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Unfriending Facebook
updated: Aug 19, 2011, 5:39 AM

By Edhat Subscriber

I have been on Facebook for a couple of years now, and I find myself checking it less and less frequently. I'm not sure if it's Facebook that is different or if it's me. Does anyone else feel the same ... losing love for Facebook?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 205566P	2011-08-19 05:57 AM
FB is a passing fancy for sure. What a waste of time. I prefer to hear my friends voices on the phone. Who wants to blast thier absence all over the world-wide web to then be burglarized. I think it's an ego driven delivery system.
COMMENT 205568	2011-08-19 06:17 AM
I go through phases; right now i'm into it again, but I have a lot of reunion stuff coming up.
COMMENT 205570	2011-08-19 06:20 AM
GOOGLE + !!!
COMMENT 205574P	2011-08-19 06:30 AM
I find I just glance through it to see the photos now & then but otherwise I'm over it!
COMMENT 205580P	2011-08-19 06:46 AM
Still using it. Most of my extended family are on it so it allows us all to keep in touch with photos. I generally check it once a day (not one of those viewing on a mobile phone all day long.)
COMMENT 205591	2011-08-19 07:18 AM
I use it every single day to keep up with friends around the world. It's not that you have to be actively posting every day, but what a convenient way to see how friends and family are doing? That may be the difference- if you "friend" any and all acquaintances, you might burn out over all the postings you see; but if you have a solid connection, and the friends you have actively use it, it's more interesting. My 86 year old father-in-law uses it daily, too, and loves being able to keep contact with his friends and family.
COMMENT 205602	2011-08-19 07:35 AM
Bailed out right before christmas last year, got tired of all the minutiae. Don't miss it one bit, I still have emails, texts, and phone calls.
LOTUSEATER	2011-08-19 07:44 AM
never tried it, prolly never will. Wife thinks I'll "hook up" with a former girlfriend or whatever. I dont belong to MySpace or LinkedIn either...now some friends are calling me "anti-social". Imagine that, I only talk to friends and family "in-person" or over the phone and I am now labeled "anti-social"....sheesh! :)
COMMENT 205641	2011-08-19 08:33 AM
The last few months I've grown weary of FB, using it less and less. I'm really into music so I "like" a lot of bands and lately the only thing FB has been good for in my world is finding out which bands are coming to town. Reconnecting and staying in touch with family across the country has been nice also, yes you can do the same by email/phone & such, but FB makes it easier to share photos of family and stuff like that. Otherwise I find it completely useless and generally annoying with some of the stuff people choose to post. Its become like email, a lot of advertisements and announcements from businesses that I "like" and less interaction with people. Remember when you used to get email from friends who just wanted to chat and catch up with you? Now my email inbox is all "save 15% on this and that!" much like my FB feed.
COMMENT 205655	2011-08-19 08:57 AM
I love Facebook!! I'd go crazy without it! :)
COMMENT 205656	2011-08-19 08:58 AM
I use it every day, and post photos several times a week. Rather than use it less, I defriend people. I try to keep it to 100 friends and my criteria is you must post or you must acknowledge my posts. This can vary, if you have one awesome post per month, you're still in. If not. . . Defriended!! One thing that bugs is all the notices about my friends, "Edhat is now friends with. . ." That stuff makes up a lot of my content and I could care less.
COMMENT 205657P	2011-08-19 09:01 AM
I use FB and check it once a day. What's interesting is the number of "Friends" people have. I read a report a few months back that correlated the insecurity factor of people & their excessively high number of friends. I believe it! It seems like each time I'm on, the *same people have a new posting that goes "(blank) is now friends with (blank) & 23 other people." Geeze. They "friend" everybody & entity other there. You can even "friend" products, TV anchors, just about any & everything. I do like FB for keeping current with my really close friends and family, (not my children because they need their own life & space), and for sharing & enjoying photos. I've even found long, lost friends from many years past and that's been worth the search alone. Plus, it didn't cost a cent. Anybody else out here notice *this with any of your "friends?"
COMMENT 205666P	2011-08-19 09:08 AM
Pretty soon you'll be able to "friend" your toilet...friend takes on a whole new meaning....
COMMENT 205681	2011-08-19 09:37 AM
666P - After reaching age 60, you really start to "friend" your toilet.
COMMENT 205682P	2011-08-19 09:41 AM
I friended my toilet in college after many sorority and fraternity parties when alcohol turned out not to be much of a friend.
COMMENT 205704P	2011-08-19 10:47 AM
Not on it and never have been. I figure anything that you can't take the time to e-mail or phone me, but must blanket post, is minutia that I really don't care about.
COMMENT 205749	2011-08-19 12:09 PM
It's annoying because of what 657P says: the whole ___is friends with ___, or ___ likes ___. You can delete the game/'anser a ? about', etc stuff, but not the FB-based things like who's friends with who. Not to mention the whole zillions of friends thing being annoying. Google + is definitely where I'm headed. Seems more put together, less crap, and I can easily sort my friends/family/etc into circles.
COMMENT 205785	2011-08-19 12:35 PM
I've personally never owned a facebook nor do I plan to get one. If I wanted to tell my friends anything I'd just text or email it to them, so I've never really seen the need for one. However, I do believe that having one can be a very good business tool.
COMMENT 205873	2011-08-19 03:01 PM
I enjoy it a great deal and am on it frequently. It keeps me up to date with friends and extended family I don't see a lot of, and with my kids and their friends. I tend toward introversion, so it's a way to be in touch without having to always be proactive about socializing and phonecalling. Yes there are annoyances, but just like the bums on State St, I choose to ignore it and look at what I want to see. I "hide" people who annoy me, I learn new things, I see photos of the children I adore. It's not about how you should or shouldn't - it's not about judging others because they do or don't. It's not even about "real" or "fake" friendships. If you enjoy it, it's there for you. If you don't, well, you can fill the time with something better I'm sure.
ROGER DODGER	2011-08-19 06:23 PM
I got spanked by Facebook so at least it's been good for something. I like to keep in touch with family and fiends..
AQUAHOLIC	2011-08-19 08:31 PM
I check it, but much less frequently, so I guess the bloom is off the rose for me too. If I don't like stuff, I just block it. I mainly use it to play Lexulous....which I'm addicted to. Any Lexulous players out there on Edhat?
COMMENT 206000P	2011-08-20 04:58 AM
I'm on FB almost once a week, I like checking in to see what my long distance family is up to. Sure you can email, but it's not as fun. I long lost friend from childhood also reconnected with me on FB. It's been great to connect with her again and see pics of her kids. Without FB, this probably would have never happened. Now for FB's Darkside: FB just published everyone's phone number so if you have an account and haven't looked at your settings for awhile your number can be seen by all your "friends." I hate that FB does this and things like that. Viva Edhat!
S.B.RON	2011-08-20 07:17 AM
It's extremely useful during an emergency. During the Jesusita fire we were evacuated and without a computer. I was able to let friends/family know what was going on with a post from my smart phone. Also, to find out what others knew, I logged onto the Santa Barbara Emergency Group: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=80725501870
S.B.RON	2011-08-20 07:18 AM
It's extremely useful during an emergency. During the Jesusita fire we were evacuated and without a computer. I was able to let friends/family know what was going on with a post from my smart phone. Also, to find out what others knew, I logged onto the Santa Barbara Emergency Group: https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=80725501870
COMMENT 206085P	2011-08-20 10:01 AM
I like FB. I use it to keep up with friends, family, post photos (so much easier than photo sites), keep up with bands and musicians that I like, find out what is going on in town, check out places I am planning on visiting, etc. There are annoyances but most can be filtered or blocked if necessary. I block all posts regarding games, horoscopes, etc. I also check my settings every once in a while to make sure that phone numbers and other information aren't visible to others. I have a normal amount of friends and only send requests to people I really know and want to keep up with. However, if someone sends me a request I will usually accept it even if we are not close.
COMMENT 206116	2011-08-20 11:13 AM
Deactivated my account. Was fun for awhile catching up with old friends. But c'mon, when people take the time to sit at their computer and say, "Just had a piece of toast", I knew it was time to move on.
COMMENT 206131	2011-08-20 12:08 PM
Pondy: I agree wholeheartedly. Can you imagine the number of work hours wasted with employees reading and posting those inane messages? I'm getting out.
COMMENT 206157P	2011-08-20 01:30 PM
Go 679 Facebook=ego trip virus collector and distributor!!
COMMENT 206230	2011-08-20 07:35 PM
I do not care to see or hear when the kids are successful at potty training or that they are talking gibberish as are the parent or reciting riddles about their daily lives. I appreciate a nice conversation with friend and family keeping in touch especially those far away. The phone is always handy, private, and personal.

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