Facebook: Needed or Not?

[shadowsmudge]

I definitely don't think it's necessary, and no one should feel pressured to get an account if they don't want one. I personally have one to keep up with family and friends who are not in the area, and it works very well for that for me. But I'm very selective about what friend requests I accept, and I try to keep it to things I find relevant/interesting. I could definitely do without it for a month or more, though. I'm never on it for very long, and only about one per day. So, in my situation in life, it's not necessary or essential or anything of the sort, merely a convenience. But if you have your own business or something of the sort, it might be "essential" so that you could market yourself and your business, or whatever. That's about the only situation where I see it being too terribly important to have one.

[Silenxia]

I think it would be nice if people have limits, but then again most of the young people have long since moved elsewhere (don't know if my friends have theirs or not). However, it has one use...If a friend of my mom has puppy pictures, then I can just get onto her account...I use them for references.

[Jessica]

Before I found an addictive game on Facebook, I would be able to live 1 month without it. But now, nope ...although if the game died or something I would probably not be active on Facebook any longer. The game is really the only reason I visit Facebook, apart from some groups I joined

On the subject, not everyone needs Facebook and no one should be forced to make an account.

[ghostqueer]

Tbh I think that Facebook can be a good thing- it can help you to keep in touch w/ friends and family and is just a simple and convenient way to keep up with people and socialize over the internet if not otherwise able. I do have a Facebook, and I don't use it super often, there are some games I play and then I like to see my friends posts and stuff.

I don't think Facebook is a bad thing, but the way you use it can be. If someone were to become overly reliant on it or use it to bully or antagonize people, that would be really lame. But that's more about the person than the website itself. Mark Zuckerberg isn't forcing people to sign up- it's their choice, and therefore it's their choice how they use it.

[Silenxia]

I prefer other sites than Facebook, twitter, and instagram. I tried it, didn't like it and it doesn't bother me. TBH, I prefer Deviantart and Tumblr because the people I know in real life aren't on there (hopefully...if so then I haven't encountered them).

[Brynmala]

I don't have a facebook account, or twitter or instagram. I've never found a compelling enough reason to bother - and now its a bit of bloodymindedness as well! It does annoy me that everyone just assumes you will have facebook and that's the only way you can contact some people/companies.

[Silenxia]

I get what you mean, luckily my job isn't one of those places who requires a facebook account.

[TheEmbodimentOfKarma]

Facebook should be repurposed as a marketing website. Let the rest of it burn.

[pegasi1978]

Facebook should be repurposed as a marketing website. Let the rest of it burn.

I'd like to know your reasons why?

For a long time I chose not to have a Facebook account. I finally decided to get one around the time my ex-husband and I got divorced (5 years ago).

In the time since then I have reconnected with friends I thought were long gone because I knew they would have gotten married and changed their names. I tried looking for them, but since they didn't have their maiden names tied to their accounts couldn't find them. They found me because my maiden name is tied to my account.

I also had a friend I made while I was married to my ex-husband find me on Facebook several years after we had lost touch due to military-related moves. I had her email written down, but the one she had given me was out of service so I regretted the loss. I was glad she found me because when I was going through an especially tough time I had someone I could talk to (though it was delayed slightly as she doesn’t get online every day).

I've reconnected with family friends whom I haven't seen in years and been able to share (on both sides) in the joys of marriages and births as well as the sorrow of deaths with them.

My friends list is fairly quiet with no major drama playing out. If someone starts posting things on a regular basis I'd rather not see, I unfollow rather than unfriend them. I've only needed to block one person because they pissed me off that badly. They blocked me initially (for something that wasn't my fault). I didn't realize they had unblocked me until I could see their posts again (I hadn't dropped them). By that point I was (and still am) pissed enough with them that I dropped and blocked them.

I realize I may be atypical with my experience, but then sometimes there is a blessing in being in my late 30s rather than in my teens or early 20s.

[BirdyThePhoenix]

I can last a month. The only times I ever use my Facebook anymore are to post things from this one browser game I play to get extra coins.