# Wonder how Facebook became a place to brag about your life **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 19, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004 "2015-11-19T19:00:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![starryspice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9e8a1a/32.png) [@starryspice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/starryspice)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/41 "2015-11-21T01:04:03Z")
> [@Rushgeekgirl](#): > > Sometimes I do wish friends would spend more time with their cameras turned the other way so I can see what their doing, not just their faces. Yes! I could do without the selfies. (But just quitting Facebook wouldn’t help - my sister went on vacation for two weeks and emailed me a selfie every day. Every. Day. She thought it was funny…) I don’t know, though, I love Facebook. Maybe it’s my age but I have small children and many of my friends have small children and so I often get a long stream of small-children photos. It’s wonderful. Then again, I like small children. I also belong to astronomy-related groups and find it to be a good news source for that. I think a big part of why I like my FB feed is that I curate it - if I find myself being steadily annoyed at a “friend” who I haven’t actually talked to in 10 years, I just unfollow them. If I’m interested in a topic, I go find a relevant page and like it. If a page (hello, NYTimes) sends me a lot of depressing news, I just unlike it. I can get my depressing news elsewhere, but on Facebook, I prefer just kids and stars. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/42 "2015-11-21T01:16:29Z")
So far, I’ve had three people, all women, unfriend and block me because they posted, for, oh, the 100th time, “I am through with him for good this time!” and I replied, “Yeah, right. How many times have we heard that before?” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![tarrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@tarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarrel)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/43 "2015-11-21T01:30:43Z")
I go to Facebook to chat in groups geared toward sports, tv, and dating. And on my timeline I talk about the weather, food, and tv. All fun stuff ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/44 "2015-11-21T01:37:08Z")
> [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](#): > > I met my wife on Eharmony. > [@VinylTurnip](#): > > Yikes! That must’ve been awkward… I’m ashamed to admit how long it took me to get that. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/45 "2015-11-21T01:50:22Z")
Yeah, I am with the OP in that I don’t understand an adult getting all braggy and glurgy over anything. I don’t think FB is necessarily the cause, but it is the means to bring about this - need - in people. Maybe it was always there under the surface and FB just provides a convenient medium, and tapped into a deep vein of this - need - in our society. I don’t go out there often, maybe once a week or less, and the crap posted there by people I know if just a lot of noise, so forgivable. Buy why, oh why, do people feel the need to snap photos of plates of food, or beers, or wine they are about to consume? Also, posting several times per day with inane thoughts? I am thinking “need validation, much?” ---
**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:** [November 21, 2015, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/46 "2015-11-21T02:02:29Z")
I use it kind of like a blog, often making status’s to update my thoughts or what’s going on in my life right then or just random things I’m doing/interested in currently/opinions on current events… …that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/47 "2015-11-21T02:15:02Z")
I’m not sure I understand what’s so braggy about posting about a new car or new house. I mean, I’ve had several friends get new (or new to them) cars this year and they were all very excited about it and posted pictures. I was very happy for them. I don’t consider that bragging. Bragging would be something like, “Ha ha! I have a new car and you losers don’t!” or some such thing. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/48 "2015-11-21T02:50:27Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I’m not sure I understand what’s so braggy about posting about a new car or new house. I mean, I’ve had several friends get new (or new to them) cars this year and they were all very excited about it and posted pictures. I was very happy for them. I don’t consider that bragging. Bragging would be something like, “Ha ha! I have a new car and you losers don’t!” or some such thing. Yeah. I posted pictures of my new car in March, just so my friends would say “Oh, thank God he won’t be parking that old piece of crap outside our house again!” ---
**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:** [November 21, 2015, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/49 "2015-11-21T03:05:07Z")
Facebook is (or was originally) about sharing your life with other people. Sharing your life is going to include sharing things that are good and sharing things that are bad. For those people who like to brag in person, it has always been a place to brag. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2015, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/50 "2015-11-21T03:27:47Z")
I don’t get the hate for new car posts. When I bought my latest vehicle, it was _news_. I buy one every decade or so. And I found not just what I wanted (1 year old, specific options), but a \*\*\*better \*\*\*package at a great price. I was thrilled. > [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](#): > > To be honest, I’m more interested in someone’s new car than their political opinions. But actually the worst thing about Facebook is vaguebook, which is when people need you know that something big! is happening to them, but won’t tell you what. Usually this is in the form of prayer requests for unspecified reasons. Or a “thanks to those of you who have supported me through this difficult time.” Vaguebooks are the worst calls for attention. I had a “friend” who did Vaguebook with a passive-aggressive twist. She’d post some kind of meme with a “you don’t need negativity” or “you are strong and fabulous” or “people don’t understand me” message, and talk about people talking about her. I stopped “Following” her because the eye-rolling made my head hurt, and she eventually unfriended and blocked me because, _quelle horror,_ she found out that I was in a private group with some mutual friends! And she wasn’t in the group! So we must’ve been TALKING ABOUT HER! Life is nice without crazy people in your feed. ---
**Author:** ![Cub\_Mistress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@Cub\_Mistress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cub_Mistress)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/51 "2015-11-23T02:43:03Z")
It’s one thing if you post a pic or two of a new car (I did that a few years ago), ONE picture) but if you post pictures of every thing you buy it’s a bit much. One of my relatives posts pictures of every time they go out, every dinner they have, every time they go see a movie, every vacation, every present they ever give each other…it just adds up to bragging. Recently, I was treated to a step by step daily Progress-on-our-inground-swimming-pool, with hourly updates. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/52 "2015-11-23T05:23:28Z")
I have never seen Facebook. (and the spell checker just flagged ‘facebook’ it shuts up if I type Facebook - this is scary- since when dies the spellcheck get in bed with Facebook?) But the comment here remind me of an ancient way to bore friends: The dreaded **Slide Projector** - 200 poorly composed snapshots projected on a wall or screen - and _you can’t escape!_ Seems ‘unfriending’ is the new equivalent of walking out on a slide show - you hurt feelings and alienate family. Ah, progress! Too bad My Space didn’t last long enough to develop these problems. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/53 "2015-11-23T15:30:10Z")
You don’t have to unfriend an annoying over- sharer, just unfollow them. You’re still “friends,” they just no longer show up in your feed. They don’t know the difference, and you are no longer inundated with badly lit photos of ham sandwiches and boring baby pictures. ---
**Author:** ![Pantastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3bc359/32.png) [@Pantastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pantastic)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/54 "2015-11-23T15:44:24Z")
I really don’t get how some people approach Facebook. I want to know what’s going on with friends of mine, so if they post links of stuff they like or pics of stuff they’re doing then I’m happy to see it. People talking about and showing snapshots of vacations, cars, houses, and the like is certainly nothing new. The ‘selfie rage’ is especially mind-boggling to me, is it that you don’t want to see what your friends are up to, or only want to see if they get someone else to hold a camera? And if I did get annoyed by the stuff that people post, I’d just unfollow everyone who annoys me, and end up with a quiet feed of only what I want. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/55 "2015-11-23T16:55:45Z")
FB for me is just for fun and to keep up with who’s getting married, having a baby, or passed away. It irritated me for a while until I learned how to block sites and got rid of all the religious crap some of my cousins insist on posting, and all the football crap, and the game requests/who scored what. ---
**Author:** ![tarrel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@tarrel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tarrel)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/56 "2015-11-23T17:14:35Z")
> [@Sahirrnee](#): > > FB for me is just for fun and to keep up with who’s getting married, having a baby, or passed away. > > It irritated me for a while until I learned how to block sites and got rid of all the religious crap some of my cousins insist on posting, and all the football crap, and the game requests/who scored what. I never talk about death or health on facebook ---
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2015, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004/57 "2015-11-23T20:17:52Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > (and the spell checker just flagged ‘facebook’ it shuts up if I type Facebook - this is scary- since when dies the spellcheck get in bed with Facebook?) Probably when they ‘got in bed with’ Christmas, Realtor® and Tuesday. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wonder-how-facebook-became-a-place-to-brag-about-your-life/738004.md?page=2)