Remember back in the day when sites like Facebook and MySpace were getting started and it was fun? Remember when it was just about posting your thoughts, pictures, and funny jokes? Remember when you found out about a party that a friend was setting up because of these sites? Remember when it was not about stating what companies you like or posting those stupid little pictures with witty statements on them? Remember when it wasn't about politics? I miss those days.
Back in 2004, Facebook was starting to take off. I was a senior in college. I wasn't really interested in sitting in front of a computer and looking at what everyone else was doing. I was interested in, you know, graduating college. If I had just been starting out in college, I'm sure I would have jumped on the bandwagon. As it turned out, I had to go back and check this, I started my account two years after Facebook was established. I have often thought about just up and deleting my account, but there are some good aspects to it.
Staying connected with family and friends. The main point is to stay up on the doings of those you care about. Or at least it was. Now it's about these stupid little games and sharing other peoples' photos, not your personal pictures you took on a vacation or your plans for the weekend. I would even take all the stupid personal statuses that are so vague that you know a person is fishing for comments. You know what I mean. 'I just don't know what to do anymore...' That kind of thing. Very junior high-ish. I stay on Facebook to keep up with family, not to get the most comments on statuses. I do my best to limit the amount that I share of other peoples' stuff. Unless it is relevant to me.
It use to be that there are things you shouldn't talk about at work. Politics, religion, and sex. I say 'use to be' these things because that line appears to be gone. I feel that this guideline should hold true to social media. Those topics are what drive wedges between friends and family. Unless you hold the same view, it just gets tricky. This year we have a presidential election and there are so many links and pictures and 'information' from both sides of the aisle flooding the site. It's aggravating. I find myself just rolling my eyes and scrolling to the next story. It's hard to find actual interaction between people. I know I wrote about this just a few months ago, but I feel that people just don't understand the problem with it all.
So after all that, why do I continue to use Facebook? It's easy to delete your account. Other than the reasons I have already stated, I keep it because of the past. I look back at some of the old posts and older pictures that I have been tagged in. It makes me smile when I go back and look at that stuff. There are pictures from when I worked on the Island. From past trips that I have been on. Times I have spent with friends. I keep on keeping on because at any time I can go back and remember what Facebook was originally used for. And I stay on because of this blog. I link it so family and friends can keep up on my writings. I know it is few and far between this year, but that happens.
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