Facebook Chat is Stupid

[Not-here-anymore]

Edit friends, make a group, limit availability on chat to just the group you actually want to talk to. Or just appear offline constantly.

I end up having the same kinds of conversation on there I do in real life, usually with the same people. Seems to work.

 

[Ham_authority95]

For all you facebookians out there, I have a question: have you ever had a meaningful conversation on facebook?

Here's how an average conversation goes between me and a facebook friend:

Me (thinking): Oh god, that person's online. I hope she doesn't start a conversation with m-
Them: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII BAAAAAAAAABEZZZZZZZZZZZZ HRU???
Me (thinking): I'm in deep shit now. If I go offline, it might hurt their feelings. If I talk with them, I could be in for as long as an hour.
Them: WHY YOU NO REPLY :'(((((((((((((((((((((
Me: Hi, (Person's name). How are you?
Them: HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP
Me: ... That's nice.
Them: OH HAHAHA YOU SO FUNNEH
Me: ...
Them: so... watcha doin
Me (thinking): What do you think I'm doing? I'm on facebook aren't I?
Me: Nothing much...
Them: OH GOTTA GO LUV YA BYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEE <3

Stupid? Useless? Annoying? I think yes. I'm constantly bombarded with people starting useless conversations with me. Please tell me ONE thing facebook chat is good for.

You seem to think that Facebook chat makes you friend stupid people, which is your own fault.

Plus, it seems like you don't know how to make yourself "offline" in chat.

 

[Dexiro]

The people I add on Facebook are all people I talk to regularly and/or have met in real life, I don't just add random internet people unless I talk to them a lot. With my real life friends I share videos, images, discuss recent news and such, pretty much the same as what you get on forums.

How many of the people you added are actual close friends, people who you regularly go out with?

Ok you're getting ridiculous now :/ Is it really that hard to admit that Facebook is of use to some people. I could go ahead and say I have 10 close friends and it wouldn't matter, it's all down to personal experience.

If you must know I have 50 friends added, around 4 are people are close friends that I go out with regularly, a few are close friends over the internet, and a lot are people I talk to less regularly but they're close enough to be worth getting to know a little. I can still talk to my close friends over the phone, over Skype or in person regularly but that doesn't negate Facebook's usefulness.

Alongside that you can organise events at the click of a button. If things need to be organised regularly it's much more convenient to spend 5 minutes on Facebook than to spend potentially hours getting in contact with people over the phone.

What do you mean by "potentially hours" and what sort of events are we talking about here?

Well if you're inviting people to a party and you seem intent on doing everything over the phone you could be spending ages talking to and trying to get in contact with everyone. While using Facebook as an alternative takes like 5 minutes.

You ask would I rather spend time on Facebook or out drinking with friends, I don't see why you think these are mutually exclusive. Having a Facebook account that I visit for maybe 10 minutes a day isn't impeding my ability to go outside and socialise.

If you're only using it 10 minutes a day then where do you find the time to actually have the meaningful discussions you've mentioned?

If I do get into a discussion then yeah I'll probably be on for more than 10 minutes but I really don't see why it's relevant. I'm just confused about the point you were trying to make, are you trying to say Facebook is time consuming and stops you from socialising in person?

 

[AndyFromMonday]

Ok you're getting ridiculous now :/ Is it really that hard to admit that Facebook is of use to some people. I could go ahead and say I have 10 close friends and it wouldn't matter, it's all down to personal experience.

There is nothing to admit. I find social networking in general to have no purpose whatsoever. If it's of "use" to some people then I'd like to know how. As it stands the only people I see using social networks are either people craving attention or as a means of publicity.

If you must know I have 50 friends added, around 4 are people are close friends that I go out with regularly, a few are close friends over the internet, and a lot are people I talk to less regularly but they're close enough to be worth getting to know a little. I can still talk to my close friends over the phone, over Skype or in person regularly but that doesn't negate Facebook's usefulness.

And what do you mean by "close enough"? If you actually gave a shit wouldn't you attempt to become actual close friends? You know, go out with them and stuff like that? I mean your last sentence says it all really. VOIP programs and phones really do negate any sort of usefulness social networking might have. There's just no way around it.

Well if you're inviting people to a party and you seem intent on doing everything over the phone you could be spending ages talking to and trying to get in contact with everyone. While using Facebook as an alternative takes like 5 minutes.

Maybe in the UK parties involve hundreds of individuals but I always thought of them more like a gathering of friends, usually involving about 6 or 7 people. Either way, I don't remember ever having to call every single person when going out. It's usually call one or two people then they do the rest.

I do get into a discussion then yeah I'll probably be on for more than 10 minutes but I really don't see why it's relevant. I'm just confused about the point you were trying to make, are you trying to say Facebook is time consuming and stops you from socialising in person?

No, I'm saying that it's useless.

 

[Eduku]

I don't like Facebook and some of its features but I don't like smug people who say Facebook is a horrible site for horrible people and act as if they are better because they don't use it. That is just so stupid.

I just don't add people I don't like...and the website is pretty beneficial to me.

Pretty much this. I don't see how not being social is something to act all superior about.

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

I'm always amazed by this forum's ability to hate Facebook just because apparently we can't mingle with the commoners. It's a communication tool, you fools! If you're going to complain about Facebook containing idiots why don't you complain about video games containing violence?

Why don't you, I don't know, just use a bit of care and attention so that you can get the most out of it rather than whining like a peeved hipster every time it gets mentioned?

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

Ok you're getting ridiculous now :/ Is it really that hard to admit that Facebook is of use to some people. I could go ahead and say I have 10 close friends and it wouldn't matter, it's all down to personal experience.

There is nothing to admit. I find social networking in general to have no purpose whatsoever. If it's of "use" to some people then I'd like to know how. As it stands the only people I see using social networks are either people craving attention or as a means of publicity.

Alright then, I'll tell you what use Facebook has been to me. It keeps me in the loop, it keeps me up to date with my friends who have gone on to other universities, it's incredibly useful for organising events and I fairly frequently use it to chat with some of my friends who I wouldn't be able to see otherwise. On account of the fact that they're living a hundred miles away. Now all of these things could be done through other systems, but can you not see the appeal of being able to log onto a single website and do all these things in one go?

If you must know I have 50 friends added, around 4 are people are close friends that I go out with regularly, a few are close friends over the internet, and a lot are people I talk to less regularly but they're close enough to be worth getting to know a little. I can still talk to my close friends over the phone, over Skype or in person regularly but that doesn't negate Facebook's usefulness.

And what do you mean by "close enough"? If you actually gave a shit wouldn't you attempt to become actual close friends? You know, go out with them and stuff like that? I mean your last sentence says it all really. VOIP programs and phones really do negate any sort of usefulness social networking might have. There's just no way around it.

Well, "close enough" can refer to those people who you get along with fairly well, but simply haven't known for long enough to be able to hang out with at the drop of a hat. There isn't just an instant cut-off between 'people I'd happily spend entire days with' and 'strangers'. And I can think of few better ways to meet up with the people between these groups than based on things organised through social networking.

Well if you're inviting people to a party and you seem intent on doing everything over the phone you could be spending ages talking to and trying to get in contact with everyone. While using Facebook as an alternative takes like 5 minutes.

Maybe in the UK parties involve hundreds of individuals but I always thought of them more like a gathering of friends, usually involving about 6 or 7 people. Either way, I don't remember ever having to call every single person when going out. It's usually call one or two people then they do the rest.

Since you are obviously ignorant on how the event system works on say, Facebook, allow me to inform you. One person sets up an event page complete with a date and time, as well as information about the event itself. They then pick a selection of people off their friends list to be invited. Those people can then respond through the built in system to say whether they'll be coming or not. In addition to this, and this is the crucial part, they can post on this page which all those who are invited to the event are informed about and can respond. This is incredibly useful if someone needs, for example, a lift to the party. They can make one post and then take the optimum option offered by others. Using a phone, they'd have to phone people up one at a time until they got a potential solution and even then they wouldn't know this is the best solution unless they phoned everybody on the guest list.

Even then, this is assuming that everyone is able to pick up their phone when you call them, and you aren't left trying to second guess when the right time to call them is. Unlike with a social network site, where you can make a post and others can respond to it at leisure. By the way, for a party I'm thinking at least fifteen people. And while phoning people or meeting up with them is more social than using Facebook, I don't feel the need to be extra social when I'm trying to organise a social event. I mean, meeting with people in order to organise meeting with people? That's a paradox and a half.

And one last thing; when you phone a couple of people and expect them to pass the message on, there's loads of flaws in that plan. First of all, that's not actually saving time over all, it's just saving you time. Secondly, you're assuming that all the people you intend to invite are from the same group of friends. Finally, if you ever need to update your plans you have to start the process all over again. Basically you're calling social networking useless because you do not need to do the things that others use it for. By the same logic, I feel that construction cranes are useless because I personally do not need them.

I do get into a discussion then yeah I'll probably be on for more than 10 minutes but I really don't see why it's relevant. I'm just confused about the point you were trying to make, are you trying to say Facebook is time consuming and stops you from socialising in person?

No, I'm saying that it's useless.

Right, because it helps me keep in contact with numerous friends and makes organising events much easier. Oh, I just though of another thing. You can't share links to websites or funny pictures when meeting in person.

 

[Dchao]

I seriously don't use facebook chat to talk to people, it's pretty shitty man. Get your friends to download msn.

 

[irwinemporium]

I like FB chat, it's useful.

 

[Dexiro]

Ok you're getting ridiculous now :/ Is it really that hard to admit that Facebook is of use to some people. I could go ahead and say I have 10 close friends and it wouldn't matter, it's all down to personal experience.

There is nothing to admit. I find social networking in general to have no purpose whatsoever. If it's of "use" to some people then I'd like to know how. As it stands the only people I see using social networks are either people craving attention or as a means of publicity.

If you must know I have 50 friends added, around 4 are people are close friends that I go out with regularly, a few are close friends over the internet, and a lot are people I talk to less regularly but they're close enough to be worth getting to know a little. I can still talk to my close friends over the phone, over Skype or in person regularly but that doesn't negate Facebook's usefulness.

And what do you mean by "close enough"? If you actually gave a shit wouldn't you attempt to become actual close friends? You know, go out with them and stuff like that? I mean your last sentence says it all really. VOIP programs and phones really do negate any sort of usefulness social networking might have. There's just no way around it.

Well if you're inviting people to a party and you seem intent on doing everything over the phone you could be spending ages talking to and trying to get in contact with everyone. While using Facebook as an alternative takes like 5 minutes.

Maybe in the UK parties involve hundreds of individuals but I always thought of them more like a gathering of friends, usually involving about 6 or 7 people. Either way, I don't remember ever having to call every single person when going out. It's usually call one or two people then they do the rest.

I do get into a discussion then yeah I'll probably be on for more than 10 minutes but I really don't see why it's relevant. I'm just confused about the point you were trying to make, are you trying to say Facebook is time consuming and stops you from socialising in person?

No, I'm saying that it's useless.

o-o I give up. I'm explaining how social networking sites are useful and you respond with "If it's of "use" to some people then I'd like to know how", I think this sums up this "argument" perfectly.

You can take your straw man arguments and such elsewhere, 1000's of people obviously find Facebook useful or else they wouldn't be using it, I couldn't care less if you don't.

 

[OceanRunner]

Anyone using the Socialbox app?

 

[RacheyD]

Is that like the Random Rounds app?

 

[ruben6f]

The only talk I had in facebook that wasn't like that was with a guy I met on xbox live and it involved me explaining him that why a modern PC can run Amnesia but his grandmother PC can't.

 

[ruben6f]

Sorry for the double post, my internet is having a heart attack.

 

[AndyFromMonday]

o-o I give up. I'm explaining how social networking sites are useful and you respond with "If it's of "use" to some people then I'd like to know how", I think this sums up this "argument" perfectly.

You can take your straw man arguments and such elsewhere, 1000's of people obviously find Facebook useful or else they wouldn't be using it, I couldn't care less if you don't.

No need to gloat. Either way, you have your beliefs and I have mine. Let's just leave it at that.