There a few Facebook types that annoy me. Not specific people, but broad areas of people. What types annoy you?
Several years ago I did a Facebook cleaning and got it down to a very small number of people. It's grown again, and before I do something rash and wipe out 3/4 of my friends list like I did last time, I'm going to attempt a cathartic list of annoyances. There are at least a few people (or 20+) in each of these groups. Again, not singling anyone out and in no particular order.
Bible quoters - Do they expect people to read a quote, have an epiphany, and ask them how to get closer to God?
Pyramid schemers - No, I don't want to go to your "party" and buy the useless crap you're hawking. I don't want to see your daily or even more frequent posts about how your chosen pyramid scheme has changed your life.
Political posts - I'm liberal, but I don't like seeing posts from either extreme. I'm not going to change anyone's mind politically; they're not going to change mine. I don't even find the ones that are intended to be funny as anything other than propaganda.
Selfies/pictures of your child 2+ times per day (only exception is before/after pics like hair cuts and other transformations) on a regular basis - I know, your child has done 12 cute things between breakfast and lunch. Put them in the baby book instead. As for selfies, print them out and line your bedroom with them instead. You'll soon have your dream of looking at yourself as much as you want. I think 2 selfies/kid pics per WEEK is a reasonable number, outside of a batch upload.
Perpetual pity party people - Crap happens to everyone, but when "woe is me" outnumber interesting observations/polls/neutral/happy posts, I wish I could send some Prozac virtually.
GoFundMes - Actually these are specific posts and not people, but they are annoying nonetheless. Yes, there is legitimate need out there. As a liberal, I think the government should play an active role in objectively determining need based on a rubric and re-distributing wealth. It's not a perfect system, but sorting through hundreds of sob stories is emotionally wearing, not productive, and makes me think of all of these questions that I'd like answered before I even consider giving money. For example, if someone is collecting money for legal fees to get custody of their kids, I want to know how custody was lost originally, the facts in that case, what has changed, is the person worthy of having custody, what's the other side of the story, etc.
6 comments:
Preach it sister! I agree with every one of these. I have taken to Hiding posts (especially the numerous baby ones from new mothers or grandmothers - like every freaking day there is a bunch more) and then i click See Less Posts Like This, but it doesn't matter. This does not seem to help.
Like you i purged a bunch of friends only to find myself with new ones i didn't really mean to friend.
I have another friend who is a hiker and i love her but she posts the hikes that she and her boyfriend take constantly and they look just like the other 350 photos of her other hikes. Maybe if i were a hiker i would like them more.
Also while we're at it, i get rather tired of the clever memes. I have been known to post them myself but not tons of them. And i try to find ones that haven't been around the block a hundred times already on FB. And they need to be especially particular to the person i'm sending it too. Such as the Memory Foam i recently sent to my friend Sarah. But that was because she had just sent me an email about hating the temperpedic memory foam mattress bed at the vacation rental she was in that week so when i saw the joke posted by someone the next day i shared it to her wall.
Also FB people who really annoy me are ones who never respond on FB with a like or a comment or anything every but then they might mention to me that they read or saw something on FB that i wrote or posted. To me they are voyeours. I don't like knowing people lurk on FB but never reveal anything at all.
Which brings me to another one where all the person does is post only a joke or meme and nothing else about themselves ever at all.
And of course, there are the cats, but then i guess i brought that upon my self when i wrote about the annoyance of all the cat photos on FB. All cats look alike. Do you really think yours is cuter?
I do like food posts and i appreciate good recipes too. I actually am a member of a cooking site on FB. I like when someone writes about a local restaurant they went to or posts a nice version of a song that is different from the original. Some YouTubes are hilarious too, i really liked the one of the little girl dong Zumba with her mom awhile back. I don't like the ones that remind me of Funniest Home Videos though where people get hurt are are acting super stupid.
I think i will always continue to have a love/hate relationship with FB. i often think about taking a hiatus to see if i spend my time more wisely but then i think of the drama of leaving and the Throw Back Thursday photos i will miss (i do like those!) and my book board and cooking board and how i email mostly through FB to keep in touch and then i just can't do it.
I am glad Bethany you haven't given up your blog. I haven't either but it's been nearly two months now where i used to post once a week back in the day when i was working. Isn't that weird how the more time i have the less i make time for stuff like this? I will get back to it in the fall when the days get shorter and the weather changes. I don't know about you, but i'm a bit tired of summer already.
I totally get how working helps you have a regular pattern. When I have time off, I get 1/5 of what I usuay get done. Work definitely pushes you to be more disciplined. Back in the day when we had 2 weeks off in July I went into some time vortex and did absolutely nothing except stay up late and watch Nick at Nite!
Ditto, ready for fall. I want to make some soup!!
As for FB annoyances, I 99% agree with you. I know you mentioned not liking FB voyeurs at lunch, but I don't mind them. Tidbit: my mom is on FB with a fake name. She has 5 friends. She has never liked or commented on anything I've ever posted. But nearly every week she comments in person or on the phone. Eh, she's a lurker.
I'm adding a new annoyance to our growing list: self-affirmation memes.
I see a theme in yours - you want them to reveal themselves and who they are on Facebook. I don't have that exact expectation but totally know what you're getting at. It's helpful to learn about someone's interests, who they spend time with, places they enjoy, etc. I've felt like I've gotten to know people, including you, better that way. There are others that don't choose to share in that way, and I respect that. It does make me try harder though. ;)
One thing I forgot to tell you yesterday - I think you're friends of the mother of someone I knew in college. The mother (?) commented on one of your posts, and I thought, "Hey, that last name is odd and I worked with someone with that same last name and a very close first name!" Then I clicked on her and saw that my old college friend was her friend.
It's kind of funny because that girl was dating this guy named Tim in college. She really liked him. Then he dumped her for another friend of mine. They are married with 3 kids now, and she is still mad about him ever dating her.
Anyway, I liked her, but we lost touch after college since that was before Facebook and stuff.
Yesterday morning i responded to your post with a long-assed comment of my own and my last sentence was "oops i just noticed i have only 1% battery on my iPad so i better sign off" and no sooner did i type that sentence but my iPad went dead. I thought when i charged it that it would come back to the middle of my comment but it didn't. hahahaha. My husband has been using it to read a Stephen King novel at night and i wasn't keeping track of the battery loss overnight.
I can't remember everything i wrote but i did want to know what FB friend of mine you are talking about.
Yes, you are right about the theme in what my expectations are from FB friends. I like knowing a little bit more about them than just a meme or a joke. From FB i can actually understand how folks hook up from online dating from the folks who do comply with what they post on FB. I also like it better when they post photos of themselves that are current and not from high school. Now having said that you will never find me posting a photo of myself that isn't somewhat flattering and i have many that aren't but nobody is going to see those!
Most recently i discovered on FB that there are women who are into coloring. And that you can buy coloring books with intricate designs. I love this idea so much! I can't draw at all but i love things like special marker pens and colored pencils and such. And i like doing stuff that is somewhat mindless. It soothes the mind. I had no idea that this was something going on. Yesterday i went to Michaels and Target to look for these books but didn't find any. I did buy pencils though. And i'm going to look on Amazon to buy the books. I like this idea of getting together with friends drinking wine, listenting to music and talking and coloring together. My galpal trip of me and two other friends which we do every summer and spring for the last 20 years usually involves a jigsaw puzzle, but i thought this might be a nice alternative. We'll see how it goes after i order my books. I think it will be cathartic. Sort of like when i sit and do embroidery.
I am still reeling from the GoFundMe page. I just can't imagine someone ever doing that and asking their work colleagues to contribute so that i could pay my rent and car payment. Seriously how can someone not have any savings or family to first fall back on. And especially when at one time they were very well paid in a job they once had?
I will add this to the list of FB stuff i don't like. Those posts where someone is holding up a hand lettered sign (especially kids with chemo hair) asking for 1 million likes drive me crazy too and i think most of those are fake and about luring people into clickjacking.
And finally the other FB posts that i hate are the ones where people post the results of their tests where the results are that they are brilliant....IQ tests, PHd intelligence etc. I bet folks take those tests over and over until they get the results they want and THEN they post them.... lol.
The last name of the person starts with Whit.
I suck at puzzles, but I enjoy them. I have a friend who does a lot of the fad things, and she has gotten into the coloring craze. I haven't partaken. I think I'd dislike it as I do yoga. Gosh darn it, hobbies need to let me be high strung!
I have a huge aversion to asking people for anything, much less money. If I was in the position, I'd completely downsize and work at a fast food job than ask for handouts. But like you say, we wouldn't be in the position because we would have saved along the way. I can't imagine living paycheck to paycheck in my 30s, much less my 50s! (He's in his 50s, right?) Part of me wishes I had the audacity to do something like that because it takes more guts than I have.
You are far too classy and of good character to have that kind of audacity. I know who you are talking about now re: the other. I need to email you.
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