozen of them. I enjoy being able to talk about different specific topics with people from all over the world. And yeah, it's nice to see my extended family, who are all over the US, and most of whom I haven't seen since I was a child. I really don't get the privacy concerns. Track my shit, go ahead. Give me advertisements about more and more stuff I'm interested in. Keep tabs on where I shop. Knock yourself out. Because ... then what? The Man knows I buy shoes at Zappos?

 

[garbage]

Yeah, +4 to the statement that Facebook is good for groups. You can participate in those groups without actually having any personal information on your profile, too, which is a huge plus.

Also, Facebook is currently my 'RSS manager,' or what have you. 'Liking' *shudder* pages such as 'Lifehacker' puts their new articles on my radar. That way, I get updated on the not-boring people in my life and on updates to pages I care about in the same place, without having to leak too much information out there on the tubes.


(If we're all counting, that means that the NSA can only squeeze out a name, email address, a list of those I've marked as 'friends' [diluted by the fact that I hardly know many of them and don't associate with them anyway, so it's almost noise], the groups I belong to, and the pages I 'like' for RSS purposes. Not too privacy-bad..)

 

[Usehername]

This is one of the more worthwhile uses for Facebook I have seen, but it seems much more professional in nature than personal, almost more like LinkedIn.

Yes. I'd much prefer if it wasn't tied to Facebook and was available in a purely professional context like LinkedIn. It's unfortunate that FB is the only provider with such high-density usefuless.

I really value my own privacy, but it does save me probably 10 hrs/wk of independently looking for this information. So I consider it a trade: 10 hours of work-time-turned-personal/social time is a long-term sanity saver. My sanity is the only thing I value more than my privacy!

 

[Coriolis]

(If we're all counting, that means that the NSA can only squeeze out a name, email address, a list of those I've marked as 'friends' [diluted by the fact that I hardly know many of them and don't associate with them anyway, so it's almost noise], the groups I belong to, and the pages I 'like' for RSS purposes. Not too privacy-bad..)

I can see where knowing this could allow others to cause trouble for you. Just like the idea of allowing the government to force libraries to give up lists of the books a patron has checked out. Librarians as a group strongly objected to this, and many libraries simply don't maintain the records now, once a book has been returned.

 

[garbage]

I can see where knowing this could allow others to cause trouble for you. Just like the idea of allowing the government to force libraries to give up lists of the books a patron has checked out. Librarians as a group strongly objected to this, and many libraries simply don't maintain the records now, once a book has been returned.

I'm relieved when organizations simply don't collect certain data/records. Librarians are my heroes!

I agree with you that groups and pages could definitely raise flags. Even the friends list could send up some red flags, if I'm friends with the wrong people.


Soo.. I probably shouldn't join a Crips Facebook group, 'like' the official Al-Qaeda Facebook page, add Kim Jong-Un as a friend, or allow myself to be tagged in photos of me shooting meth or snorting coke. .. at bare minimum.

 

[Coriolis]

Soo.. I probably shouldn't join a Crips Facebook group, 'like' the official Al-Qaeda Facebook page, add Kim Jong-Un as a friend, or allow myself to be tagged in photos of me shooting meth or snorting coke. .. at bare minimum.

It needn't be that blatant. EJCC could get in trouble for frequenting websites on Arabic and Islamic studies, related to her academic work. There are folks here involved in the BDSM culture, which is frowned upon in certain circles. I visit pagan websites, which combined with some other interests might pique the curiosity of professional busybodies. To us all this may seem quite innocuous, but in the wrong hands such information can be used to make people's lives difficult. As Fantine put it in Les Miserables:

Is there anyone here
Who can swear before God
She has nothing to fear?
She has nothing to hide?

 

[Lady_X]

i think it hinders it but it's my fault not facebooks. i feel like i don't bother to call people to catch up like i would otherwise but that's shit. i should anyway.

plus some people annoy the shit out of me on facebook.