Social Networking sites and Escapees

[TheEvilCheese]

I use facebook to talk to my friends, but I don't go into the whole posting pictures and 'friending' people I don't actually want to keep in contact with. I'm not a fan of Facebook, and would like it if everyone moved to Google plus.

 

[JackyG]

I use face book for networking and I don't like it when people add photos of me, its annoying and i feel it paints a bad picture when all you have is pics from parties. it is a little irritating which is why I don't use it that often. I certainly don't chat on there... never was a fan of those kind of things.
It's pretty much just to keep in contact with people, but you do see people using well from time to time. gap years and the like.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

I don't like machines meddling in my social interactions.
If it's more complex than an analog phone, I avoid it if possible.

The machines don't "meddle" - they "mediate". The people running the machines meddle.

I personally have no great hate for social networks. I just do not find them to be terribly useful useful.

 

[Berithil]

I can see the appeal of social networks, but when I had a Facebook account, 90% of the posts from other people were either very mundane and pointless or very shallow. I didn't like the fact that people seemed that others wanted to hear everything about their personal lives. I'm not talking about the people who use Facebook for the right reasons ( staying in contact with someone far away, organizing events) instead of posting comments like " i just had taco bell it was good". So basically its not Facebook that I hate, its the people who use it

 

[Snake Plissken]

I don't use them.

Then again, I'm also not a 16-year-old girl.

 

[Mr. Google]

I don't like them because of the amount of information they have on you wen you use one.

I still have a facebook though but I don't use it, i'll delete the account when Google+ comes out properly and my friends join it. (Im already on there)

I just want to say screw you. Your avatar made me confused then feel retarded all in about 10 seconds. While scrolling down I thought there was a fly on my screen so I tried to blow it off. After that didn't work i see it crawl under my Start button. I kind of just stare at the screen for a second then scroll down and see it your avatar. Facepalms were induced.

 

[scorptatious]

I have a Facebook account and I don't think it's so bad. I don't use it too often though, and I turned most of the notifications off, as my family LOVES to use Facebook. Especially my parents, as they use it to as a way of for potential clients to contact them and vice versa in their line of work.

 

[Kinokohatake]

I am going to go against the grain on this (Not surprising on this site.) I have FB up in the background all the time. I use it to chat with friends, family, and just be a social guy if I can't get out of the house for the day. Then again I also don't have a cell phone so FB is usually my main contact outside. I get out a lot but when I don't I use FB.

BTW the Captchas are getting fucking ridiculous to read.

 

[IceStar100]

I hate Facebook because of the lack of privacy it gives you and how little custom options there are (See Google+'s 'Circles'). I hate Formspring because it removed the "Sign in with twitter" option that I used to sign in with and now can't access.

However, I do like twitter, as it's nice to see what people are doing and to talk to them (Or not, if they are super awesome people you look at but must not reply to out of fear of them thinking less of you with their Uber Celebrity status, like LittleKuriboh) and I don't hate Google Plus, which seems to respect your privacy (though it's early yet). I also don't hate Tumblr, but I know such few people on it, that going off and spending time on it is rather pointless.

See, I don't hate everything, and have legitimate reasons otherwise.

Calumon: Facebook says I can't have a page 'cos I'm not real! Meanies!

Calumon that bull lot of not real people have facebooks. My imagonary friend from when I was 5 has a facebook page.

 

[Warlord211]

I use Facebook but that is about it. I don't really even like it, I just use it because almost all of my friends are on it and it is fairly easy to use to plan stuff.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

I'll turn to Cracked for this one.

Ding.
Ding.

And for good measure:
Ding.

What?! People are saying that a new thing will ruin society as we know it! In all my days on the escapists I have never seen that before...

HerbaWHAAAAAAAT!?

Hey wait, you still think 'social networking' is new? Then I got something that will blow your mind!

With this device, I can make phone calls from almost anywhere in the country! While moving!

 

[GeorgW]

I personally don't like social networking sites as I like to keep my privacy online.

I hate websites that require Facebook, Twitter etc.

I don't have anything against the social networking sites themselves, just don't use them myself.

Pretty much this, but modified. I don't have anything against the sites themselves, I just massively dislike the way they're used. So many people and companies assume that everyone simply has an FB account and that you don't matter if you don't.

 

[Jazoni89]

Because we are all Hipsters, and we hate on everything that is popular.

Well, that's the only reason I can find anyway.

 

[Fusioncode9]

I constantly use Twitter but I rarely use my Facebook. Just doesn't seem much point to even log into Facebook anymore.

 

[bjj hero]

I don't use them.

Then again, I'm also not a 16-year-old girl.

Or out to pick up 16 year old girls...

I don't do social networking as I dont give out my personal information to all and sundry. I speak to and see all of the people I want to see. Why have over a hundred friends you have no real interaction with?

I prefer to do things than be one of those poor individuals who cannot do anything without updating their twitter/facebook.

When I was single (It was so long ago that I had myspace instead of facelook) then it was ok for picking up chicks with low self esteem. You also didn't have to have any "real" interaction with them after having sex with them.

 

[Titan Buttons]

I hate Facebook because of the lack of privacy it gives you

That's pretty much the reason Facebook was made, to remove any kind of privacy so no one has anything to. The CEO of facebook has said that his goal of facebook was to make a place where no one had to hide anything, but making it impossible too or something like that.

 

[Girl With One Eye]

I manage to function perfectly well without it, so I don't see the need to have it.

 

[FalloutJack]

It seems to me the after reading this thread here http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.308159-You-Dont-Exist-if-Youre-Not-on-a-Social-Network
the Escapists has a pretty negative outlook on social networking sites. Why? You cant argue how useful they can be. It helped organized the protests in the Middle East, it can help you keep up with friends if you are living in a different country like I am, and is sometimes just an easy way to get in contact with people.
So why the hate Escapists? No reason to bash a product people like using for no more reason than people use it.

I will explain.

Facebook is like the cellphone, opposite of the Awesome But Impractical trope. You CAN use it for many useful things in communication very practically. What blesses it with suck is that it is actually overused for crap reasons. A cellphone, for instance, is great for any emergency anywhere, so long as you get a signal. It is not used chiefly for emergencies or even legitimate business. It is used for chatter. Chatter chatter chatter about the most unbelievably unimportant things and usually very loudly and distracting.

And that's just cellphones. Facebook is a large percentage of the internet. THE INTERNET, that vast data world which may as well be the size of the universe (for all intents and purposes). If Facebook (and all clones of it) was used for purely legitimate purposes instead of what it DOES, it would be tiny. That's not an opinion. That is a fact and I dare you to find proof to the contrary. Like any technology open to the public, it is used for anything that it CAN be, never thinking if it SHOULD.

 

[JoJo]

I do the whole social networking thing. I image the backlash against them is part of the constant attention seeking rebellious streak that "geeky" communities always seem exude, probably in defiance of their members own lack of assertiveness in real life. Another persons opinion on things that I do personally, matters to me very little. I have an active social life, and these tools are useful.

I agree, without trying to stereotype a lot of people on this site tend to be biased against anything which is "mainstream". Me, I use social networking tools somewhat but only really to arrange meet-ups in real life or converse with friends who I don't have the opportunity to see right now. For some reason for me personally online conversations just seem to be lacking something vital.

 

[Xaio30]

Jack and Calumon got it pretty much covered on the first page.