On the radio yesterday, Fatty and I were listening to this Hindi show called Yaadon ka Idiot Box. Neelesh Misra was narrating an episode of a story called Facebook Expert. The protagonist - Bajrangi bhaiyya - is striving immensely hard to make his presence felt on Facebook. In yesterday's episode, he approaches a Facebook "expert" who persuades him to change his profile name to Yo Yo Bobby Singh in order to appear cooler to the masses. YYBS's struggle for approval and the lengths he is willing to go to to obtain them are both funny and sad at the same time.
Facebook used to be a biggish part of my social (and antisocial) life a few years ago, so I'm not surprised it was the first topic on the letter for today that popped into my mind. I used to live and move and have my being on Facebook back in the day. Hmm, yesterday's storytelling may have had something to do with it too.
I'm not really active on Facebook these days, because most of the features I used frequently have deconstructed into other services like Twitter and Instagram (which I use till I bruise). Add to that Facebook's constantly changing UI, which is meant to be a good thing, except for people who don't like change. I'm one of them (people, not changes); my senses feel violated when anything I'm most comfortable with is touched, tweaked, changed or removed without my knowledge or permission.
However, as Facebook is not my personally owned possession or asset, I've gladly let it go and moved on in life. (I don't think it's coming back either..) I haven't abandoned my Facebook account so far, and I don't think I ever will, though I have done exactly so to my Hi5 and Orkut accounts in the past. I have dropped them like the proverbial hot potato.. I hope such days don't come upon Facebook.
People share hilarious and not-so-hilarious things on my TL all the time, and I get to judge them without even having to interact with them. That can be fun when there is nothing else to do. I could still connect with some or all of the 700+ people on my friend list; that I choose not to is a different matter altogether. Facebook still remembers birthdays for me, and that is truly a boon. Whether I actually end up wishing these people happy and doling out God's blessings to them is another question.
So yes, I sign into my Facebook account about once every two days despite the Like/ Unlike overload, the Pokes/ prods of random strangers, idiotic people trying to engage me in Turn On chat, etc.
Life itself can be quite annoying when you look at it closely, and Facebook is hardly any competition. What I really don't get is what's with all these Facebook haters? I see people dissing Facebook users on other social sites, and I just don't get the connection. I know they're entitled to their opinions and all that, but to what extent and cost? How is someone else staying up all night to harvest artichokes or even to hump their cows making them any difference?
If you're not actively exercising your right to Hide, Block and/ or Unfriend people, you're doing Facebook wrong. On the other hand, if you're only ever moaning and whining at happy Facebookworms, you're doing life itself wrong. Why can't we all just deal with things and live peaceably with fellow social inhabitants we don't even give a damn about?
Sadly, this is applicable to all venues of social networking. Facebook is the current deer caught in the headlights. This too shall pass, my deer, this too shall pass.
- F for Facebook (My A to Z Challenge)
Facebook used to be a biggish part of my social (and antisocial) life a few years ago, so I'm not surprised it was the first topic on the letter for today that popped into my mind. I used to live and move and have my being on Facebook back in the day. Hmm, yesterday's storytelling may have had something to do with it too.
I'm not really active on Facebook these days, because most of the features I used frequently have deconstructed into other services like Twitter and Instagram (which I use till I bruise). Add to that Facebook's constantly changing UI, which is meant to be a good thing, except for people who don't like change. I'm one of them (people, not changes); my senses feel violated when anything I'm most comfortable with is touched, tweaked, changed or removed without my knowledge or permission.
However, as Facebook is not my personally owned possession or asset, I've gladly let it go and moved on in life. (I don't think it's coming back either..) I haven't abandoned my Facebook account so far, and I don't think I ever will, though I have done exactly so to my Hi5 and Orkut accounts in the past. I have dropped them like the proverbial hot potato.. I hope such days don't come upon Facebook.
People share hilarious and not-so-hilarious things on my TL all the time, and I get to judge them without even having to interact with them. That can be fun when there is nothing else to do. I could still connect with some or all of the 700+ people on my friend list; that I choose not to is a different matter altogether. Facebook still remembers birthdays for me, and that is truly a boon. Whether I actually end up wishing these people happy and doling out God's blessings to them is another question.
So yes, I sign into my Facebook account about once every two days despite the Like/ Unlike overload, the Pokes/ prods of random strangers, idiotic people trying to engage me in Turn On chat, etc.
Life itself can be quite annoying when you look at it closely, and Facebook is hardly any competition. What I really don't get is what's with all these Facebook haters? I see people dissing Facebook users on other social sites, and I just don't get the connection. I know they're entitled to their opinions and all that, but to what extent and cost? How is someone else staying up all night to harvest artichokes or even to hump their cows making them any difference?
If you're not actively exercising your right to Hide, Block and/ or Unfriend people, you're doing Facebook wrong. On the other hand, if you're only ever moaning and whining at happy Facebookworms, you're doing life itself wrong. Why can't we all just deal with things and live peaceably with fellow social inhabitants we don't even give a damn about?
Sadly, this is applicable to all venues of social networking. Facebook is the current deer caught in the headlights. This too shall pass, my deer, this too shall pass.
- F for Facebook (My A to Z Challenge)
No comments:
Post a Comment