To Facebook or not to Facebook …

I would like to discuss something which I feel is starting to get a little out of hand.

What I am referring to is a little monster called Facebook, and the need people seem to feel to feed it with all sorts of garbage.

Before I delve into the subject, one question I keep asking myself, and I think many others like me are also doing the same, is why do many Facebook users put so much effort into posting things which are of no value whatsoever?

For example, one post I recently read asked, “Is Mandela Day a public holiday?”. The comments made by some of the readers were downright ugly. People were ripping this poor woman, who might have genuinely not known that Mandela Day is not a public holiday, to pieces.

Another one I found to be utterly useless was someone trying to sell a Mini Shopper collection (the first and second set of those miniature products handed out to shoppers at a particular store chain) for a whopping R5 000 – and people who commented actually started to argue with each other over it. Why?

Why do people expose themselves to this type of scrutiny on Facebook? For instance, what are we gaining from posting photos of ourselves weighing (say) 67kg and then two weeks later posting another one, in which we weigh 62kg? Is it the satisfaction of someone saying “Well done to you”? Or are we provoking a response in order to continue an argument just so that we can say we raised our (sometimes unnecessary) opinions?

Another example I want to mention is when people say “I love you” to their loved ones on Facebook and an ongoing back and forth of “I love yous” is exchanged between the couple. Why not just phone the person up and say it, or better yet, say it to their faces in person? Wouldn’t that be more of a grand gesture than to let everyone on Facebook know that you love someone?

#Imjustsaying!

The point I am trying to make is the one made by social media guru, Emma Sadleir, who once said, “If you are willing to post it on Facebook then you won’t have a problem posting it on a billboard, right?”.

Something to think about … I hope.