# How Many facebook accounts do you have, and use? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 11, 2010, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370 "2010-09-11T02:37:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/21 "2010-09-11T16:45:21Z")
I don’t have a facebook account. There are some people from my past that I prefer DON’T find me. I don’t know how to set up my account so that only people I am interested in could find me. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/22 "2010-09-12T04:41:45Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Why would anyone have more than one Facebook account? Serious question. I’m not entirely sure why anyone would have as many as one Facebook account, though I do in fact have one. Well, I have one for the “real me” and one for people I’ve met online, to try to maintain some degree of privacy while still being able to be socially connected. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/23 "2010-09-12T05:25:06Z")
> [@ramel](#): > > Social networking just isn’t something that interests me at all. I don’t think I get it. I signed up to twitter, thought “what’s the point of this + how’s this supposed to work”, and then never used it again. I used myspace a little, but only cause I semi-liked a few of the games. But eventually I stopped using that too. I am not big into social networking either. I think Twitter is one of the dumbest fads ever for instance. However, I am a big Facebook fan because there are some very different uses for it besides games and random thoughts. That is just the surface and you don’t even need to pay attention to that to get use out of it. The genius behind it all is the engine that figures out who you know while it works behind the scenes. It is quite good at it and that is the scary part. It is building this giant spiderweb of people in its database to take or leave as you choose. I have gotten lots of communication from people I haven’t seen in twenty years who live several thousand miles away plus nice things like nice notes on my birthday from people who I may never see in real life again. It is also very useful for sharing photos with family members and friends on a large scale. The utility of that can’t be ignored. It is getting to the point where you are expected to have a Facebook page and employers and coworkers do look at it. Welcome to the information age 2.0 ---
**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:** [September 12, 2010, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/24 "2010-09-12T05:29:45Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > [@AClockworkMelon](#): > > > > Or you can just make yourself invisible so that they don’t know when you’re logged in. > > Oh man, you mean I gotta LEARN something? I knew this was gonna be more trouble than it was worth. > > Can you make yourself invisible to particular individuals, or is it more like a blanket on-off switch? Not on an individual basis, but on a group basis, which amounts to about the same thing. You just put the people you don’t want seeing you in one group, or put the ones you do want seeing you in one group. For example, I have a group I call “Just to be nice” where I put people for whom not adding them would be more work. I also hide all their comments, and warn them that I don’t get on Facebook that often (which is true.) You do have to watch out if you put people in more than one group, as visibility overrides invisibility. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/25 "2010-09-12T05:54:51Z")
I have had one since early 2004. Young people I know were amazed to find me there before them as I am an old fart. I can’t recall when I last looked at it though. Years ago I’m sure because I quickly became bored with it. So one and none in answer to the question. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/26 "2010-09-12T07:23:58Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > > [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > > > Why would anyone have more than one Facebook account? Serious question. I’m not entirely sure why anyone would have as many as one Facebook account, though I do in fact have one. > > Well, I have one for the “real me” and one for people I’ve met online, to try to maintain some degree of privacy while still being able to be socially connected. Ok, I can see that. I got my online ID and my IRL ID intertwined here when I won the Bulwer Lytton contest. So there’s a bunch of people here who know my real name now. AFAIK it hasn’t gained me any stalkers, but if I’d thought about it some I could have protected my privacy better. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/27 "2010-09-12T07:38:49Z")
1, becaue I like reconnecting with HS/teenage friends I haven’t seen in 15 years, and family I don’t get ot see as much as I’d like. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/28 "2010-09-12T15:07:09Z")
> [@BayouHazard](#): > > Facebook sells your information to third parties, and so I’ll not even participate to the point of going to other people’s sites on it. I value privacy, y’know. > > I try to maintain anonymity on the internet, because I’m pretty opinionated, and I don’t want some prospective employer saying “This person said WHAT!” when they google my name. I keep my privacy settings such that only friends can see any of my information, and a Google search turns up nothing from my Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/29 "2010-09-12T15:11:05Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > Presumably option 5 is none. From what I can glean, FB is mostly inane chatter that you’d try to avoid real life. It depends. As someone who has lots of scattered loved ones, and who’s recently moved to a different continent, I find it very useful for keeping in touch with a large number of family and friends all over the world. I also find it useful for sharing things that interest me, though I suppose some might consider them inane, YMMV. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dunkelheit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dunkelheit/32/248_2.png) [@Dunkelheit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunkelheit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/30 "2010-09-12T15:40:15Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > You do have to watch out if you put people in more than one group, as visibility overrides invisibility. I had wondered about that. You know this to be the case? ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/31 "2010-09-12T15:48:20Z")
I use it to communicate with relatives around the country. My parents are dead and I have one aunt still alive in Arizona. She doesn’t come back to Illinois much anymore. My cousins are scattered around the country. My brother is in Arizona, too, and he rarely comes back. My sister is in poor health, but she is on facebook. We post pictures of our kids and grandchildren, and carry on 5 and 6 way conversations. I’m pretty private, and any pictures I have posted are available only to family (although once they open them I cannot control what they do with them). My dogs have no friends except for me on facebook, so they are pretty private, too. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/32 "2010-09-12T15:51:23Z")
I have zero. Although I have nothing snarky to say about Facebook. I’m sure it’s very nice. ---
**Author:** ![Peeta\_Mellark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Peeta\_Mellark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peeta_Mellark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/33 "2010-09-12T16:25:00Z")
FTR, for those who have Facebook and are annoyed by your friends posting all of that Farmville/Frontierville crap: you can block the application so you don’t see it anymore. When it comes up on your feed, hover your mouse over the app post. There is an X that appears in the corner. Click the X. It removes that single post, but also gives you the option of blocking the app entirely. Repeat with each new app as necessary. You’ll never have to look at them again. Problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/34 "2010-09-12T17:53:04Z")
Two; one for me, one for my Taekwondo school. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/35 "2010-09-12T18:00:33Z")
I thought Facebook policy allowed only one account? For those who are worried about your information being sold – it’s not a requirment for you to fill out all the catagories. People were all up in arms about Facebook selling their cellphone numbers – duh, don’t post them on Facebook. Get a second e-mail address, and you’re in. (I confess to being a FarmVille addict. I started playing because my cousin suggested it, and now I’m hooked) ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2010, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/36 "2010-09-12T18:06:19Z")
I really can’t understand why the OP didn’t think zero would not be an option. As if the only people who don’t want to be on FB are the ones who don’t know anything about it… :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/37 "2010-09-14T02:04:09Z")
None. All of them. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/38 "2010-09-14T02:27:17Z")
The OP didn’t put 0 because sometimes the OP is an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/39 "2010-09-14T02:50:29Z")
> [@Pai325](#): > > My dogs have no friends except for me on facebook, so they are pretty private, too. That is so sad. I know some pets that like to talk to others like them so post their info and I will pass it on. I have learned that dogs can’t type for shit though and cats can be pretty offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2010, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370/40 "2010-09-14T13:24:08Z")
Another “have one, use zero”. I log in maybe once every 4-6 months and clean stuff up, accept friend invites, marvel at the events I’ve missed, and de-tag myself from random photos. Social networking is Not For Me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-facebook-accounts-do-you-have-and-use/553370.md?page=3)