# Facebook. Why is it a Big Deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 13, 2016, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809 "2016-07-13T13:41:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/42 "2016-07-14T04:20:22Z")
I wish that, in addition to the listing of your friends, that Facebook would let you have an enemies list. Then it could suggest friends from the enemies of your enemies. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/43 "2016-07-14T04:22:08Z")
I set up a page for my electronics students as an experiment. I might end up eventually transferring the content to a blog. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/44 "2016-07-14T06:21:47Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I think a lot of the value of Facebook depends on the value of your friends list. If you are only friends with people you enjoy hearing from and keeping up with, then Facebook is an amazing and addicting tool. It’s been life-changing for me, I’d say. > > If you friend/follow people that you don’t like, and they keep posting stuff that you don’t like, then it’s going to be no surprise that you don’t like Facebook. Why would you?? This this this! My MIL, a technophobe and late adopter, seemed almost offended when stuff she wasn’t interested showed up on her timeline. Scroll on by. If you leave a comment on it, or use the “like” or other “reaction” functions, FB notices, and will populate your list with posts that have things in common with what you’ve noticed. FOAF spouting bigoted rubbish about Muslims? Unfriend. Easy. It’s pretty much taken over from evite as the default way to organize events among my circle. The Events and Groups functions are pretty easy to use and have lots of useful features. There’s even a reasonably good browser extension called Facebook Purity which hides all the ads. Don’t want to be found by random exes or former classmates? Sign up with a pseudonym and a bunny profile picture. > [@](#): > > I think it is interesting how a lot of people hate Facebook, in a way that no one hates phone calls (snip) LOTS of people hate phone calls. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/45 "2016-07-14T08:14:15Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Question: if you look at someone’s page, will you end up on their “people you may know” list? If you are logged in, yes. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 9:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/46 "2016-07-14T09:34:08Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > I can see keeping in touch with local friends and distant relatives. > > But zero interest in people I last spoke to in 1978. I should add I never go to HS class reunions and I still live in the same area as my high school so I could go easily. > > I did not have many HS friends anyway. I do wonder if people look for me on FB but my guess is very few people look for me . I have no high school friends on my FB and only 1-2 college friends. I’ve only gone to one reunion each for both. Frankly, I pretend neither period of my life ever happened for various reasons. Most of my FB friends are people I’ve known online for a very long time. I do have some family on there, but they rarely post anything. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/47 "2016-07-14T10:07:38Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > You know when you’re at a party, and a conversation starts on a certain topic, and you know buddy #3 would just LOVE to be inon this, so you start looking around, and trying to gesture him/her over to join you? No, because I wouldn’t want to be at party in the first place and I certainly wouldn’t try and find someone else to join in a conversation. I love social interaction, in person, in small groups with people that I have something in common with. That way you can modulate the meaning of the words and provide context and also a risque joke or a challenging opinion remains purely within the small group itself. It doesn’t take on a life in itself and become an item to be shared and form the basis of an online storm. So I don’t partake in any social media at all, I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing anything about my life online and I have zero interest in the minutiae in yours. One other concern I have with the ubiquity of facebook is that it can end up broadcasting your movements by proxy. i.e. we visit friends in Belgium and, a couple of weeks later I have a work acquaintance ask me, out of the blue, how I enjoyed my Belgium trip? WTF? Turns out our friends had broadcast this on facebook complete with photos and reports of what we were talking about. This apparently goes out to hundreds of people. I thought that was astonishingly bad mannered of them and asked them not to do it again, especially the photos. Just because you can easily share stuff doesn’t mean you should. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/48 "2016-07-14T10:50:52Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I set up a page for my electronics students as an experiment. I might end up eventually transferring the content to a blog. Copyright concerns? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/49 "2016-07-14T11:17:42Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > The software is awful compared to vBulletin. Normal, up-to-date vBulletin, sure. The shitty antiquated dodo husk _this_ site runs, not so much. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/50 "2016-07-14T13:29:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Copyright concerns? No, just ease of use. I have to post a number of videos and diagrams as well as write out formulas and such, and I’m finding out Facebook’s interface is not the friendliest for this sort of thing. I’ll probably end up at [edublogs.org](http://edublogs.org) sooner or later, but the learning curve is steeper. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/51 "2016-07-14T13:43:29Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > it seems there have been people getting back with old flames via FB and that has led to divorces. > > A funny story from 2012 was a guy who got mad at his GF for a FB picture of a guy - it was Mitt Romney. 🙂 I remembering seeing a study referenced about something like that, where a lot of articles were saying that Facebook had led to divorce, but it sounded like that most of the marriages were falling apart through jealousy or cheating anyway. In a different world without Facebook or without social media altogether, some of those marriages would still be together but a lot of them would have still ended. > [@gaffa](#): > > It’s a “walled garden”, a return to the _Bad Old Days_ of AOL and Compu$erve. It’s a Roach Motel of information - content goes into it, and doesn’t come back out. I don’t understand what you mean, could you explain? There is a lot of stuff on Facebook that leads me to other sites, or to searching for more information. Either from links friends post, or from pages I follow on Facebook. > [@JackieLikesVariety](#): > > 36 posts and nobody has mentioned the baby goat videos? I love cute animal videos 😛 This is a very important point. I do follow a few cute animal pages. And some of the other pages I follow for other reasons, like the Houston Chronicle, will post cute animal pictures and videos. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Question: if you look at someone’s page, will you end up on their “people you may know” list? I’ve wondered how that worked. I’d heard other people say that the feature was creepy with how it was suggesting people that they actually did know in real life, but almost all of the suggestions it has for me are people I have no idea who they are. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > One other concern I have with the ubiquity of facebook is that it can end up broadcasting your movements by proxy. i.e. we visit friends in Belgium and, a couple of weeks later I have a work acquaintance ask me, out of the blue, how I enjoyed my Belgium trip? WTF? Turns out our friends had broadcast this on facebook complete with photos and reports of what we were talking about. This apparently goes out to hundreds of people. I thought that was astonishingly bad mannered of them and asked them not to do it again, especially the photos. > Just because you can easily share stuff doesn’t mean you should. That is somewhat rude on your friends part, they should have asked before posting. You should definitely let all your friends know when they are taking your picture that it’s not laziness keeping you off social media but that you don’t want to be on there, most should get the hint. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/52 "2016-07-14T14:29:45Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > No, just ease of use. I have to post a number of videos and diagrams as well as write out formulas and such, and I’m finding out Facebook’s interface is not the friendliest for this sort of thing. I’ll probably end up at [edublogs.org](http://edublogs.org) sooner or later, but the learning curve is steeper. Actually, I was wondering if Facebook could object to your republishing of what was published on your Facebook page. In theory. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/53 "2016-07-14T14:50:08Z")
Echoing what folks have said, it’s a really easy way to keep in touch with people. Yeah, not everyone cares about what high school friends are doing now, but it can be interesting to see what they’ve done with their lives. And I’ve definitely rekindled some friendships. I find it far more interesting for keeping up with your friends now. It’s somewhat easy to lose track of friends at times when they get busy with family or work; you haven’t gone to dinner with them in a while or they haven’t been at the local pub or whatnot. Facebook allows you to still keep in touch with them in a minimal way. Also, I find it to be much a easier way to share interesting articles with people than email (more people will read a Facebook article that tags them than will read an email to them). And a lot of my friend group creates events through Facebook. It really is the easiest way to invite folks for a party. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/54 "2016-07-14T16:03:23Z")
Facebook is what you make it. With blocking people I don’t like and prioritizing the people and pages I do like, FB is quite enjoyable for me and obviously for others. It’s not for everyone and that’s fine, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be for _any_one. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2016, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/55 "2016-07-14T20:44:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Actually, I was wondering if Facebook could object to your republishing of what was published on your Facebook page. In theory. Well, in _theory_… fuck 'em. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/56 "2016-07-15T03:37:20Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > I wish that, in addition to the listing of your friends, that Facebook would let you have an enemies list. Then it could suggest friends from the enemies of your enemies. Slashdot’s “Slashcode” does. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/57 "2016-07-15T03:46:01Z")
> [@Sam\_Lowry](#): > > I don’t understand what you mean, could you explain? There is a lot of stuff on Facebook that leads me to other sites, or to searching for more information. Either from links friends post, or from pages I follow on Facebook. Stuff \*\*on \*\*Facebook that leads to other sites, yes. But if you’re on another site, it’s virtually impossible to to follow a link **into** a personal page on Facebook. Facebook take from the Internet and gives nothing back. Facebook is not indexed by external search engines. It’s a walled garden. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/58 "2016-07-15T03:52:25Z")
I love the way when you follow a link that goes outside facebook they give you a dire warning. “Warning, danger! You are leaving fluffy bunny land and may encounter scary stuff including exposure to ideas and facts that haven’t been pre-approved as being to your liking! Are you sure you want to take this terrible risk? Really?” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/59 "2016-07-15T03:55:56Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I love the way when you follow a link that goes outside facebook they give you a dire warning. > > “Warning, danger! You are leaving fluffy bunny land and may encounter scary stuff including exposure to ideas and facts that haven’t been pre-approved as being to your liking! Are you sure you want to take this terrible risk? Really?” Erm…what? When? ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/60 "2016-07-15T04:00:53Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > One other concern I have with the ubiquity of facebook is that it can end up broadcasting your movements by proxy. i.e. we visit friends in Belgium and, a couple of weeks later I have a work acquaintance ask me, out of the blue, how I enjoyed my Belgium trip? WTF? Turns out our friends had broadcast this on facebook complete with photos and reports of what we were talking about. This apparently goes out to hundreds of people. I thought that was astonishingly bad mannered of them and asked them not to do it again, especially the photos. > Just because you can easily share stuff doesn’t mean you should. That’s not Facebook, that’s your friends. It’s no different than if you emailed a friend about your vacation and the friend forwarded it to all her friends. Would you blame the email program? It’s probably more common to wait until you’re home before sharing pictures and vacation news, just so it’s not broadcast around while you’re gone. But really, it’s like anything. Never think that what you share online will stay private. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809/61 "2016-07-15T04:02:27Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Question: if you look at someone’s page, will you end up on their “people you may know” list? > [@Princhester](#): > > If you are logged in, yes. No, this isn’t true. It doesn’t work that way. How it works is it will suggest people who are friends of the friends you already have, depending on how many mutual friends you have in common with them and interests and FB games/apps you use and other various things. Looking at someone’s profile does _not directly_ trip a “put them on people they may know” list for either person, however…unless they changed that in the last few months or so. Cite: I’ve been using FB, daily, for hours each day, for ten years now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/facebook-why-is-it-a-big-deal/759809.md?page=4)