I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. For a few years now, Twitter has been my Boo Thing and I absolutely love the instant connectivity that it gives you. Facebook was never a place that I felt really comfortable with, and so, I keep my personal FB page for close friends and family only. My circle on Facebook isn’t huge at all. But I also know that it is the King of all social networks, so not being active on it is a lose/lose for my blog and my business. If most people are on Facebook and I am not, then it probably won’t bode well for me. So more and more, I have been using Facebook and I am actually starting to like it. But it does have it’s drawbacks, and I see plenty of them on a daily basis.
I have also learned that you have to be careful when you are using Facebook. According to a recent report on HLN, Facebook could be ruining your life. Because since it shares so much about your daily activities and your location and articles read, it could be giving the wrong impression about you. And in doing so, people could be repelling against you because of your presentation on Facebook.
For example. A lot of online newspaper sites such as The Washington Post and The New York Times have what is called a social reader. It works like this—you opt in to the social reader (sometimes unknowingly) while reading a particular article on a certain newspaper site. When you opt in to this reader, it automatically shares any articles that you read on their site with your Facebook feed. You don’t have to click the ‘Like’ or ‘Recommend’ button, or copy and paste the article on Facebook. Simply by reading an article, it is shared on Facebook. But what if you are reading an article you really don’t anyone to know you are reading. What if you are reading an article about being addicted to online adult websites, or the goings on of a crazy and wacky celebrity over and over? When people see this on your feed (which is being transmitted on their feeds), they may make the wrong assumptions about you.
Also, you have probably heard of people being fired because of activity on their Facebook page. There was the teacher who was tagged in a photo of a bachelor party with a stripper who was subsequently let go because a parent saw it and shared it with the school. Or the person who didn’t accept the friend request from her boss on Facebook and was fired for not doing so. Facebook has become so engrained in our culture that it is being used a barometer of decency. Which isn’t saying much, but is totally wrong (in my opinion).
Since Facebook has caught on, there has been so much “controversy” surrounding it. Employers checking Facebook feeds to see the worthiness of a prospective employee. Workplaces asking for passwords to do more snooping. It’s a gift and a curse it seems.
What would our lives be without Facebook?
Would they be better? More productive? Drama free?
What’s your take on it? Is Facebook ruining your life, or the lives of those around you? What’s say you?
I’m also just really beginning to use Facebook for my blog & I’m finding I learn something new every day. Being careful about what you share is super important on both personal & business pages.
The funniest thing I’ve learned? simply sharing funny or thought provoking photo’s tends to garner more activity on the site than any sort of personal disclosure ever has.People are weary I think, they want fun stuff they don’t need to think about to process.
Jean, I agree with you. Who woulda thought that I would actually grow to like Facebook? I have been on it lately just as much as Twitter. I never thought that would happen in a million years!
I don’t use Facebook for my blog either, I fear I may lose some potential readers by not doing so, but at the same time I feel I need a more private space on the web to chat to my offline friends and rant about daily occurrences. I use Twitter for my public life and networking and I love it for that, as unlike Facebook it doesn’t have all my personal life plastered over it. Although my Facebook is set to private, it worries me that Facebook could sell my data to companies, or worse, allow employers to browse though it. I don’t see why my employers should know about my political views, or my music tastes, or what my friends are are like. I’m a good worker, I just like to keep work and personal life separate. If Facebook allows on to invade the other then it could potentially ruin a lot of people’s lives.
Great post by the way, and I love the style of your blog!
It’s funny you mention the social reader because I just got snagged by one and was like ‘why is this on my timeline’? So far it’s nothing obnoxious, just annoying, but I’m gonna figure out how to remove it soon. Oh and to answer your question, yes, lately, Facebook is ruin my sleep schedule. LOL