The other day a friend of mine, who knows my annoyance with Facebook, told me that he had found out a long time best friend of his was engaged because he had seen it in a Facebook update. Not a phone call, or even a text, but a very important and personal event had been conveyed by a blip sent out to the most amount of people in the quickest and easiest way possible. It took my friend, though he has known this person for decades, and placed him on the same rank as the guy who changes the toner in the office downstairs. I'd had similar things happen to me in that I didn't even know things were going on because I'm not on Facebook and it was just assumed that everyone was. Getting Married, can't make it to such and such, coming to your town...
"I posted it on Facebook!? How did you not know?"
"Because I'm not on Facebook you ass. Call me next time."
So it got me thinking... Has this happened to you? Have you been affected by someone's callous disregard for eons of personal interaction in favor of a Facebook update? Have you seen people do things there that they never would have done in person? I want to hear your anecdotal evidence of how society is headed for a very annoying place.
WHAT IS THIS?: (The Long Version)
I'm not on Facebook. Now there are many reasons I'm not on Facebook. Some valid, some petty, some just silly. My initial disregard of the newest Social Network was that it was just that, the newest one. I'd been on Friendster, then MySpace came along and I had to export all the hard work I'd done collecting strangers over to that. Then once on there I mainly used it as a way to try and meet women and stalk old friends and exes. It served its purpose for that moment in life. It was a shallow, quick, and informal way to deal with the people with whom I really only wanted a shallow, quick and informal relationship with. Everyone else I would see in the real world.
Time went by and I let those profiles gather dust. I met a woman and things were good. But then something very curious began to happen. These little emails began popping up in my inbox. They were invites to Facebook. I knew what Facebook was of course, but the strange thing was who was sending it to me.
You see, when I was briefly fascinated with Friendster and Myspace and the possibilities it opened up (mainly making myself look super cool and king of music and movies you hadn't heard of, and I guess keeping in touch with old friends) I sent out requests to friends of mine. Some joined, and others we'll call them "The Norms" rolled their eyes and made a crack about me being weird, or a nerd. I shrugged and went about my business trying to work up the courage to not talk to a cute chick who was probably a dude, or worse a computer.
Now all of sudden I'm getting all these emails, and then passionate follow-ups from people wondering why I am not joining Facebook and they were all coming from "The Norms". I continued to just ignore the problem because A: it was funny to irritate these people and B: I'd been there and done that. I'd posted photos of my friends and family, I'd shared new music, I'd updated myself and it was for another time. Then my father joined and I knew we were all headed for trouble.
You see, when I was briefly fascinated with Friendster and Myspace and the possibilities it opened up (mainly making myself look super cool and king of music and movies you hadn't heard of, and I guess keeping in touch with old friends) I sent out requests to friends of mine. Some joined, and others we'll call them "The Norms" rolled their eyes and made a crack about me being weird, or a nerd. I shrugged and went about my business trying to work up the courage to not talk to a cute chick who was probably a dude, or worse a computer.
Now all of sudden I'm getting all these emails, and then passionate follow-ups from people wondering why I am not joining Facebook and they were all coming from "The Norms". I continued to just ignore the problem because A: it was funny to irritate these people and B: I'd been there and done that. I'd posted photos of my friends and family, I'd shared new music, I'd updated myself and it was for another time. Then my father joined and I knew we were all headed for trouble.
To me this meant this was no longer the domain of the young, or the tech savy, but a new form of communication. One that you had to join and actively participate in if you were to want to stay with it. With a phone, you have to buy a phone, with email, a computer and an email acct that you need to maintain. But now one is expected to create an online persona with photos, information, history, friends, and a constant running dialog on whatever nonsense you may be thinking. And beyond that one is expected to keep up on said bullshit running for any number of cohorts of yours, and then keep up on how other people are keeping up on the same stuff you're keeping up on.
It's gettin to be re-goddamned-diculous.
And as I go, I hear others saying similar tales of woe of being snubbed, offended, forgotten and all of it somehow OK because it happened on Facebook. Bring them to me, tell me these tales, share them with the world and let us try and salvage politeness and etiquette before it goes the way of Friendster.
And as I go, I hear others saying similar tales of woe of being snubbed, offended, forgotten and all of it somehow OK because it happened on Facebook. Bring them to me, tell me these tales, share them with the world and let us try and salvage politeness and etiquette before it goes the way of Friendster.
-GD
Keep writing, good stuff here.
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