The Just Thought I'd Share Thread

[Dex]

Originally Posted by KarmaContestant

You should have said it.

This is not a rant against Facebook, but after a few years of being there I'm starting to notice that Facebook is just an avenue that helps friends take their friendships for granted. There's no need to call, or visit or even text or e-mail - it's all on Facebook.

Sharing and commenting on status updates is not a friendship of any sort.

I have to say, I do call and text and visit many people that I correspond with on Facebook. I think social media doesn't necessarily mean the death of those things. There are a lot of people I speak with on Facebook that I wouldn't correspond with in a way that required more effort, but that'd be true whether or not I was their Facebook friends. I just really wouldn't bother keeping up with them at all if not for Facebook.

I do think you make a good point, though. Facebook does trivialize a lot of gestures that would otherwise be considered very meaningful and heartfelt, and I think that's really too bad. For example, I don't put my date of birth on Facebook, because it bugs me to have a flood of people come on and wish me "Happy Birthday!" just because Facebook literally told them to. That's just... icky, to me. The "like" feature is another one. I'm guilty of using it myself, unfortunately, but it is such a lazy way of completely bypassing any real interaction with someone.