So everyone does Facebook. Or at least 150 million people do.
I looked at it once and thought, “The last thing I need is one more thing to do online.” Honestly, some days I’d like to disconnect from the internet completely.
And there was something about it that creeped me out. It felt different to me than blogging. I just didn’t find anything attractive about it.
But then I am incredibly old-fashioned and behind the times. Except I guess I could confess that David bought me an inexpensive MP3 player with speakers for Christmas. (NormalMiddle – So far it hasn’t changed my life.)
So do you Facebook? Why or why not?
Goodnight Moon Lapbook and Puzzle
I do Facebook. The main reason is to stay in touch with my kids (ages 17-24). I have reconnected with some friends from high school, but not many. What was the most interesting (and fun) to me is that my children’s friends “friended” me right away. It is a very good way to stay in touch with them as well. I don’t spend a lot of time on it, just a quick look every so often.
This is the world my children live in, the way they communicate. In order to stay in touch with them, I think it is important that I at least know how to use this technology.
It took me a while to get on it but I do Facebook also. I love it! It has helped me connect with old friends when I thought I lost touch with them. I enjoy seeing everyone’s pictures, etc. You don’t have to be a friend to everyone and you can allow only your friends to see your profile, etc. so it’s very safe that way.
I had a great opportunity to share the gospel with a faraway friend last week. We started out on Facebook chat but I ended up calling her and we talked for about 3 hours! I really don’t think she would have asked me about my faith if we were in person or directly over the phone but asking me via Facebook chat was safer for her. And when I asked her if I could call her to discuss further, she said yes.
It’s a tool like anything else and depending on how disciplined you are it can be used for good or bad. 🙂
I’m on Facebook and I like it. I have enjoyed connecting with old classmates and friends from the past and seeing how their lives have turned out. What has been really neat is classmates who were not Christians in highschool, who have since turned their lives over to Christ. But, some of my closest friends are on there, and I get to see what they are doing from day to day, when I don’t have time to pick up the phone and call.
It is a great place to put up pictures of my family, and not have to send them thru email. The only reason I am on FB, is that I can control who sees my profile and my pictures. If they aren’t a “confirmed” friend, then they don’t have access.
I don’t see how being on FB is any different than having a blog, reading blogs, etc. Everyone has that one or two thing that helps them escape from daily life for a few minutes to get a break. And, like someone else said, for a stay-at-home mom, it does help to feel connected to the outside world.
I resisted Facebook forever, but then moved out of state away from all my near and dear ones and suddenly it was a lifesaver. Being able to keep up with those I’m far away from is an incredible gift, and I look at it that way. It’s actually fairly simple to keep up with folks on Facebook; not a lot of management and it’s there if you have a few minutes to browse or “update your status.” Totally worth it to me.
Wow! I never expected so many responses to this post! It has been very interesting to read all of them. I think a couple of people hit on my thoughts:
ModGirl (3):
Ellen (9):
And Peggy (15) – Thanks for the laugh out loud!
I can see how for some people it could be a really great thing. I guess my need for a small circle of friends makes FB sound stressful to me. And I already feel like I am juggling so many details of life that the thought of absorbing what a dozen or two dozen or a hundred different people from the past forty years of my life are doing sounds like information overload in the extreme.
I have a hard enough time deciding who to send Christmas cards to each year! LOL! This sounds like that on steroids.
Great thoughts, though. Thanks for a good FB education! 😀
I’m a 40-something very busy mom of three, and I LOVE Facebook! I wholeheartedly agree with the posters who have noted that FB is just like any of the other things that compete for our time. You can make as much of it or as little of it as you want. No, Facebook is definitely not a substitute for deep personal friendships, but with friends scattered around the world, it’s just another tool for maintaining relationships that in a less technological age would probably be nonexistent.
Facebook is what you make it. You can make it as public or as private as you wish. Share as much or as little as you like. Friend or “defriend” whomever you wish.
I think as my kids get older it will be even more important to me to be “out there” on the Internet, seeing what they’re seeing and with whom they’re communicating. But NOT letting it take over my life (or theirs).
Not to put in another plug for Facebook, but you really can keep it as small and private as you want. I have a small group of friends, that are really friends (including family) and we keep in touch so much better now that we have FB. You do control it, it doesn’t have to take over. You just have to be careful about who you let friend you and decide what you want in the beginning. And it’s absolutely ok to ignore friend requests (and to defriend people). It’s really just email with the added bonus of sharing pictures and little status updates (if you choose).
I love it! 😀
I’m 51 and have had a Facebook for a couple of years. My middle child wanted me to join and I did. Within a couple of months my high school students had discovered I had a FB started “friending” me. They know I use it to keep tabs on them and they invite me to friend them anyway. The abovementioned middle child thinks it is funny that I have nearly 3 times the number of friends she does. I told her I’m popular….with the 25 and under set. 😆
It’s fun to watch them grow. I’m getting wedding invitations and baby announcements thanks to FB. It’s kind of fun but control it not the other way around. If I don’t have time to peek in I don’t feel bad about it.