Should I open a Facebook account?

[DoctorObviously]

I've been avoiding social media like the plague for a very long time now. I never saw the real use of it and I have no idea why it's so popular. I have two or three good friends here on the Escapist and it's not easy for me to find good friends. The people I often meet who have my hobbies (movies, gaming, novels, music, the usual gambit) are often very obnoxious and I just can't connect with them. My apologies if I insult anyone, but especially the gamers are such children. The gamers I often meet in my neighbourhood are such whiny childish stereotypes. But ever since I have a job and I've gotten to know several people I wonder if Facebook really is a handy tool to find friends or to just keep in touch with them.

So, to the Escapists who do have a Facebook account: is it worth it?

 

[hazabaza1]

Why not just add them on Steam or Skype? There;s ways to do things other than facebook.

 

[Raikas]

This sounds obvious, but it's true so: Facebook is worth it if it's a favourite of the people you want to keep with. If it's not, then it won't be.

In terms of connecting with local people, I think it depends on the local scene - if yours using FB groups, that's a reason to join. Same thing with keeping in touch - if those people are using FB rather than g+ or skype or whatever, then that's your answer, right?

Personally, I don't use FB to find friends, but I have found it very useful for keeping up with long distance relationships (friends/family in places I no longer live) with people who I don't need to interact with more than a couple of times a year but am interested in staying in touch with.

 

[TheRightToArmBears]

Facebook is as good as the people you know really. Personally I find it really useful for organising things with my mates and it's also dead handy for keeping track of what my favourite bands are up to. I've always thought the 'Facebook is for idiots' attitude that seems pretty prevalent here to be dickish- it's such a sweeping statement that it can only be wrong.

 

[josemlopes]

It can be worth it, its as invasive and annoying as you make it be honestly, you can disable a lot of stuff and keep your information barebones while keeping contact with your friends. Never really tried meeting new people so I dont know how that would work out.

 

[Someone Depressing]

Facebook is only good for meeting up and chewing into your bank account (Another 5 Cupcake Dollars? Yes, please!) but yeah, it's blue, so, ugh.. if you like blue...

Yes, just to have it there if you ever needed it.

 

[Souplex]

You want to be cool don't you?
Souplex stays away from FaceBook.
You should be like Souplex.

 

[Hero of Lime]

Facebook isn't really good for making friends, it's more for keeping in touch with distant friends and old classmates.

If you think it's valuable, just go for it. I may not use Facebook much anymore, but it's not a bad thing to keep ready for when you can use it.

 

[Danny Ocean]

So, to the Escapists who do have a Facebook account: is it worth it?

No. If you do, don't use it to communicate too much. Especially personal things.

I recently downloaded a .zip from facebook that contains all the data they have on me. It was terrifying. Every single conversation I had since I got a facebook account. Even ones I'd completely forgotten about.

Imagine if the post office opened every single letter you sent using their service and made a copy which they 'owned' and could do (almost) anything they liked with. There'd be outrage.

Online privacy needs to step up a notch, imo.

If I could go back, I would never open a facebook account. I'd keep an actual book of faces and contact details, and make the effort to socialise in person.

It's better in every way except convenience.

 

[RJ 17]

To be perfectly honest, there's not a lot in my life that I can claim to be genuinely proud of. But one thing that I do take genuine pride in is the fact that I can say I have never been a part of any kind of social media. Ever. Not Myspace, not Facebook, not Twitter...absolutely nothing.

 

[Flutterguy]

It is a social media site, you can add alot of people and use it to waste time and feel false emotions, basically waste time.

It can also be used sensibly to keep in contact with people, and make groups to discuss your band/projects with the specific people.

 

[Sarge034]

Snip

Don't do it bro. There are so few of us social media purists left these days... Stay strong, we will endure and survive.

 

[NoeL]

To be perfectly honest, there's not a lot in my life that I can claim to be genuinely proud of. But one thing that I do take genuine pride in is the fact that I can say I have never been a part of any kind of social media. Ever. Not Myspace, not Facebook, not Twitter...absolutely nothing.

Umm, what's there to be proud of? I'm asking that legitimately, because if you're just avoiding them because they're "mainstream" and you're too hip for that that's really silly. Why devoid yourself of pleasant experiences simply because they're popular? If, on the other hand, you're proud about not giving your personal information to big companies that then go on to sell "you" to marketing firms and the government, then I guess that's something.

OT: As others have said, Facebook isn't the best place to make friends. It's best used as a tool to keep in touch and informed about your friends (and many more acquaintances), and POIs like your favourite bands and whatnot. Makes it easy to see when they're touring in your area so you never miss a concert.

It's also great for stalking old high school crushes.

 

[RJ 17]

To be perfectly honest, there's not a lot in my life that I can claim to be genuinely proud of. But one thing that I do take genuine pride in is the fact that I can say I have never been a part of any kind of social media. Ever. Not Myspace, not Facebook, not Twitter...absolutely nothing.

Umm, what's there to be proud of? I'm asking that legitimately,

That's a fair enough question, and my response to this topic would warrant such a question. The answer isn't that I'm a hipster and hate social media sites because I'm "too cool to be on something so mainstream". But rather it's because I have what you might call an addictive personality. Everything I've heard about most social media sites is that they can be highly addictive to some people, and I've little doubt that I'd fall into the category of "some people" if I were to get on them. I'd be checking facebook statuses all day long or always checking my twitter or what-have-you.

So to answer your question: I take pride in that I've managed to avoid a potentially life-ruining (as in "I have no life") addiction. WoW did that to me, and I'm not too keen on repeating that mistake.

 

[NoeL]

To be perfectly honest, there's not a lot in my life that I can claim to be genuinely proud of. But one thing that I do take genuine pride in is the fact that I can say I have never been a part of any kind of social media. Ever. Not Myspace, not Facebook, not Twitter...absolutely nothing.

Umm, what's there to be proud of? I'm asking that legitimately,

That's a fair enough question, and my response to this topic would warrant such a question. The answer isn't that I'm a hipster and hate social media sites because I'm "too cool to be on something so mainstream". But rather it's because I have what you might call an addictive personality. Everything I've heard about most social media sites is that they can be highly addictive to some people, and I've little doubt that I'd fall into the category of "some people" if I were to get on them. I'd be checking facebook statuses all day long or always checking my twitter or what-have-you.

So to answer your question: I take pride in that I've managed to avoid a potentially life-ruining (as in "I have no life") addiction. WoW did that to me, and I'm not too keen on repeating that mistake.

Fair enough. I wish you all the best in your abstinence then, and hope you don't find your life consumed by any one thing!

 

[octafish]

I need to setup a Facebook account for my business but have been avoiding it for over 18 months now. My wife is now in media relations and keeps telling me to do it. The only problem I have is that I trade under my own name.

Remember if someone offers you a service for free, the service is not the product they are selling, you are.

 

[loc978]

In my experience with watching other people (I haven't had such an account in years. Deleted it), Facebook is good for keeping up with people who use it often, and it's good for finding people you haven't seen in a long time... again if they use it often.

Aside from that, it's a place people vomit up every minute detail of their lives for the sake of one corporation's advertising revenue.

 

[BanicRhys]

You have nothing to lose by setting one up, it's handy for contacting friends, you don't have to put any personal information in other than your name and email, it only takes up a tonne of your time if you want it to and it only takes a couple of clicks to block any future posts from friends who "vomit up every minute detail of their lives".

Don't do it bro. There are so few of us social media purists left these days... Stay strong, we will endure and survive.

You say that as you use an online forum, a form a social media.