Is Facebook as stupid as I think it is - or am I just old?

[UP Powers]

Picking up the phone and calling them...ok. How do Grandma and Grandpa see the grandkids pics on the phone? A million other scenarios can be put together for a need/desire FB fills. Your kids are young. Think of a time when they possibly move across the country or to another country for work or love. Think perhaps you'd like to see what your grandkids did over the weekend? Picking up the phone isn't face to face contact either...

If you don't want to join FB, don't. But to say that the way we also used to do things is the way we should do things now and in the future is shortsighted IMHO.

How do they see a pic? Easy.. They walk over to a wall in their home and pic up a picture. Walk over to the fridge and pick up a hand painted deer or fish. so.... if people live across the country and you want to see them. Well.. you get in a plane or in a car and you go see them. So people need facebook to the immediate gratification of networking amongst family and friends to feel more connected? I really think it's the absolute dummy down of our society. All personal interaction is fading and people are going to forget how to interact with one another.

A week ago I was out to eat with a co worker in Memphis TN, we watched 3 young couples sit through dinner staring at their phones. We looked around and parents are sitting with their teenage kids not talking as they sit on their phones. My co worker and I never touched our phones and we had a great conversation. I got to hear about his kids in college and one of them getting married. I also heard about his week long trip to the Mississippi delta. He described some of the scenery and the local fare and didn't show me one picture. I could see it based upon his words and it was really great to hear about the fun time he had. He doesn't have face book either and we talk quite often on the phone and he will email me an occasional pic.

My very favorite facebook dummy down of our society is when people are at a sporting event or a concert and they are staring at their phone taking pictures of the event or videos. Really?? It's right in front of you and you have a good chance to see it with your own eyes rather than a phone. I love to see concerts where people hold up there phones to record the show. Seriously?? you are there. you paid good money to be in there, watch the show and enjoy it. set the facebook down.set the phone down.

 

[biglakeba$$]

As you stare at your phone........;)

touche'
HAAAAA

However, I am working from the cabin. ;)
I guess there is some advantage to the technological age.

 

[BJE80]

So to answer J-Bird's original question. He is just old. :p

 

[UP Powers]

I completely agree that the smart phones are a part of life and tool to make things easier, my point is that when you are with people set it down. TALK.. TALK.. have fun.. play .. build something together. My dad loved GPS, wasn't into computers but saw the need for them, but for fishing.. Why not take a ride to the bait shop and talk to the owner? I love technology, but I love to interact on a human nature more. I got one chance at this game and I am gonna make the best of it, LIVE.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Conversation is a lost art for many. If you put 2 or 3 people ( especially young ones ) in a room together, talk is sparse. As far as talking on the phone to each other - imagine how much we'd have on our phone bills if we - on here - used a phone to communicate with each other. Thankfully we have computers to use for communicating and a bunch of other uses. I don't use FB, my wife does. I agree it's how you use it. I don't have a " smartphone " either. Just a regular phone because that's all I want it for. I have too many other things to do than keep up with the ever-changing world of the newest gadgets and the processes and apps that are required. When my youngest college-going son gets frustrated with the speed of changing technology, I pull the layer of rock over me and live like the comfortable, happy fossil that I am !!! :)

 

[John-W-WI]

This discussion reminds me of Tony L discussions from years gone by.

Those that have never used it or very little bash it the most.

Yet those that use it the least know the most about it.

I know I used a swear word up there... I'll punish myself, don't worry.

;):confused::p:eek::eek::oops::rolleyes:o_O

-John

 

[sandbur]

Every generation is annoyed with the next generation. It is just part of changes in society and values.

And every generation of teenagers is annoyed with the past generation... for a while at least.

 

[j-bird]

So to answer J-Bird's original question. He is just old. :p

Well - there is one vote for "OLD", it's actually the 5th vote for old......the other 4 votes came from my 4 kids!

 

[Steve Bartylla]

This is very timely for me. I've always avoided social media like the plague, as I've seen it cause issues for many others. Unfortunately, many of the marketing VPs for the companies I work with are out of college within the last 10-15 years, love social media and weigh a tweet saying "I just got a new _____. Wow, is it ever cool!" every bit as much, if not more than me wearing a hat from that same company in a picture in an article. I'm not and never will be a "I just got a new _____. Wow, is it ever cool!" guy. It's just not me, but if I don't start establishing a social media presence and do it yesterday, my paid pro staff positions will start withering away pretty soon. The writing is on the wall and crystal clear. I just need to figure out how to pull it off in a way I'm comfortable with and that somehow retains credibility. I'll be honest. I'm currently struggling with that.

 

[wiscwhip]

Don't worry Steve, you are not alone. I struggle with the true "value" of almost all kinds of social media for the most part. 99.9% of the time it is just a breeding ground and venue to instigate and perpetuate drama from what I have seen. I personally think most social media is a gross waste of Internet bandwidth. The Internet was originally started with the idea of sharing information and research between universities, research facilities, and peer groups. It is now so far from that modest goal that it is barely recognizable as such. To that end, social media is here to stay and nothing will make it go away, it will just continue to evolve and this years FB will be next years Instagram.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

Obama and the NSA are going to have to work harder to find out how I feel about things.

Not that much harder...unless you are completely disconnected from the interwebs.....lol

 

[j-bird]

I see a Steve B endorsed camo selfie stick in the works!!!!!:D

"When I'm in the woods posting and tweeting to my friends and followers, sometimes I'm just in the mood for a selfie. Well, how am I supposed to do that from my tree stand?" Introducing the all new Steve B Selfie stick! It's compact for your hunting pack and comes in a stylish camo pattern - so you don't spook the game. Never miss a selfie opportunity again! "Hi, I'm Steve B and when I'm in the tree nothing is more frustrating than not being able to get a good selfie." "All that has changed since I started using this product and my Facebook and Twitter accounts have exploded over all the selfies I have posted." "It's the one thing I make sure is always in my hunting pack!" Que the cheesy smile!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!

 

[wiscwhip]

Hilarious!!!^^^

 

[phil@thesidehill]

I'm 35....FB is a huge part of my generation. I'm on it, but seldom post much. Like Stu i have wittled my news feed down to what i want to see, but have left some that i routinely disagree with so i can see what the "enemy" is thinking. I have lived in 7 states and have friends and family spread across the country, honestly...without FB i would have lost touch with quite a few people that FB enables me to still be in regular contact with....and i find that enjoyable. All that said....yes there are many things about FB that are useless and of no redeeming social value. While i do agree with many of the negative comments about FB, i think they are being grossly overstated. If you dont like FB thats fine, but certainly dont paint social media with the broad brush of evil. Many, many, many, many good things have come about from social media.....so much so that it irrefutably outweighs the bad. Most of of the good will never be witnessed or be reported on...because of the general fixation on the negative and dramatic.

Simple things like what Jordan mentioned...a group of local people with similar interests forming a group based on that interest. I see lots of local groups that promote local charities, i see missing persons cases getting exposure, I see local volunteer fire departments recruiting new members, i saw a group of concerned deer hunters band together and network to keep deer hunting relevant in an urban area, i see a new home owner ask a question about repairing a leaky faucet and getting that help from a distant relative.....i saw all of that in 3 flicks of my thumb on a smart phone screen while taking a dump this AM...lol. The point is that good people using a good tool/technology ultimately produces a good result. Like Stu has said a million times already...FB has the capability for you to make it 1000% what you want it to be. If you dont want it to be dramatic and negative you can do that, if you want it to be a passive user controlled utility you can do that to.

I also think that it is strange that some of you on this forum that are anti FB/social media in general......apparently arent aware that this this forum is exactly that...social media. Hell....the developers of this forum platform stole a page right out of the FB playbook....there is a "like" button. Forums are really just one of the older social media platforms....much of today's social media evolved from them. Ultimately social media was intended to facilitate social interaction on the internet....but just like offline in the real world not all social interaction is useful, positive, and intelligent.

 

[bueller]

I'm 35....FB is a huge part of my generation. I'm on it, but seldom post much. Like Stu i have wittled my news feed down to what i want to see, but have left some that i routinely disagree with so i can see what the "enemy" is thinking. I have lived in 7 states and have friends and family spread across the country, honestly...without FB i would have lost touch with quite a few people that FB enables me to still be in regular contact with....and i find that enjoyable. All that said....yes there are many things about FB that are useless and of no redeeming social value. While i do agree with many of the negative comments about FB, i think they are being grossly overstated. If you dont like FB thats fine, but certainly dont paint social media with the broad brush of evil. Many, many, many, many good things have come about from social media.....so much so that it irrefutably outweighs the bad. Most of of the good will never be witnessed or be reported on...because of the general fixation on the negative and dramatic.

Simple things like what Jordan mentioned...a group of local people with similar interests forming a group based on that interest. I see lots of local groups that promote local charities, i see missing persons cases getting exposure, I see local volunteer fire departments recruiting new members, i saw a group of concerned deer hunters band together and network to keep deer hunting relevant in an urban area, i see a new home owner ask a question about repairing a leaky faucet and getting that help from a distant relative.....i saw all of that in 3 flicks of my thumb on a smart phone screen while taking a dump this AM...lol. The point is that good people using a good tool/technology ultimately produces a good result. Like Stu has said a million times already...FB has the capability for you to make it 1000% what you want it to be. If you dont want it to be dramatic and negative you can do that, if you want it to be a passive user controlled utility you can do that to.

I also think that it is strange that some of you on this forum that are anti FB/social media in general......apparently arent aware that this this forum is exactly that...social media. Hell....the developers of this forum platform stole a page right out of the FB playbook....there is a "like" button. Forums are really just one of the older social media platforms....much of today's social media evolved from them. Ultimately social media was intended to facilitate social interaction on the internet....but just like offline in the real world not all social interaction is useful, positive, and intelligent.

I "like" this :p:cool:. Now with that being said, I'd rather "chat" about deer and habitat with you guys that I've never met, than cyberstalk what people from high school are doing on a daily basis even though I haven't spoken with them in nearly 20 years.

 

[wiscwhip]

Forums ARE the oldest form of social media. They started out as newgroups on Usenet back in 1980. For those kiddies who were born after the invention of the mouse, Usenet was originally a completely text only network used with command lines. They are what the Internet was intended for, peer groups sharing relevant information amongst members. Most other forms of social media are not that. Irrelevant, blah, blah, blah...look at me and what I did...I like kitties...I don't like kitties... WOW! I think this actress I will never meet and even if I did she would rather kick me in the sack as give me the time of day is super hot in her red dress...yadda, yadda, yadda...Oh yeah, did I mention look at me...tweet, tweet, tweetily deet deet. I was friends with one of the pioneers of Internet browsers, Marc Andreesen, he created the Mosaic browser, which was the most popular web browser in the world before Microsoft developed Internet Explorer. I went to grade school and high school with him, he lived about 2 miles from me and we rode the same bus. He was so far ahead of his time in the early to mid 80's that our Computer Ed teacher could literally teach him nothing. She taught the rest of us while he sat on a computer in the corner developing the beginnings of Internet-changing software. As I said, Social Media is here to stay and it will be to each of us what we make it, that doesn't mean we have to like what it has become.

 

[Steve Bartylla]

I see a Steve B endorsed camo selfie stick in the works!!!!!:D

"When I'm in the woods posting and tweeting to my friends and followers, sometimes I'm just in the mood for a selfie. Well, how am I supposed to do that from my tree stand?" Introducing the all new Steve B Selfie stick! It's compact for your hunting pack and comes in a stylish camo pattern - so you don't spook the game. Never miss a selfie opportunity again! "Hi, I'm Steve B and when I'm in the tree nothing is more frustrating than not being able to get a good selfie." "All that has changed since I started using this product and my Facebook and Twitter accounts have exploded over all the selfies I have posted." "It's the one thing I make sure is always in my hunting pack!" Que the cheesy smile!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!!

Just 2 days ago, I first learned of "selfie sticks" from a headline of an online article. I looked at my youngest son (15) and asked him if any of his friends had one. He said no and I replied that he has my permission to walk up to anyone he ever sees with one and hit them in the face without saying a word, simply based on principle.

True story...it was obviously a stupid joke and he realizes that, but I honestly just don't get it.

 

[Steve Bartylla]

Whip,

I was in charge of networks at the company I worked for back when email first became main stream. They were very nervous about having company wide internet and literally paid me to research everything bad I could find on the net. Let's just say that there was a h@#$ of a lot more than just text on news groups by that time. I'll never forget ...ummmm, some if the news groups I found (edited out the name....figured if someone's kid read that, it may lead to some "interesting" questions)...I've tried very hard, but even many years of therapy could never get some of the stuff I found on news groups out of my head.

Oh, and having to present my findings to the executive committee wasn't exactly the most "comfortable" experience of my life.

Long way of saying, I understand what you mean, but I'm afraid the net had many black holes well before social media.

 

[wiscwhip]

Whip,

I was in charge of networks at the company I worked for back when email first became main stream. They were very nervous about having company wide internet and literally paid me to research everything bad I could find on the net. Let's just say that there was a h@#$ of a lot more than just text on news groups by that time. I'll never forget ...ummmm, some if the news groups I found (edited out the name....figured if someone's kid read that, it may lead to some "interesting" questions)...I've tried very hard, but even many years of therapy could never get some of the stuff I found on news groups out of my head.

Oh, and having to present my findings to the executive committee wasn't exactly the most "comfortable" experience of my life.

Long way of saying, I understand what you mean, but I'm afraid the net had many black holes well before social media.

I completely understand where your coming from Steve, I am well aware of some of the things you speak of. The Usenet got to be and still is a very dark place. The bad thing is, once much of the Usenet was shut down to many users by the major ISP's, all that type of thing just spilled over on to the P2P sharing networks. :( And just to clarify, I don't consider social media to be a black hole in that sense. I think it is anything but, it is just the opposite. It is more like the prima dona movie star or football player or fast looking foreign car that demands attention beyond what it is really due.

 

[UP Powers]

Simple things like what Jordan mentioned...a group of local people with similar interests forming a group based on that interest. I see lots of local groups that promote local charities, i see missing persons cases getting exposure, I see local volunteer fire departments recruiting new members, i saw a group of concerned deer hunters band together and network to keep deer hunting relevant in an urban area, i see a new home owner ask a question about repairing a leaky faucet and getting that help from a distant relative.....i saw all of that in 3 flicks of my thumb on a smart phone screen while taking a dump this AM...lol. The point is that good people using a good tool/technology ultimately produces a good result. Like Stu has said a million times already...FB has the capability for you to make it 1000% what you want it to be. If you dont want it to be dramatic and negative you can do that, if you want it to be a passive user controlled utility you can do that to.

Missing persons cases hit face book?? I had no clue. I see value in that. Volunteer fire departments need new members, I can definitely see value in that case. A new home owner asking a question about a leaky faucet and got help from a relative, once again big help. I can 100% see the value of social media to bring attention to these wonderful causes.

In my case.. if I had a leaky faucet I learned to fix that when I was about 10?? and I helped my Dad rehab a few houses. We didn't have social media then, it was just doing it and instead of sitting around playing atari, I worked hard and helped him. If the local fire department needs help recruiting new members I would think some flyers sent home with the kids at school would help plus it would give the fire officers time with the youth of America. But, if they feel social media is the way to go than great. I just wonder how effective it is compared to face to face interaction with people.

I am not a fan of facebook. I have seen it's effects with my friends first hand and how much it can create more social cliches and alienate people even more than word of mouth. I have done just fine with out it and I have no intentions of starting it. Last night I was helping out at my son's little league and one of the "coaches" was in the outfield monkeying around with his phone and I ran up to him and said.. "whats up." oh.. I am just checking out some stuff on the internet. I said.. "this is the real world right now... kids are here depending on you to help them play baseball." He said .. I am so sorry and put his phone away. He came back up to me later and apologized again. I said. no big deal, you are volunteer and you did something I can't do and I thank you for that.

I can see facebook as a tool in the way you described. I just do things more face to face and a phone call. I am heavily networked in my community and my job and I didn't need social media to do it. Is it that difficult for people to just talk??