Is Facebook good or bad. Facebook and other similar internet based friend networks have changed everyday life. To some, real life is a way to update the life of your Facebook. Everything revolves around taking that epic photo that will get 50 likes from people you kind of know. The feeling of starting a good Facebook newsfeed buzz is like being justin bieber for a couple hours as you see the rack up those notifications. For others Facebook is something that they use in replacement of email, adding some photos every couple months. Then there are the people that don't use Facebook. Some do it as a rebellion against society, others as a message to tell people that they don't relly on technology. The question is how do you find a good balance between the hermit and the 14 year old social drama queen.
I usually check Facebook about 2 times a day. I think its too much but I'm kind of addicted. I wish I would cut it down to 1 a week or so, but its just too hard to stay off… For me i usually use Facebook to message friends instead of writing emails. It is nice because you write a message and at the same time you can see what they have been up to and write about it in the email. some people don't like this. I feel like email is very unpersonal and the format is very boring to me, face book allows for a bit more creativity and fun. Also I like the conversations you have on Facebook much better because it doesn't result in long email chains.
But every once in a while (maybe once or twice a month) I get stuck in the trap of looking through peoples photos. This, I think is the worst thing and i do my best not to do it. Its is kind of addicting once you look through one album, you can't stop. SOmetimes its even people you don't even know, which when you think of it in real life is super creepy and weird. But a bunch of people do it all the time. Instantly when i look at people's photos, I start comparing my life to theirs and asking myself, are they having more fun than me, I tell myself i should do more sports, i should go out more, or I should have more firends etc. This is usually not good because you second guess your life and think other people have it more figured out than you. This is because people only put up photos of their best moments, and you believe their entire life is their best. When in fact most of the time the photos are fake. People's face books are finely crafted perfect versions of themselves on their best day, which isn't always 100% truth.
Many people have Facebooks that are fake. By this i mean that they will do things for and only for the purpose of Facebook, instagram, or whatever new photo thing will come out in 2 days. For example an individual will go on a trip where the whole time they will complain, have a terrible time, and wish they were at home, but every time the camera is on they magically have an ear to ear smile and an epic caption to fit below. They hopefully generate an internet buzz amoung their friends, making friends envious of their lives, and therefore causing happiness for themselves. SOmetimes they have even looked at the 500 photos and told the story so many times that reality and imagination have morphed and they actually believe they had fun, because internet proved that they did. This is not only true for trips to europe but anything, relationships, parties, and anything else with photo evidence thats all over Facebook. MOst of the time if you were able to get 200 photos of an event that you "had a blast" at, most likely you were thinking more about getting good photos than actually living in the moment and having fun.
every once in a while, I like doing extreme things, that could generate some good Facebook photos. And many times i take the photos and put them up for that high that you get from the Facebook buzz you created. Now almost every time I try to ask myself "why" I'm doing that extreme thing? Is it to get that natural high of rock climbing a massive mountain, or is it to get that epic story that everyone will see and the photographic evidence to back it up? Its a question of what makes you happy, being happy from events in your life or if your it depends purely on what your friends think of you. Do you do things to show to other people or truly for yourself? Of course there is a big difference between taking a couple photos to show your buds what you have been up to and taking 5000 photos on a 2week trip for everyone to see. To avoid this risk of doing things not for myself, I try to not take a camera when I do things. I cheat a bit because I have a go pro camera, but I do my best to not be a photo monger and try to not allow it to get in the way of the moment.
Facebook is essential though. It is a new method of communication. not using Facebook is like saying texting is stupid, and their fore cutting off all ties with everyone who text messages a lot. Or a few years ago saying that cell phones are stupid and you only need to call people from home. Or a few more years ago saying that phones were stupid and only using morse code or something. Point is communication standards evolve and Facebook is the new email, you just can't go without it or you'll be left in the dust. You become socially disconnected without Facebook these days.
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