Facebook is making us miserable

[ninwa]

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2011/12/facebook_is_making_us_miserabl.html

First, it's creating a den of comparison. Since our Facebook profiles are self-curated, users have a strong bias toward sharing positive milestones and avoid mentioning the more humdrum, negative parts of their lives. Accomplishments like, "Hey, I just got promoted!" or "Take a look at my new sports car," trump sharing the intricacies of our daily commute or a life-shattering divorce. This creates an online culture of competition and comparison.

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Second, it's fragmenting our time. Not surprisingly, Facebook's "horizontal" strategy encourages users to log in more frequently from different devices.

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Leaving the risk of real physical harm aside, the issue with this constant "tabbing" between real-life tasks and Facebook is what economists and psychologists call "switching costs," the loss in productivity associated with changing from one task to another.

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Last, there's a decline of close relationships. Gone are the days where Facebook merely complemented our real-life relationships. Now, Facebook is actually winning share of our core, off-line interactions. One participant summed it up simply: "We Facebook chat instead of meeting up. It's easier."

As Facebook adds new features such as video chat, it is fast becoming a viable substitute for meetings, relationship building, and even family get-togethers. But each time a Facebook interaction replaces a richer form of communication — such as an in-person meeting, a long phone call, or even a date at a restaurant — people miss opportunities to interact more deeply than Facebook could ever accommodate. As Facebook continues to add new features to help us connect more efficiently online, the battle to maintain off-line relationships will become even more difficult, which will impact their overall quality, especially in the long-run.

[dc302]

Facebook is evil. That said, I don't use it much anyway. When I first got it I was a junkie but got over that pretty quickly..It kind of annoys me how people get 'closer' via internet.

[funkyducky]

Tbh i reckon Facebook is best when used to contact people who you either can't or don't want to talk to irl. I see no reason to use it to converse with close friends and family when i have better options. I mostly use it as a tool for contacting acquaintances, addressing groups of people and organising events.

[Mao]

<3 facebook forever.

[taiga]

Reads to me like a year 11 persuasive piece.

[happycat]

Facebook is very superficial, it could make those types of people who are loners and don't have too many friends depressive if they see others have a good time through others photos. This would make these types of people envious that they don't seem to have what others do. Also when people post statuses and the number of likes and comments seem to give a measure of popularity, some people may get like 30 comments and 20 likes for instance. Another thing that won't make those loners feel any better. PS, I use facebook alot but that's only to maintain some of my valued connections. Also some people say some weird random stuff on there.

[EvangelionZeta]

I wouldn't be able to live if I didn't have Facebook to assist me in the tracking of 1200+ people's movements <3

[ShortBlackChick]

I use it to inform anyone of my friends who cares (not many) about the domestic disturbances in my neighbourhood and the drug raids down the street and the stupid things my mum says or does. I also use it to stalk people and to mock their amateur photography using the aid of a common bathroom mirror and a mobile phone.
I just LOVE when people do this "like and I'll rate out of ten' shit.
The 'Biffles' get: "OMG BABEEZ YOU KNOW HOW MUCH I LOVE YOU YOU'RE SOOOO HOT YOUR GAWJUSS HUN 3197382473874297 OUT OF 10"

[happycat]

I wouldn't be able to live if I didn't have Facebook to assist me in the tracking of 1200+ people's movements <3

Wow, that's dedication.

[abd123]

lol too much real life here, facebook has superior and inferior socialists. The Superior socialists can be viewed as Narcissitic, they to love themselves so much they are willing to put in over 200 photos of themselves in facebook, whilst the inferior socialist will check more of what the Superior socialist have of what they don't have, numbers of friends, updates/wall, photos of 'going out to places' and more friends which would make the inferiors feel more miserable. The Inferior Socialist are known as being entirely opposite and opposed to have the Superior Socialist have in facebook.

We should make a thread on "facebook Narcissism", it'd be a really interesting topic to discuss on.

But anyways

Facebook=popularity contest.

[EvangelionZeta]

^^what can I say, I just have a compulsive tendency to stalk...

(for the record, this is all a joke.  ...  Maybe...)

[dc302]

^ Suure.

[paulsterio]

I just LOVE when people do this "like and I'll rate out of ten' shit.

i'll make that status later, you better like it

[ShortBlackChick]

Done!
What are you going to give me?

[happycat]

lol too much real life here, facebook has superior and inferior socialists. The Superior socialists can be viewed as Narcissitic, they to love themselves so much they are willing to put in over 200 photos of themselves in facebook, whilst the inferior socialist will check more of what the Superior socialist have of what they don't have, numbers of friends, updates/wall, photos of 'going out to places' and more friends which would make the inferiors feel more miserable. The Inferior Socialist are known as being entirely opposite and opposed to have the Superior Socialist have in facebook.

We should make a thread on "facebook Narcissism", it'd be a really interesting topic to discuss on.

But anyways

Facebook=popularity contest.

+1, Facebook=Popularity contest