Comments on: Facebreak

By: Lucien Desar

Lucien Desar — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 11:30:59 +0000

I went off FB for a whole season, this past summer, and I didn’t miss it. Once I returned I went on it a lot less. Twitter has a quicker way if scrolling and filtering through data. Still there should be a new social networks based off of interests. Like StarWarsBook or DCComicsbook – all if which reminds me of usenet groups. Tech just goes in circles.

By: Zeno

Zeno — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 13:38:41 +0000

I made the same decision about three weeks ago and am not missing it one bit. I took the further steps of deleting all my app installs for FB and deactivating* my account so as not to be tempted by the mounting notification counts. This is not to say that I won’t be back at some point but for now I certainly am enjoying not having brain cycles tied up by wondering what everyone else is up to.

* – Facebook doesn’t really let you “quit”, but on request they will deactivate your account in case you decide to come back to it. The real reason has more to do with the fact that they still want to aggregate and market all that sweet sweet personal datayou uploaded for them. I liken the experience to trying to break up with a significant other who insists that the two of you stay ” just friends”, and then insists on holding onto the key to your apartment so he/she can water your plants whenever you go on vacation.

By: JFeinberg

JFeinberg — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 12:39:13 +0000

I agree wholeheartedly with Maury E. Delete Facebook from your mobile devices. That’s all you really need to do in order to prevent Facebook from exacting too high a price from your life. Only checking on your computer means you won’t be checking every second of the day – instead you’ll be checking at set time. Remember the 70s, when you had to watch TV shows when they were actually on? Nobody was catching 5 minutes of Dallas when they went to the bathroom at 10am at work.

By: Ktorster

Ktorster — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 02:45:22 +0000

Brilliant post Rob and one that sums up my feelings lately too. As much as I’m guilty of continuing to crack wise on FB, I am less and less interested in what most people are posting. It all has that “been there done that” feel, and that information overload is very apt.

By: Earl Green

Earl Green — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 02:17:28 +0000

A cat on your head? PIX OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN

I can relate. I have been trying to cut down on meaningless posts. Most of my recent posts have been in one of two categories:

1. I have something to post to inform, enlighten, or uplift people.

2. I have something to make people laugh. Maybe a baby picture, maybe a cat picture, maybe a story of some conversation at work that took a weird turn.

3. I have books/stuff to sell and I’m sounding the dinner bell.

Wait, that’s three. Three. THREE CATEGORIES! [insert Count laugh here]

I have all but banned myself from hitting “share” and regurgitating other people’s articles.

I’ve noticed a lot of my activity is happening in groups on FB, and not so much out in the open.

And, like you, I don’t care how far someone has walked/bicycled/flapped their arms and flown today. I don’t care what they had to eat or how much they’ve had to drink (there are a couple of folks on my feed who feel the need to brag about the latter; I weep for their livers). And of course, there’s the political pundits. For the love of Pete and objects shaped similarly to Pete… I’d go to a political website if I wanted that.

I am also keenly aware that a pretty small subset of my FB friends care about babies, books, cats, rocket launches, or sci-fi. I’ve been trying to channel that stuff into groups where applicable. I have relatives who don’t understand why my whole feed isn’t baby pictures. I have friends who wonder why my whole feed isn’t action figures and video games. A lot of it depends on the point of interest at which you connect with the person.

Maybe THAT should be Facebook’s next big innovation: only show me posts from X if they relate to Y. Have people meta-tag their posts instead of hashtagging them. But that’s probably too much work for the average teenybopper.

By: Maury E

Maury E — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 02:12:54 +0000

If you do go back, check out the FB Chrome extension named FBP for Facebook Purity. I deleted FB from my mobile devices and only check in on the laptop…using FBP. FBP is customizable to weed out the news and many other items. I get notifications on who deletes me. I also use keywords to block posts.

By: Emory Lehman

Emory Lehman — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 02:11:28 +0000

But FB is how I got to here… I do have to say there are many of us that “live” on FB. One reason is because it is a very easy way for a lot of my friends from all over the place, my co-workers, and others can communicate, and keep up with what is going on in each others lives. Most of my “friends” from work are on FB, and we don’t see each other everyday like most people do in an office environment. We only see each other when the two of us are in the cab of a locomotive, when we pass each other on the tracks, when we see each other at the yard offices, and at the hotels we stay in…

By: Nancy

Nancy — Sun, 07 Dec 2014 02:07:36 +0000

You’ve been missed. We retirees rely on Facebook, since we don’t chat via phone or meetings anymore. If you stay off too long, the next “ding” you hear will be your doorbell. I’ll be arriving for a visit so I can catch up!