# An Old Fogey's take on Facebook, et. al.: WTF!!!??? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 20, 2010, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851 "2010-06-20T06:23:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/41 "2010-06-21T15:09:04Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > If you don’t play any of the games or insist on clicking on every random stupid link that shows up in your feed, it’s not really that bad. No, they have no standards on what ads they accept. I can tell my wife is on Facebook from that fucking “UH OH!” noise of the Winkies ad. That is the sound of malware being installed as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/42 "2010-06-21T15:24:01Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > No, they have no standards on what ads they accept. I can tell my wife is on Facebook from that fucking “UH OH!” noise of the Winkies ad. That is the sound of malware being installed as far as I’m concerned. Flashblock. Adblock. Ad-Thwart. They (and others like them) are all add ons to minimize those ads. Well, there was Facebook Lite, but Facebook stopped that. Why? Probably because of ad revenue. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/43 "2010-06-21T15:34:35Z")
Also, I used to be very strongly anti-Facebook. If my previous job’s Facebook page wasn’t just out there, I wouldn’t have my current page. It helps me a lot with my job right now, too. All these social networking things do have decent uses and purposes for them. It’s just about utilizing them for their purpose and/or coming up with new ways of using them effectively. Shutting the door on them is ignorance. That’s no different than the older guy I talked to during this meeting a few months back, bragging about how he had never sent an email in his life. “You’re proud of that? You’re proud of turning your back to the easiest medium for communication in our lifetimes? I certainly wouldn’t be proud of myself if I were telling people that.” ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/44 "2010-06-21T15:53:10Z")
I feel compelled to post in support of the OP. I’m almost 35 years old but I still hear at least a few times a week, “Why aren’t you on facebook?!” I have no desire to “re-connect” with anyone; if I wanted to be in touch with you, we would be in touch. I fully recognize how curmudgeonly this sounds, but it’s the truth. I don’t need a social networking site to help facilitate communications with my 3rd Grade lunch buddy. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/45 "2010-06-21T16:38:14Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > No, they have no standards on what ads they accept. I can tell my wife is on Facebook from that fucking “UH OH!” noise of the Winkies ad. That is the sound of malware being installed as far as I’m concerned. Seriously. AdBlockerPlus. Firefox add-on. Takes about 30 seconds to find and add. I never know what people are talking about when they complain about certain annoying ads, because I never see them! No mouseover worries and no accidental clicking. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/46 "2010-06-21T16:43:53Z")
Don’t use facebook myself (I’m sure that comes as a great surprise to many!) 😛 My reason is simply that I tend to have low social expectations/needs. What I have is sufficiently addressed by e-mail, a couple of on-line forums, and my seldom used cellphone. Given my lifestyle FB simply provides no benefit that would justify another password to remember, updates to keep up with, potential security to worry about… I only looked at FB once. My college-aged daughter pulled it up to show me. As I understand it, my kid has the tightest security. I looked at her friends, which included her cousins. I clicked on one nephew, which then listed his long-term GF. I clicked on her, and linked to any number of co-eds in another state, with all manner of material publicly available. That kinda amazed me. I’m perfectly happy having just a few friends with whom I am able to keep in touch thru other means. If there is someone from my past that I wanted to keep in touch with, I would have. Same kinda reasoning that makes me uninterested in HS reunions… GROSS GENERALIZATIONS TO FOLLOW: With heavy FB users - as with heavy cell users - I think they concentrate on _quantity_ of social interaction, which tends to occur at more superficial levels. And I sense some insecurity, as tho they are not comfortable with themselves absent publishing and receiving acknowledgement. JMO. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/47 "2010-06-21T16:52:04Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Seriously. AdBlockerPlus. Firefox add-on. Takes about 30 seconds to find and add. I never know what people are talking about when they complain about certain annoying ads, because I never see them! No mouseover worries and no accidental clicking. Yup. It’s not hard to do. I have adblocks and so on and I don’t play the games; malware is not a concern for me on Facebook. The annoying bits are all _optional_. You don’t have to have noisy pop-ups and friends from 3rd grade that you’re not really interested in, any more than you have to be in the phone book and spend ages talking to cold callers. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/48 "2010-06-21T17:05:05Z")
> [@amaguri](#): > > I feel compelled to post in support of the OP. I’m almost 35 years old but I still hear at least a few times a week, “Why aren’t you on facebook?!” > > I have no desire to “re-connect” with anyone; if I wanted to be in touch with you, we would be in touch. I fully recognize how curmudgeonly this sounds, but it’s the truth. I don’t need a social networking site to help facilitate communications with my 3rd Grade lunch buddy. And that’s fine, as long as you’re not like my curmudgeonly friend who now complains because she never gets invited to anything. She’s told time and again that all the invites were out on Facebook, but she won’t get a Facebook account. Sorry, but technology moves on, and it’s pretty apparent that the ease and widespread use of Facebook for party invitations, in our social circle, isn’t going away. No one remembers to call you because no one calls anyone anymore. So either get a Facebook account or STFU. Has it always been this way? Did people complain “no one sent me a telegraph!” because they refused to get a telephone when the vast majority of their peers had switched? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/49 "2010-06-21T17:10:33Z")
I can do you one better than that, **WhyNot**. My brother was upset because he missed a Facebook invitation to a Mother’s Day get-together my family had. We sent the invites out on Facebook, and he does have a Facebook account, but I guess he doesn’t check it very regularly. You’ll never guess how I found out about his being upset about this. That’s right, he posted about it on Facebook. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/50 "2010-06-21T17:24:36Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Has it always been this way? Did people complain “no one sent me a telegraph!” because they refused to get a telephone when the vast majority of their peers had switched? Just three years ago, a group I belong to kept getting complaints from a member because our website wasn’t compatible with his Commodore 64! ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/51 "2010-06-21T17:51:42Z")
Is Facebook the new MySpace? What will be the replacement for Facebook? Assbook? Brainbook? Drainspace? As Gilda Radner used to say '“It’s always something”. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/52 "2010-06-21T17:59:54Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Just three years ago, a group I belong to kept getting complaints from a member because our website wasn’t compatible with his Commodore 64! I think the only thing compatible with a Commodore 64 these days might be a brick. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/53 "2010-06-21T19:57:06Z")
I started a thread a little while ago [asking what I was missing on Facebook](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=559512) and more or less got the answer, “Nothing.” It is useful to a few people who have to keep track of a lot of people over a wide geographical area. If the folks you want to interact with are local and/or there are only a few of them then you probably won’t be impressed. After reading the responses in that other thread I decided I was perfectly happy not using it. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/54 "2010-06-21T21:30:28Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > I started a thread a little while ago [asking what I was missing on Facebook](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=559512) and more or less got the answer, “Nothing.” > > It is useful to a few people who have to keep track of a lot of people over a wide geographical area. If the folks you want to interact with are local and/or there are only a few of them then you probably won’t be impressed. > > After reading the responses in that other thread I decided I was perfectly happy not using it. You forgot “Lots of people posting inane photos of their offspring”. (See other thread, up there somewhere…) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/55 "2010-06-21T22:30:03Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > I started a thread a little while ago [asking what I was missing on Facebook](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=559512) and more or less got the answer, “Nothing.” > > It is useful to a few people who have to keep track of a lot of people over a wide geographical area. If the folks you want to interact with are local and/or there are only a few of them then you probably won’t be impressed. > > After reading the responses in that other thread I decided I was perfectly happy not using it. Yep. I have no need to keep up with people I haven’t kept up with, and I have no desire to be any more available to people who want to get in touch with me. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/56 "2010-06-21T22:31:03Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > You forgot “Lots of people posting inane photos of their offspring”. (See other thread, up there somewhere…) Meh. People do that all the time in real life. At least now you have the option of not looking at them without seeming impolite. And people who don’t like facebook need to understand that the only reason we’re upset at the OP is the fact that he/she is saying bad things about the people who do use it. But still, I must point out that I have one, have it set up where I’ll get alerts for the important things, but am hardly ever actually on it, and divulge very little of my personal information (and have that locked to only being viewable by friends.) Having an account takes up very, very little time in my life. But I’m never left out. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/57 "2010-06-21T22:33:19Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > It is useful to a few people who have to keep track of a lot of people over a wide geographical area. If the folks you want to interact with are local and/or there are only a few of them then you probably won’t be impressed. This is hilarious to me. Yes, Facebook is only useful to a small handful of people. Most who use it are unimpressed. Mm-hm. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/58 "2010-06-21T22:35:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But still, I must point out that I have one, have it set up where I’ll get alerts for the important things, but am hardly ever actually on it, and divulge very little of my personal information (and have that locked to only being viewable by friends.) Having an account takes up very, very little time in my life. But I’m never left out. That pretty much sums up my usage of Facebook. Actually I just logged on to reply to a message from my cousin, who is getting married later this year and wanted me to send the postal addresses of various family members. I don’t have her email address (we’re not close cousins) but we found each other on Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/59 "2010-06-21T23:34:39Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > …apparently Facebook addicts turn to Facebook to find everything, including a heating and air conditioning system. … Yeah, I’m asocial. Big News There. BUT THIS! I suspected some (mostly young adults) were substituting FB et. al. for social life, but are there really people who think that being on FB means some kind of endorsement? I’ve accepted that any business which does not have at least a simple page with heart-warming photos and contact info will die, but this “you are constantly online or you are effectively dead” scenario is… creepy really doesn’t began to cover it, does it… New game! - predict the next step! I never tracked any of the “bitstream-as-life” movement until FB. Youtube is vastly different, as nearly as I can tell - youtube people don’t exist except as a common point for what they post - I don’t for looking for \*\*\*\*, except he often has some cute (copyrighted) stuff up. If you want to see a fantastic cartoon, find “Coal Black and the Sebben Dwarfs” - a WB spoof of Snow White - it is constantly in the 20th - 25th position in simply everyone’ list of top 50 cartoons. It was removed from circulation in 1968, and WB does not like people spreading it. Thanks to youtube, just about everyone who has heard of it has seen at least some form of it. Anyway, youtube had the point of having a video to share. FB removed that - just post any ramblings - Wow! you dated somebody!? I’m thrilled!. Twitter is now saying …in x(80) or less. My guess - your social security card will be your default webpage - at least at first, it will be up to you to post what, if any info. Eventually, it wil automatically get all the data various govt. agencies issue - birth, marriage, children, graduations, licenses, deaths. There will be many, many laws and attempted laws regarding accessibility. Any takers on this theory? ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851/60 "2010-06-21T23:55:48Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > Could someone please explain (in simple, easily-understood-by-old-fart terms), the appeal of Facebook and other “social networking” sites? For all of the same reasons that other social institutions exist. > [@](#): > > Why would I want to post my thoughts, beliefs, opinions somewhere they can be read and commented on by the entire frikkin’ world? Apparently you don’t. In any case, only the people that are interested will bother to pay attention. And while myspace is somewhat of a free for all, sites like facebook and livejournal allow you to limit your broadcast to specific people, even by post. > [@](#): > > And just how do I decide that some bozo I have never met is now a “friend”? What happened to real people meeting other real people and THEN deciding if they did or did not want the other as a friend. That still exists. Social sites complement, they don’t replace other social institutions. You can certainly decide for yourself which ‘bozos’ to ‘friend’. Many people only friend people they already know in real life, or people that share some common interest. > [@](#): > > News Flash: People have bodies - you can actually see them! Most can actually also speak! You don’t need a keyboard! True. Assuming, of course, everyone that you like is conveniently located in your own neighborhood. > [@](#): > > To post your real name, address. and friggin’ picture is about as foolish as you can be. > [@](#): > > So why do so many people choose to spend their lives “chatting” with a keyboard instead of gathering real people together? Why did people used to write letters? The people you like may not live nearby. One might want to announce some bit of trivial news or inquire about something without having to personally visit everyone he knows for a repetitive string of 30 second conversations. Real life events are great for medium to long bouts of social bonding and entertainment, but they are failures as convenient, narrowly focused, punctual communication methods. > [@](#): > > For shut-ins, the web is a godsend. For able-bodied folks, why do you actually prefer exchanging bitstreams to actual life? It is “actual life”. Is calling someone on the phone or mailing a Christmas gift to a far away relative somehow not “real life”? And it doesn’t replace face to face socializing. It complements it. While lacking some of the merits of face to face encounters, it’s far more flexible and convenient. > [@](#): > > I fear the day when some geek figures out a way to exchange bodily fluids over the web. That’s the king of scenario that makes me absolutely delighted I’ll be dead before it happens… Google “teledildonics” As far as the “old fogey” bit, I could imagine the bitter old man who has outlived his family and only enjoys the company of his fellow bar patrons despising computers, but I imagine that grandparents everywhere would take to it with delight as a way of keeping in touch with their far flung family members, seeing what they are up to with the added bonus of things like video and pictures, something you can’t do through the phone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-old-fogeys-take-on-facebook-et-al-wtf/543851.md?page=4)