Social Media use

[Scepticalscribe]

I have never had a FB account, but I do use Twitter - it is useful for keeping up with some of the political stuff I am interested in.

I have a LinkedIn account but use it rarely - chiefly to contact former colleagues - and never post.

 

[yaxomoxay]

I do use Twitter - it is useful for keeping up with some of the political stuff I am interested in.

I don't know how you cope with the anger displayed on that platform.

 

[Mac'nCheese]

I deleted my Facebook account after a decade. I was just addicted to it and at the same time hated it. Same crap. Same pictures of cats. Very little I was interested in from my friends. If anything really funny or gossipy is posted, someone will usually just text me the details so I don’t miss it at all. I don’t use anything else like twitter or instagram.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

No FB, no Twitter, no Instagram, 'no nothing' of that kind.

 

[chown33]

I’m with @velocityg4 - if posting on MR doesn’t count then I don’t use social media at all. I’ve never signed up for FB, Instagram, Twitter, or any of them.

It kinda makes sense though; I have no friends and I pretty much hate everyone. No exceptions.

Like the Groucho Marx quote: "I don't want to belong to any club that will accept people like me as a member."

Or there's the Misanthropy Club, with 8325 members, and 8325 local chapters.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I don't know how you cope with the anger displayed on that platform.

In general, I use it for information, and to inform oneself - some political people and journalists write material that you will not find elsewhere, and, when working abroad, it is an excellent way to find out about the "informal" political space an the thoughts and attitudes that inform it, when in a particular country.

Thus, I follow some of the more interesting journalists, some academics, writers, and indeed political people, and some politicians.

There are some very good blogs that one can be directed to which I would otherwise not have been aware of.

The more insane end of Twitter, I stay well away from.

 

[AngerDanger]

I don't know how you cope with the anger displayed on that platform.

The trick is not letting it consume you. Don't let anger become your identi—

Oh… man…

 

[yaxomoxay]

In general, I use it for information, and to inform oneself - some political people and journalists write material that you will not find elsewhere, and, when working abroad, it is an excellent way to find out about the "informal" political space an the thoughts and attitudes that inform it, when in a particular country.

Thus, I follow some of the more interesting journalists, some academics, writers, and indeed political people, and some politicians.

There are some very good blogs that one can be directed to which I would otherwise not have been aware of.

The more insane end of Twitter, I stay well away from.

I commend you for you ability to stay far from the snakes on Twitter.
I always - always! - make the unforgivable mistake of reading the comments/replies.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I commend you for you ability to stay far from the snakes on Twitter.
I always - always! - make the unforgivable mistake of reading the comments/replies.

I try to, and I usually - not always - succeed.

However, on Brexit, for example, it is exceedingly interesting; many of those who are playing a role in this have Twitter accounts and some of these are very interesting, and a lot less guarded than some of their more formal, and public statements might be.

Likewise, some of the better journalists, analysts, and commentators write pieces - sometimes on blogs which they link - that are well worth reading, yet would remain undiscovered had I not come across them on Twitter.

However, - apart from Twitter, where I am not terribly active - this site is where I could be considered to use social media.

 

[samiwas]

It just seems odd seeing people constantly pulling out their phone for some social media fix rather than living in the moment while hanging out with friends. I just don't see what they are getting out of it.

Well, I can fill you in. I have a bunch of friends from college i still keep in touch with. We live in all corners of the country. Emailing or calling is a little more involved than I would do on a regular basis, and I don’t get to visit them since they’re all over the place.

Beyond that, I spent 7 years after college touring the world with entertainment productions. I made hundreds of friends from all over the world. I like to see what they’re up to these days. Most aren’t good enough friends that I’m going to call them on a regular basis, but it’s cool to see what part of the world they’re in or what new show they’re working on.

So yeah...a lot of my friends aren’t people that I see on a regular basis or hang out with at the coffee shop. They’re a bunch of people spread all over the world who I have an interest in following. Plus, I work so much now that I rarely have time to hang out with people...I barely see my own family!

On that note, I have only a Facebook account and am active in some forums. I dont have Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or any of that stuff.

 

[arkitect]

Well, I can fill you in. I have a bunch of friends from college i still keep in touch with. We live in all corners of the country. Emailing or calling is a little more involved than I would do on a regular basis, and I don’t get to visit them since they’re all over the place.

Beyond that, I spent 7 years after college touring the world with entertainment productions. I made hundreds of friends from all over the world. I like to see what they’re up to these days. Most aren’t good enough friends that I’m going to call them on a regular basis, but it’s cool to see what part of the world they’re in or what new show they’re working on.

So yeah...a lot of my friends aren’t people that I see on a regular basis or hang out with at the coffee shop. They’re a bunch of people spread all over the world who I have an interest in following. Plus, I work so much now that I rarely have time to hang out with people...I barely see my own family!

Exactly.
You described my own FaceBook use.

It is not about the people I see day in day out — though you do get some people who are Social Media addicts…

I have friends and family scattered around the globe. We stay in touch that way… not every "event" is phone call or email worthy.

 

[eyoungren]

No offence taken, but I think most of MR knows very little about my private life compared to being on FB.
For example Apple fanboy isn’t my real name!

I don't doubt that.

My point is that, however private one is, engaging with others online reveals things about yourself. Personal details aside, one can get a good assumption about a person based on what they say over time.

My wife does not engage online for this reason - ever. She doesn't want people knowing her opinions, her thoughts on things and what she may own or not own depending on the type of forum she visits. She gets upset when I post photos of her tacos. Her cooking is personal to her.

So by private, you probably meant details like your home address, real name and your phone number. And sure, if you never hand those out or hint at anything then you're pretty anonymous. But I'm arguing that even without those details what you do or say online can profile you. Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's intentionally misleading - but it's out there if someone takes the time to piece things together.

That may or may not be personal enough to bother you or other people. What's personal and private to one may not be to another and we all make choices. But you can't engage online with others without revealing something about yourself, even if it's impersonal or doesn't bother you if someone else knows it.
[doublepost=1552516991][/doublepost]

@eyoungren was talking about needing to have/use Twitter for T-Mobile support (T-Force). That would frustrate me.
In other words, T-Mobile are saying everyone has to use social media to obtain support. To me they, T-Mobile, should offer a choice...

T-Mobile gives you a choice. You can chat online, call or go in-store.

I use T-Force because it short-circuits the front-line customer service gatekeepers. These people follow a script, are never empowered to help you and in most cases have problems speaking English.

So going direct to T-Force allows me to avoid all that because T-Force is empowered to fix your problems. They use Facebook and Twitter and I'm not on Facebook anymore so that meant Twitter.

 

[SDColorado]

I deleted my Facebook account after a decade. I was just addicted to it and at the same time hated it. Same crap. Same pictures of cats. Very little I was interested in from my friends. If anything really funny or gossipy is posted, someone will usually just text me the details so I don’t miss it at all. I don’t use anything else like twitter or instagram.

I have debated deleting my FB account. I log into it maybe twice a month. Same for Twitter. I think the only reason I don't is because I still have friends who are somehow oblivious to the fact that other chat/messenger services exist other than FB Messenger for the non-iPhone crowd.

 

[Apple fanboy]

I don't doubt that.

My point is that, however private one is, engaging with others online reveals things about yourself. Personal details aside, one can get a good assumption about a person based on what they say over time.

My wife does not engage online for this reason - ever. She doesn't want people knowing her opinions, her thoughts on things and what she may own or not own depending on the type of forum she visits. She gets upset when I post photos of her tacos. Her cooking is personal to her.

So by private, you probably meant details like your home address, real name and your phone number. And sure, if you never hand those out or hint at anything then you're pretty anonymous. But I'm arguing that even without those details what you do or say online can profile you. Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's intentionally misleading - but it's out there if someone takes the time to piece things together.

That may or may not be personal enough to bother you or other people. What's personal and private to one may not be to another and we all make choices. But you can't engage online with others without revealing something about yourself, even if it's impersonal or doesn't bother you if someone else knows it.
[doublepost=1552516991][/doublepost]
T-Mobile gives you a choice. You can chat online, call or go in-store.

I use T-Force because it short-circuits the front-line customer service gatekeepers. These people follow a script, are never empowered to help you and in most cases have problems speaking English.

So going direct to T-Force allows me to avoid all that because T-Force is empowered to fix your problems. They use Facebook and Twitter and I'm not on Facebook anymore so that meant Twitter.

I only share certain things. But even if you mined all my posts, what you put together isn’t going to amount to that much. And more importantly no one knows who I am.

I’m not really worried about privacy in that sense, as I really have nothing to hide. But FB is taking your location, opinions, likes and dislikes and selling those on to advertisers.

I like Nikon products. I own quite a few. Do I want to have an alert every time I walk past a camera shop? No. If I need a product I will buy one when I want it.

Also no future employer is going to search my timeline and see the time I went out and got drunk etc (not that I do stuff like that, but plenty do).

I don’t have alerts on my phone accept from iMessage and email. The email address that pings my phone is rarely used, so I don’t get spam there. Same with my phone number.

I literally sit in meetings where people can’t resist looking at their phone as it pings all the time.
Very unprofessional. I have to be honest and say they are usually the younger employees.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

...My point is that, however private one is, engaging with others online reveals things about yourself. Personal details aside, one can get a good assumption about a person based on what they say over time...

It is correct.

...So by private, you probably meant details like your home address, real name and your phone number. And sure, if you never hand those out or hint at anything then you're pretty anonymous. But I'm arguing that even without those details what you do or say online can profile you. Maybe it's wrong, maybe it's intentionally misleading - but it's out there if someone takes the time to piece things together...

It should be noted that all information collected about an anonymous member in such a forum (true or false) can not be connected to a real identity, unlike in case of FB. It means that this pile of data or profile, if you like, remains in a black hole , i.e. is unidentified, thus is valueless and harmless.
And this is where Apple fanboy is right.

 

[Tech198]

After reading another thread about smartphone device use, the conversation lead towards Social Media use.

With that, I am curious if anyone simply does not use Social Media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etcetera)?
If yes, any particular reason why?

I have stayed off Twitter and Instagram, for about 5-6 months now. And, I have been seriously considering just deleting my accounts.

Anyway, merely conversing here...

Never used any of them, but my parents do.. but only because her friends are on..

It's an instant reaction... someone who has never used something can take a better reaction than someone who is "trying" to get away from it.

 

[Ifti]

No FaceBook
No Instragram
No Twitter
No anything else

I have never used any of them.
I have registered to them when they were new to see what the hype was about, but I have never actually used any of them. I don't want to publicise my life. I'm happy to stay well away.
If a website wants me to login using Facebook credentials, then I just skip that site. If they cant give me a 'standard' login then I'll move elsewhere.
I do have a YouTube channel, but again its product reviews only, nothing more.

 

[arkitect]

In 2013, I was trying to book our first trip using AirBnB…

I was flagged as suspicious since I didn't have an "active" FaceBook account.

Jesus wept, the long distance phone calls to California trying to convince them that I am an actual genuine living breathing human being…
Finally they settled for me recording a short video.

Haven't had that bother since, so they may have changed things.

Edit:
Just did a search and seems I wasn't the only one.

I didn’t have enough Facebook friends to prove to Airbnb I was real
Link

 

[Scepticalscribe]

In 2013, I was trying to book our first trip using AirBnB…

I was flagged as suspicious since I didn't have an "active" FaceBook account.

Jesus wept, the long distance phone calls to California trying to convince them that I am an actual genuine living breathing human being…
Finally they settled for me recording a short video.

Haven't had that bother since, so they may have changed things.

Edit:
Just did a search and seems I wasn't the only one.

I didn’t have enough Facebook friends to prove to Airbnb I was real
Link

Gosh.

Thanks for posting that link - I have read it with appalled and amused dismay as well as closely perusing your post.

What an awful depressing world view, that one can rent a place only if one can demonstrate a FB account and a sufficient number of "friends."

Several years ago, when upgrading a phone, and having the salesperson transfer the relevant data from the old to the new phone (contacts etc) I recall the stupefied reaction of the salesperson: "You only have forty something contacts?"

Yes, I am careful about giving out such contact details and yes, only those whom I need to have in my contacts (friends, family, doctor, gardener, cleaning lady, wine merchant, cheesemonger, occasional colleagues, - though normally they are reached - and can reach me via a phone issued from work, and, when I finish in a place, most of those numbers are not retained by me.)

 

[eyoungren]

It is correct.

It should be noted that all information collected about an anonymous member in such a forum (true or false) can not be connected to a real identity, unlike in case of FB. It means that this pile of data or profile, if you like, remains in a black hole , i.e. is unidentified, thus is valueless and harmless.
And this is where Apple fanboy is right.

I wasn't saying Apple fanboy is wrong. Just that being online means surrendering a certain manner of privacy.

Everyone's comfort level is different.

 

[Scepticalscribe]

I wasn't saying Apple fanboy is wrong. Just that being online means surrendering a certain manner of privacy.

Everyone's comfort level is different.

While that is true, my concern is more with the companies, corporations and demographics who encourage, or are encouraged, the belief that the very concept of privacy is redundant, impossibly old-fashioned, and ought to be jettisoned.

I am not sure that it is possible to have any sort of professional existence in our world without some manner of engagement with social media (email is the obvious one), - and even there, boundaries can be set and enforced, but, in one's private life, the expectation that one would want to share or wish to share every detail one's life strikes me as excessive and almost offensively intrusive.

 

[Ulenspiegel]

I wasn't saying Apple fanboy is wrong...

Let's put it in a different way: he had a sound argument.

...Just that being online means surrendering a certain manner of privacy...

There is no disagreement between us in this respect as was outlined in post #40.

 

[AlliFlowers]

I have been an active Twitter user since Twitter began. AAMOF, that's where I first met @ivanwi11iams. My PLN is on Twitter, and educators have adopted it for lots of uses (some of which I dislike). Educators are also quite fond of Facebook groups, so I do open Facebook regularly for that.

 

[yaxomoxay]

What an awful depressing world view, that one can rent a place only if one can demonstrate a FB account and a sufficient number of "friends."

If it only stopped there. Apparently now hiring companies want to check your FB... by gaining access to your FB account. That is, they want the password and check anything private on it. It's insane. While certainly I don't mind checking someone's public account (I mean, that's what someone willfully put on the air so it's fair for them to check it) I totally oppose them gaining access to your social media actual account.
[doublepost=1552573806][/doublepost]Social Media influencer Casey Neistat just made a video against the use of social media:

 

[BigMcGuire]

I joined Facebook and Twitter many many years ago. I rarely used them. My wife uses Facebook a lot more than I do. I rarely checked Facebook. I found my high school class used only facebook to send out our 10 year reunion notices. This upset me a little because they assumed that everyone uses facebook - I missed this because of that, but honestly, I didn't mind all that much. The few friends I was close to - we keep in touch via email, in person meetings, and messengers.

I deleted my Facebook account last year. I quit all social media and Google last year as well (not to say I was involved much in social media). But removing myself from Google took about 10+ months of work.

Why? I am not a privacy nut or some political whacko, I just didn't like that I depended on one company for everything.

Why did I quit Facebook? It is a cesspool of human ****. People intentionally behave and act to get attention. This type of behavior disgusts me a lot. Especially when our current president announced his candidacy, I couldn't stand all the **** there, especially from relatives blasting articles that were obviously fake every 5 minutes.

My family is on a group chat (whatsapp). I communicate with them that way. iMessage is used with my wife.

The best thing I liked about Facebook? There was a news group for the high desert that was far more accurate and relevant than local news. VVNG (Victor Valley News Group) - run by some great people who tried to keep it clean.

I spend more time here than I've ever spent on Facebook by an 8x factor. I really should be worki.... I mean no, I'm not at work right now. <cough>.

2019 - my goal is to read 2 books a month and spend a lot less time "online" - I've read 2 300+ pagers so far... Only read 7 books last year .