# Am I really missing anything? \[using social media\] **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 17, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843 "2016-10-17T15:02:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/81 "2016-10-19T20:50:33Z")
People keep telling me one reason to join facebook but I still haven’t been able to figure out why I suddenly would want to connect to high school friends I have not seen in over 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/82 "2016-10-19T21:11:14Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > People keep telling me one reason to join facebook but I still haven’t been able to figure out why I suddenly would want to connect to high school friends I have not seen in over 30 years. it can’t make you, it only offers the option ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/83 "2016-10-19T21:12:16Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > but I still haven’t been able to figure out why I suddenly would want to connect to high school friends I have not seen in over 30 years. Aren’t you curious how that goofball from geometry class turned out as an adult? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_Rat)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/84 "2016-10-19T21:15:02Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > What are you missing if you don’t have Facebook? I’ll summarize it for you. > > [ul] > [li]Graphics with inspirational quotes against nature backgrounds[/li][li]Invitations to play Candy Crush[/li][li]“Let’s see who’s brave enough to repost this”[/li][li]“‘Like’ if you want to find a cure for cancer”[/li][li]Inane, bogus trivia (“This is the first month in 823 years that has five Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays!”)[/li][li]Variations of “Keep Calm and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_”[/li][li]Pictures of food at restaurants[/li][li]People who think _Onion_ fake news is real[/li][li]Vaguebooking (“Sometimes I just want to give up” without elaboration)[/li][li]Nutrition woo (“Apples cure diabetes!”)[/li][li]Upworthy clickbait videos[/li][li]Selfies taken inside cars[/li][li]“Which \_\_\_\_\_\_ Character Are You” quizzes[/li][li]Lists of stupid “lifehacks” (“Turn a toilet paper tube into an iPhone speaker!”)[/li][li]Astrology text graphics (“Betray a Scorpio and prepare for World War III!”)[/li][li]Minute-by-minute vacation updates (“I’m in the security line at the airport!”)[/li][li]Marital advice from newlyweds (“Communication is key!”)[/li][li]Discovering that you have friends with repulsive political and social opinions[/li][/ul] Well shit, if that don’t get the Luddites fired up, nothing will! No Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Tumbler, Tinder, or smartphone here. I have a wifi tablet to control Sonos (I have three tablets, actually) and I build my own PCs, come of them fairly complex (watercooled, multiple video cards, expensive). I have 4 PCs in the house currently and a dandy home network w/NAS, so it’s not like I don’t know the technology is out there. I will say the smartphone (iPhone) nav app I’ve seen work was pretty friggin sweet, and if I lived someplace with more than 3 stoplights, I’d have that. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/85 "2016-10-19T21:29:40Z")
It’s useful if you have friends you see on rare occasions. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2016, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/86 "2016-10-20T17:05:41Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Aren’t you curious how that goofball from geometry class turned out as an adult? I grew up to not have Facebook. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/87 "2016-10-22T03:49:41Z")
You are choosing not to participate in one of the most common modern forms of news and information gathering/sharing. I don’t care if you do or don’t. I guess it’s like someone in the 1950s saying they don’t use TV or someone not using the radio a little earlier. Someone in the 1980s saying they don’t have cable, watch tv news, read the papers, whatever. As someone who is a little addicted to information and dependent on it for his livelihood I might even be a little envious of someone who is able to disconnect from all that. You also get to avoid a lot of marketing and other things many people depend on but most would rather do without and few find any sort of substantive value. For me, the internet and now social media are welcome developments that have sort of “leveled the playing field” and allowed someone of my ability to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/88 "2016-10-22T07:04:14Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > Well, for Facebook, of course there’s the superficial “here’s what I’m having for dinner” silliness. But I’ve found that it’s also fantastic for allowing a globally-diverse community to come together over issues. For example, animal rescue groups are sharing information with each other not just for information but also escalating fundraising (donations from “rich” countries like the USA to other countries that have no donor support), and cultural change. The cultural change is a huge benefit although it’s so long-range and subtle that people can easily dismiss it as not real. > > It works the same way for other issues, like the treatment of women around the world. > > Twitter can work similarly, but I’m not sure it’s as effective. It’s hard to have a cohesive dialog with people on twitter (that other silent lurkers can read and learn from). In addition to social and political issues, FB has also proved useful to me in finding comment interest groups of all types. I’ve joined several groups devoted to different aspects of Southern California history. And the fact you want to talk to some of the other people in these groups, who generally live far away, is a motivation to use the chat and messenger tools. Twitter, OTOH, I don’t really get. I have an account, but I’ve never really used it much. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/89 "2016-10-23T01:33:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Wait, there are Android Chromebooks now? When did that happen? All of the Chromebooks I’ve seen run some flavor of Linux. [Android](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_(operating_system)) is a flavor of Linux, as is [Chrome OS](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrome_OS) > [@](#): > > Android is a mobile operating system developed by Google, based on the Linux kernel > [@](#): > > Chrome OS is an operating system designed by Google that is based on the Linux kernel ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/90 "2016-10-23T02:53:22Z")
Facebook has a allowed me to reconnect with people I haven’t seen in years including family. Also a good friend of mine is getting married and having a child with someone he met on Facebook. Twitter has allowed me to interact with celebrities and people who I would otherwise never have any chance of talking to in any meaningful way. It is also an excellent way of getting breaking news. When something happens it will always show up there first (depending on who you follow of course). ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/91 "2016-10-23T03:05:12Z")
Facebook is the SDMB with pictures and a like button. Twitter is the SDMB with 140 characters. Smartphones are computers that are quite small. ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/92 "2016-10-23T03:33:39Z")
I made a basic Facebook page a few years ago and promptly abandoned it. I do not care about food pics and people’s kids I don’t know. I got used to being the one at family gatherings who had to be updated in person about what everyone was up to, and in fact I liked it! Actual conversation! Yay! When my mother chastised me I shrugged it off, “Well if you ever looked at Facebook, you would know all this!” Yeah Mama, whatevs… Then I was in Phoenix, AZ a few weeks ago when Hurricane Matthew hit and all my family and friends at the Georgia coast were evacuating, and it turns out the best source of info was…Facebook. So, I am back on it and being more active now. There’s a ton of stuff I find completely obnoxious, but it took a natural disaster to get my butt in gear and keep up with those near and dear to me. You take the good with the bad, and I am fine with it. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2016, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/93 "2016-10-25T02:56:34Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > You are choosing not to participate in one of the most common modern forms of news and information gathering/sharing. I don’t care if you do or don’t. I guess it’s like someone in the 1950s saying they don’t use TV or someone not using the radio a little earlier. Someone in the 1980s saying they don’t have cable, watch tv news, read the papers, whatever. Serious question: what does “social media” get you that RSS doesn’t? RSS gives you the headlines of new sources that you trust/enjoy, whereas social media tells you what your grandmother is reading. > [@](#): > > As someone who is a little addicted to information and dependent on it for his livelihood I might even be a little envious of someone who is able to disconnect from all that. News ≠ Social; why do you need “the social” to get information? ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/94 "2016-10-26T14:33:20Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One very important point about smartphones: You don’t have to use all of the features if you don’t want to. If you want, you can just use it as a phone. But you can also use it as… “Old Dude With First Smartphone” here. I use mine for everything BUT a phone. Everyone I know just texts, which I love. As I get more impatient with being interrupted, I like that I know I have a text and can check when I have a free hand and a free minute. What I really like is having a computer in my pocket. It takes a lot of the stress out of travelling. Wandering San Francisco was even more fun, knowing full well I could GPS my way back if I got lost. And Google a bookstore, Foursquare a coffee joint to read at, and Yelp a good fish taco for lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/95 "2016-10-26T16:01:00Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Suppose I have fairly distant relatives who I only see once a year. FBook would be a great way to stay in touch–but then they start to spam me with religious stuff till I get fed up and block them. That could insult them enough that at the next family reunion there would be an unpleasant atmosphere. I don’t want to cause unnecessary family drama. Then don’t block them. Unfollow them. They can see everything you post, you don’t see anything they do. > [@](#): > > Or suppose a casual friend enjoys cooking. Fbook would be a great way to share recipes and encourage our friendship. But I didn’t expect her to spam Fbook with her food pics 3 times a day. Eventually, I get tired of it, so I semi-block her,and she suddenly discovers that she can’t post to my feed or the wall or whatever it’s called. She might feel insulted. This is not how Facebook works. You should stop making assumptions about something you’re ignorant about. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/96 "2016-10-26T16:11:15Z")
You know, chappachula - your posts seemed oddly familiar, so I did a google search. You’ve been repeating the same false information and assumptions about Facebook for [over](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18613218) [a year](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=18495972), and have been corrected every single time. Maybe it’s time to accept that people’s experiences and knowledge on a subject you admit is “so creepy that [you] refuse to use [it]” may be a bit more informed. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/97 "2016-10-26T16:19:26Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I may not be typical, but if I’m trying to find someone Facebook is the first (and often only) place I look. That seems limiting. No way even as many as 1 in 4 American adults have FB pages, right (stat rectally acquired)? Even if you trim it down to, say, people 18-30 … how deep, really, is Facebook penetration? Especially if you kick out people with FB pages, but essentially never visit/update them? If you limit it to your personal monkeysphere or something, OK. Or even to your rough age group, OK. But is Facebook THAT universal, really? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/98 "2016-10-26T16:22:35Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Here are some other worries: > > Suppose I have fairly distant relatives who I only see once a year. FBook would be a great way to stay in touch–but then they start to spam me with religious stuff till I get fed up and block them. That could insult them enough that at the next family reunion there would be an unpleasant atmosphere. I don’t want to cause unnecessary family drama. > > Or suppose a casual friend enjoys cooking. Fbook would be a great way to share recipes and encourage our friendship. But I didn’t expect her to spam Fbook with her food pics 3 times a day. Eventually, I get tired of it, so I semi-block her,and she suddenly discovers that she can’t post to my feed or the wall or whatever it’s called. She might feel insulted. So my having a Facebook page has endangered a friendship, instead of encouraging it. These illustrate some of my basic issues with the prospect of having a Facebook page – a lot of “meta” Facebook page administrative tasks themselves communicate personal things to other Facebook users. In short – it’s nowhere near private enough. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/99 "2016-10-26T16:37:02Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > These illustrate some of my basic issues with the prospect of having a Facebook page – a lot of “meta” Facebook page administrative tasks themselves communicate personal things to other Facebook users. In short – it’s nowhere near private enough. As mentioned above, his thoughts on how Facebook works are incorrect. You really don’t communicate much of anything to people you are friends with unless you want to. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2016, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843/100 "2016-10-26T17:26:23Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > My life would be completely different without a smart phone. Camera, navigation, email, translation, social media, etc. Yes. Social media I can take or leave (although I do use Facebook a lot to organise my social life), but smartphones are just incredibly useful. I always have a camera with me (and it will remember where I took photos, so I can find them by location and/or date, and automatically upload them to my home computer without me having to do anything). I have a map and a web browser if I need to check an address or the name of a restaurant etc. I have instant translation of reasonable quality. I can log my bike rides, track my progress and compete against myself (and other people if I wish) to improve my times. And, if I choose, my wife can see where I am when I am out in the countryside so that if I have an accident she can send help. I have all the music I have ever owned accessible as long as I have internet access (and favourites stored on the phone for when I haven’t). I have games, videos and books for boring journeys, or I can watch live TV. I can send messages to family and friends. Hell, I can even use it as a telephone if I really have to. Smartphones are great. Just don’t let them take over your life. Put them down when you are with friends and family, and talk to people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-really-missing-anything-using-social-media/768843.md?page=6)