Facebook...pretty much as stupid as I thought it would be

I joined Facebook several years ago because I wanted to see some pictures taken by a person I know. My account lay dormant for a few years after I saw those pictures, until I finally recommitted a few months back. I thought FB might help me connect with people in Dallas that I didn't know were in Dallas. It hasn't. What it has allowed me to do, though, is read lots of status updates like these (from yesterday):

• Need to iron my shirt for tomorrow.
• Don't feel like cooking...Chinese food it is!
• I'm going to have breakfast at the Victory tomorrow. Of course, I'll ride my bike there too.
• Packing for London. Finally I get to wear the cold weather gear!

I genuinely like each of the people who wrote these updates. But I do not give two squirts of freezing pee about such things. Unfortunately, this is a lot of what Facebook is about. So, much of the time I'm on Facebook, there's a little voice in my head that keeps saying, "Who gives a fuck?" (I've often wondered how fast Facebook would come unspooled if, in addition to the "Like" and "Comment" buttons, there was also a "Who gives a fuck?" button.)

Things get even worse, though, as status updates go from the trivial to the nauseatingly narcissistic. I won't give examples because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but holy cow...like ourselves much?

So, I'm going to quietly disappear from Facebook until/unless someone posts pictures that I want to see. As I depart, though, I want to offer this sincere farewell: I wish my friends luck finishing that last little bit of milk before it goes bad, I hope the dog snarts again when there's someone else around to see it, and I'm sorry you can't remember your aunt's name. It will come to you.

Footnote: One of the conceits of social media is that all of us have something interesting/important/amusing/insightful to say. I'm guilty of that same conceit--after all, I have this blog, and a Twitter account. But there are degrees of the conceit, and I'm comfortable with my place on the conceit spectrum. However, if you find my stuff no more edifying than the "I just dropped my toast on the peanut butter side--again!!!" status updates, you can walk away...just as I'm doing with Facebook.

Comments

[Woods]

A good friend calls FB "noise" - Seperately, found this article:

* http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-facebook-feature-allows-user-to-cancel-account,26491/