Should I Join Facebook? Why and Why not?

[Hans]

I have received quite a few emails from people I know requesting me to view their pictures or profile on FB.When I click on the link to try and view them I am taken to a FB page informing me that I must sign-up for a FB account to view the pictures or profile. I don’t care to become a FB member so I politely email the person back informing them that I can not view their page/pictures due to my reluctance to join FB. Why should I join FB? And more importantly, why does FB force people to sign up just to view a friends stuff?

The fact that FB requires one to join to view a persons profile is really annoying to me. Especially, since you know that one day (if they haven’t already) they will boast about how many people have joined FB. This, to me is something a communist dictator would do. Force the people of their country to join their political party (or die) and then boast to the world about the numbers in their political party. Okay, bad comparison, but you get my point. Another issue I have with FB is the impression I get from these sites. They appear to me, to give off an adolescent vibe. How many of you have received one of those emails saying, “Juan Dela Cruz, (use any name) is requesting you to be their friend. Click here to visit their profile.” This might have been okay in elementary school but come on people, grow up! Be their friend?! I say, get a life! FB which instead requests you to "be their fan". In my opinion, conveys an adolescent vibe which I find hard to ignore. FB was started by a couple of young college grads to keep in touch. This explains the youthful vibe the site emits.

I realize I am in the minority here. Most people are okay with FB. And some even think it’s okay to post mind numbing worthless information about themselves. Everywhere I look I see references to FB including on business advertisements. “Find us on Facebook” most say. So many people are on FB that corporations have determined that it’s worth spending money maintaining a FB page and other related advertisement. There seems to be an FB craze these days with no end in site. Perhaps some changes though are not so far away. Last year (July 2009), in Chicago, a woman has been sued due to the content of one of her Tweets (I assume people reading this know what a Tweet is. Sorry if you don’t). In her posting she complained about mold in the apartment she rented and made mention of the property management company. The lawsuit claims her Twitter posts "maliciously and wrongfully" slammed her apartment at 4242 N. Sheridan and the company managing it. Perhaps if she looses this case, the word will get out that you will be held liable for what you post online, so choose wisely about what you type. Will the quality of online content then improve? I'm certain any improvement will be negligible.

I understand that for some people FB provide a way to make their foot-print on the world wide web. Not everyone is computer savvy enough to build their own website, willing to pay to have one created for them or has the time to do either. Most social networking sites are free to join and easy to set up. In a matter of minutes, one can join, set up a profile and send thousands of requests to everyone they know to view their page. In my opinion nothing is wrong with that; just don’t assume everyone will view your page. Not everyone will join FB when invited and not everyone lives their lives through FB. If you have something you really want to share with someone, send them an email. It's a little more personal in my opinion.

I hope this FB fad fades soon, but I realize that's just wishful thinking. Instead, it’s likely to morph into a more mature format that more people will adopt. FB is still very young and will grow until it invades the space of a bigger fish. As soon as they pose a threat of capturing a large percentage of a market of mutual interest,the big fish will try and eat them.

I have always been a black sheep and proud of it......Okay, Perhaps a tad anti-FB too ; )

[Mitzy]

ppl join facebook cos they get to socialize and there are plenty of games and app to pass time. also its the "in" thing to have an account, but like u said, u hope the fb fad fades soon.

since u like being a black sheep, stick to your personality. true that fb does have its negatives points like u've mentioned but for me the good is more than the bad

[Raerae]

hey bro, culnot even read evry thing, facebook is a curse and a blessing, a blessing as in you can find old friends keep in touch , find future partners, make friends from all over the world and get rid of boredom. a curse as in i am in dentistry and i got a major exam next week. and i am on FACEBOOK!!!! it is so addicting, its up to you to decide, but if you do, add me up on facebook

[Emily]

Hi, I read all of your question Yes, I do agree with you on many aspects. I do have an account but I rarely write anything on it, except maybe sometimes stuff about my pets, just innocent, non-descript stuff. I hate it when people post all sorts of crap about themselves, and, even more annoying, their innocent kids. Some people are so boring and stupid. It's good for a laugh, good to chuckle at them having no life sitting on FB all day and night thinking they are cool. I think a lot of people need to get a life!
How about picking up the phone haha!! Or sending a card in the mail?? I always still send my good friends cards in the mail it is a much better feeling and so much more personal and thoughtful FB can get stuffed, for all I care...

[SilentShadow]

Joining facebook doesn't mean you have to become like everyone else and post everyday, upload pics and videos etc. You can simply join facebook and leave your profile empty. You have to remember that you need to be signed in to view other people's pages, pics, vids, etc. So if you simply create an account you can access your friends' pages without really jumping on the bandwagon.

[♥Sali90♥]

I agree with you to a point, I have recently opened a Facebook account and have found old school friends that I lost touch with. I think for that reason it was worth joining, though I would never post anything negative there. I would rather send emails to my friends too, but it was good to find people I hadn't seen since leaving school. I wouldn't add random people I didn't know either, as you never know if they are who they say they are. I don't care to compete with anybody with regards to how many friends I have. I use Facebook rarely as i'm usually very busy, so I am not letting it take over my life!

[Bridget]

Hi! Silent Shadow's answer hits the nail on the head. Just simply sign up to just have a hang on it. Personally, I do not have the luxury of time doing the FB stuff. I even ignore invitations from close friends to join games and other applications.