# Staying away from social networking
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [July 21, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510 "2010-07-21T20:33:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/1 "2010-07-21T20:33:31Z")
I don’t do social networking by which I mean websites like Facebook and Linkedin where you use your real name. My reasons:
1. Facebook seems to be used primarily for social chit chat which is not something I want more of in my life. Once you join there is additional social pressure to keep interacting and a continuous string of decisions about friending/defriending which sound like a nuisance.
2)I spend too much time on the web anyway. I don’t want to spend any more and don’t want to cut down on the things I spend it on now.
3)Any stuff you put on Facebook will potentially remain online for your whole life with your real name attached to it. Over a period of time it all adds up and a large part of your life is potentially semi-public.
I suspect that in a few years a Linkedin presence at least will become practically mandatory so I may have to do that. Still on the whole this is one technological trend I would prefer to go slow on. What do you think?
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### Author:  [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/2 "2010-07-21T20:54:35Z")
I don’t understand the point of Facebook. OK I can see using the Internet to meet people, but it seems you have to know someone in the first place to be their Facebook friend.
And if I know someone I would want to interact with them directly not over an Internet site.
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### Author:  [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/3 "2010-07-21T21:00:51Z")
I signed up for Linkedin at the invite of someone I knew. Currently I’m linked to about two or three dozen people I know. Now what? I don’t see any use for the web page. If I want to call or email one of my linked cotacts, I do it the old fashioned way. What am I supposed to be doing on Linkedin?
x
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/4 "2010-07-21T21:01:19Z")
> [@Markxxx](#):
>
> I don’t understand the point of Facebook. OK I can see using the Internet to meet people, but it seems you have to know someone in the first place to be their Facebook friend.
>
> And if I know someone I would want to interact with them directly not over an Internet site.
Really? Old high school friends have found me. We even got together last summer and we live 700 Kms apart. I have cousins in a different continent that I interact with, although not very often.
I rarely use Facebook, but the price of admission is worth it if you reconnect with old friends or relatives. I feel no obligation to update my status or to join in any of the silly reindeer games on there. In fact my status has never been updated; it is blank.
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### Author:  [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/5 "2010-07-21T21:02:20Z")
> [@Procrustus](#):
>
> I signed up for Linkedin at the invite of someone I knew. Currently I’m linked to about two or three dozen people I know. Now what? I don’t see any use for the web page. If I want to call or email one of my linked cotacts, I do it the old fashioned way. What am I supposed to be doing on Linkedin?
>
> x
Creating a network of people upon whom you can rely **when** you get laid off.
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### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/6 "2010-07-21T21:07:18Z")
I refuse to use Facebook. Google has “Don’t be evil” as their corporate motto, but the creator of Facebook doesn’t even bother with that. Any information provided on that site is insecure as hell.
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### Author:  [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/7 "2010-07-21T21:09:59Z")
> [@Bosstone](#):
>
> I refuse to use Facebook. Google has “Don’t be evil” as their corporate motto, but the creator of Facebook doesn’t even bother with that. Any information provided on that site is insecure as hell.
What kind of sensitive information do you think is needed for that site, that needs to be secure?
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### Author:  [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/8 "2010-07-21T21:12:10Z")
I’m unable to think of any reason I’d want facebook. If I haven’t spoken to someone in 20+ years, odds are pretty good that I don’t particularly want to speak with them. Anybody that’s important to me already knows where to find me.
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### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/9 "2010-07-21T21:27:44Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> What kind of sensitive information do you think is needed for that site, that needs to be secure?
To be honest, I don’t know what all you need to sign up for the site, but given [all the issues](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook) surrounding the site, it seems risky at best to set up a personal account, and an account without personal info seems useless to me.
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### Author:  [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/10 "2010-07-21T21:34:00Z")
Do you people think you have to publicly post your social security number on Facebook to use it or something? What sensitive information do you have out there?
Someone reading my Facebook profile would know I root for the Mets, my favorite band is Guster, I’m married and that I was really excited for new episodes of Lost. If you can steal my identity (or do anything nefarious at all) with that information, you deserve it.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/11 "2010-07-21T21:49:13Z")
In the interest of fighting ignorance
> [@Lantern](#):
>
> 1. Facebook seems to be used primarily for social chit chat which is not something I want more of in my life. Once you join there is additional social pressure to keep interacting and a continuous string of decisions about friending/defriending which sound like a nuisance.
It’s for whatever you want to use it for. Social chitchat. Keeping in touch with people you meet. Posting photos. Tending to a virtual farm. Discussing your blog. Whatever.
> [@Lantern](#):
>
> 3)Any stuff you put on Facebook will potentially remain online for your whole life with your real name attached to it. Over a period of time it all adds up and a large part of your life is potentially semi-public.
You do realize that YOU decide what to put online, who can view it and when you take it down, right?
> [@Lantern](#):
>
> I suspect that in a few years a Linkedin presence at least will become practically mandatory so I may have to do that. Still on the whole this is one technological trend I would prefer to go slow on. What do you think?
It is practically mandatory if you are in any sort of business that requires networking. It is an extremely valuable tool for finding contacts at companies you might want to work at.
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### Author:  [@Stoneburg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoneburg)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/12 "2010-07-21T22:15:32Z")
> [@msmith537](#):
>
> You do realize that YOU decide what to put online, who can view it and when you take it down, right?
I thought your post was very good and I just wanted to point out that the first part of that specific quote is 100% true. YOU decide what to put there. The other part is unfortunately very debatable.
The security of Facebook is surprisingly weak. Also, IIRC you basically sign over all rights of everything you put on Facebook, so even though you in practice are able to remove information for all practical reasons, in theory you’re not (information is stored and not owned by you).
I usually tell people not to put anything on Facebook or say anything on Facebook that they would not be willing to leave on a table at a public place with their signature on and walk away from.
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### Author:  [@Digital\_Stimulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_Stimulus)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/13 "2010-07-21T23:36:57Z")
> [@Stoneburg](#):
>
> > [@msmith537](#):
> >
> > You do realize that YOU decide what to put online, who can view it and when you take it down, right?
>
> I thought your post was very good and I just wanted to point out that the first part of that specific quote is 100% true. YOU decide what to put there.
Well, that’s not quite true now, is it? You have no control over what your ‘friends’ will put online, and that may very well include things about you. And, as I understand it, it’s not too difficult for a third party to trace the connections – hence, the current privacy brouhaha.
I’m with **Oakminster** – no use for social networking myself, so I’ll shut up now.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/14 "2010-07-21T23:45:53Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#):
>
> What kind of sensitive information do you think is needed for that site, that needs to be secure?
I think it was Facebook who, when I was creating my account, required that I give them my email account address and password - the password for my email account. I had to create yet another junk email address to sign in with, which was a certain level of hassle, but the very idea that they needed my email address password for me to set up a Facebook account was quite offensive to me.
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### Author:  [@AmunRa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmunRa)
#### Post date: [July 21, 2010, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/15 "2010-07-21T23:52:25Z")
I don’t have a Facebook account (anymore) and I am not really trying to defend them, but they don’t _require_ your email address and password, they just ask for it so they can search your email contacts to match up with people on Facebook. You can skip it if you wish (I certainly did).
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### Author:  [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/16 "2010-07-22T00:25:48Z")
I don’t Facebook but I may be opening a picture-less/friendless account to follow some of my clubs and organizations for business school. Grrr.
Gotta disagree with you on LinkedIn, though. I already knew which way the wind was blowing on this one but my b-school sent us an email to start ours tout-de-suite if we didn’t already have one. I’ve been to a number of recruiting conferences already and they’ve also highlighted it. At this point I’m pretty shocked by people in professional services industries who don’t have one-then again, in an equally shocking manner, I didn’t get my smartphone until 2 days ago.
Besides, my LinkedIn profile is the only info really available about me on the internet right now and I like that I get to control it.
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### Author:  [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/17 "2010-07-22T00:35:33Z")
> [@Stoneburg](#):
>
> I usually tell people not to put anything on Facebook or say anything on Facebook that they would not be willing to leave on a table at a public place with their signature on and walk away from.
I think that is good advice.
> [@Digital Stimulus](#):
>
> Well, that’s not quite true now, is it? You have no control over what your ‘friends’ will put online, and that may very well include things about you.
That is correct. However they can post those things regardless of whether or not you have an account.
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### Author:  [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/18 "2010-07-22T00:43:40Z")
I don’t understand all of the threads here announcing that people don’t want to be part of social networking. Haven’t we had a few of these? Are we all going to make threads about all of the things we do not intend do to in our lives?
Facebook isn’t going to hunt you down and verify all of your information. You can sign up as Frank Blank if you want to and just tell your friends that it is you. I have a couple of people on my friends list who don’t want exes or crazy people they once knew to find them so they use only part of their names and they control who sees what.
Facebook doesn’t require that you give it any of your passwords or any other such information. You can provide as little or as much as you want. You can update your status or not. People will delete you or not as they see fit. It really isn’t a stressful thing and it requires _no_ upkeep if you choose to have it that way.
Hey, there are plenty of reasons not to join a social networking site. The best one? I just don’t want to. But if you’re not going to join I’d hope it’s for real reasons and not some of the odd things I’ve read here.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2010, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/19 "2010-07-22T00:52:03Z")
> [@AmunRa](#):
>
> I don’t have a Facebook account (anymore) and I am not really trying to defend them, but they don’t _require_ your email address and password, they just ask for it so they can search your email contacts to match up with people on Facebook. You can skip it if you wish (I certainly did).
I couldn’t get past that screen, though. I’m not saying definitely that Facebook required my email and password for that account, but if they didn’t, they sure didn’t make that the first, obvious choice. This was years ago, too - maybe they’ve altered that step of the sign-up process.
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### Author:  [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)
#### Post date: [July 22, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510/20 "2010-07-22T03:02:55Z")
I have a MySpace page that I haven’t checked for years. While I was using it, I was able to find four friends from high school and one army guy I served with. We have (infrequently) kept in touch via email rather than posting personal business on MySpace.
I have a LinkedIn account but I don’t use it. (See below for reason)
I WILL NOT sign up for a Facebook page, because I think it is another popularity contest (like MySpace) and I have two stalkers out there who have found me via LinkedIn. So I don’t use that and I won’t get a Facebook page, because I don’t need twice the crazy back in my life.
[Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staying-away-from-social-networking/547510.md?page=2)