When the subject of Facebook comes up in conversation, you get the idea that while some people love it, others detest it. There is no doubt that Mark Zuckerberg’s college creation — initially designed to rate Harvard girls for his fellow classmates — has changed society.
The question many of us ask is, “Is that good or bad?”
What do you think? Is the world better off because of Facebook? Or not. Please feel free to leave a comment.
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Basically Facebook is nothing more than an electronic version of the old gossip fence. Instead of women leaning on the fence and gossiping now everyone does it.
People go thru great pains to ensure that make others think their house is occupied while they are gone. They leave lights on, even putting them on timers. They leave tvs on, they stop the paper, they stop the mail and even have someone ” keep an eye on things. THEN they get on Face book and tell the world where they are each day and when they expect to return.
Face book is a contributing factor to why people don’t talk anymore. Why call anyone when you can put the info on Facebook and ” SAVE” several phone calls.
OH YES….the whole world wants to see the pictures of people we will never know or even meet in a chance encounter.
FAKEBOOK is one of the MOST Socially Destructive media sites on the planet! Does more harm than good! It is the main reason I DO NOT AND NEVER WILL participate in the Dribble of this worthless media outlet!
I have often wondered what would happen if FAKEBOOK was no longer on the Air?? People jumping off bridges and committing suicide all over the world! Darwins Law at its best!
Have never used facebook and likely never will.
I don’t think Facebook has made the world a better place, nor do I think it is totally worthless. I restrict myself to friends and family and it is always fun to see and hear what they have been doing.
I tried FB once for about a month. Found the site mgmt. very political biased. Realized quickly what a huge waste of time it was. Was I to have sympathy for the grandmother of someone I did not know that was constipated. The biggest time waster in the world.
I think Facebook has made the world a worse place. It has reduced privacy and allowed others to become stalkers or vent their anger.
I agree. I have a young daughter, traveled, posted pics of places visited. Then, I realized she was getting messages related to places she had been, ads for products related. She was about twelve at the time, and had no Facebook or social media. I stopped posting, erased all Facebook content, never again on any social media, it’s not worth giving up privacy and exposing loved ones to “danger”. BEWARE! These people running your account do not have your safety in mind, just to sell your info for more billions!
I have no doubt Facebook will take a beating in this poll. The simple reason is most RV’ers are of the age that they were young slightly before the computer age, and therefore unlikely to utilize or understand the benefits offered by computers, smartphones, or Facebook. At least that is my experience with many friends my age. As for me. I’m retired and travel frequently. I winter in the South. Daily I post pictures of things I am doing. Daily my children post pictures of things they are doing. They see the places I see, as I see them. They see the food I eat while I am still eating it. I see the same for them. I see my grandkids school activities and friends. They see people I meet. We communicate several times daily, perhaps not by voice, but by word and thought. Going past family, I have reconnected with many classmates and past friends via Facebook. And I keep in contact with new friends I have made. Yesterday one friend happily posted pictures of his new RV, and I got to see it the day he bought it, all from a thousand miles away. I could go on but it would be redundant. Facebook can tear people apart, yes. But used correctly it can also bring family and friends much closer together.
You can do all of that with a decent email program
So most RV’ers were left on the other side of the digital divide, but not you? You are the RVing master of Wi-fi 6, 5G and a beta tester of Android 11.
The readers of RV Travel are older, but they aren’t the only RV’ers. You just joined a mostly 65+ community of RV’ers. You seem to have pigeon-holed the lot of us.
I dislike FaceBook* (FB) because of how it is often used, but recognize it can have tremendous benefit. Unfortunately, for many people, FB all about me. My perfect breakfast, my family, my travels, my conspicuous consumption, my facts/politics (and often “to hell with yours”).
Many new cameras (in cell phones) will only present the picture where all people are smiling. It is recording, and finally when it captures that rare frame, that’s what you get. You wouldn’t want a picture on FB without all smiles any more than you’d tell people you are mildly constipated many days or your spouse is having an affair, again.
If you were lucky enough to grow up in a small, more remote town, you learned to accept the uniqueness and weirdness of your neighbors, classmates, the pharmacist or grocer. They were your only community. Today people often don’t know their next door neighbors. Their community on FB consists of people who are more and more like them.
*FB is just a tool, and not the only one. WeChat is the tool FB keeps trying to catch up with. Tools came about as soon as Al Gore invented Arpanet. (Ok, he only promoted legislation that helped expand Arpanet, the predecessor to the internet.) The first BBS (bulletin board servers) were 42 years ago, and communication tools connecting vast numbers of people are part of multiple generations.
Note: The old order Amish and Mennonites choose to live a simple life, without all the modern “conveniences”. They know about them, but make a choice. Some Mennonite communities use technology (computers, cell phones, cars), but on their own terms. I think the RV’ers from “slightly before the computer age” (as you broadly categorized) make their choice not to pick up a cell phone every 30 seconds to check the latest notification. Maybe they understand more than you give them credit for.
Facebook or lack of effective regulation regarding interactive technology? Unfortunately, the horse was out the gate before we fully started understanding the impact of Information Technology. We still do not fully understand it’s capabilities but it is clear that a resource developed to ‘help’ humanity is running us, we are not running it.
FB is a cesspool. why? any organization that runs a poll of users asking whether “men seeking boys” ads
I say it’s true because I’ve been able to connect with friends and family that I would not have otherwise had the opportunity to.
Use an encrypted email service to accomplish the same thing. Its safer.
All social media is worthless. Just a bunch of spineless people making negative comments about people that they don’t have the guts to say to their face.
Stu, buddy, this is social media . . .
Stu, why are you even looking at the “negativity?” Don’t you have family, siblings, friends to connect with?
Whoa! Someone needs to choose their FB friends more carefully or not make their posts public.
I’m with you Stu. While I really like going through the various RV oriented pages and have learned so much, it gets old real fast when the keyboard commandos start running their yap. Saying things from the safety of their internet connection that they would never say to someones face for fear of getting punched in the mouth! You learn to scroll on by and ignore the internet trolls!
Facebook started off as a medium to help people keep in touch with friends – you know, like people USED to do in actual person. But upon seeing the connectivity and potential of expanding their efforts, nefarious and criminal and unscrupulous individuals, organizations and governments began using it to multiply their MISinformation. And hackers to spread computer malware. Me do Facebook?: no thank you!
Overall my answer is “No” but I enjoy the family and friends aspect. Since we are on the road most of the year I am able to keep up with what my family and friends are doing no matter where they are. I tend to ignore most other postings.
I think Facebook is an asset for the following reasons. It allows reconnection with long-lost classmates and childhood friends, many pets are returned to their owners through Facebook, calls for help for local families in need, easy avenue for neighborhood news to be disseminated, etc. I think the positives by far outnumber the negatives.
Prior to Facebook your daughter could not share a photo of your granddaughter/son right after she took it. The places you went, the things you did and even the food you eat could only be seen by sitting down and watching a boring slide show or passing around a photo album. Our kids and grandkids can follow our travels and we can see what they are doing thanks to Facebook. If postcards and letters are your form of communication in 2019, then YES, you really are old. Are there negative sides to FB, hell yes, but connecting with family and friends out weighs those negatives.
I think email can be used for the same purposes. No reason you could not have sent a baby picture by email 10 years ago, and even without a smartphone! I don’t need Fbook to do any of what you describe.
And neither could your 15-year-old niece share selfies of her looking like a …
well …. a model. (Yeah, that’s it.)
[shaking head, no it wasn’t.]
I love the connection with family & friends. Hate the political CRAP
Sadly social media, including Facebook, has been abused and is easy to abuse. What people say and do and come back to haunt them the rest of their lives, unfortunately over 30% of police candidates fail their background investigation, because of their activities shown on Facebook.
We got off Facebook and Social Media eight years ago and have never regretted doing so.
Another reason not to use FB or ANY other social media sites.
If police candidates fail background checks because of their activities on social media, then perhaps they shouldn’t be allowed to become a peace officer. If a person shows you who they are, believe them.
This is the first survey that I was totally at a loss for how to respond. Yes, I like FB and I’m on it daily and have located lots of lost friends. I also have a private FB page for our RV’g that is shared with family and close friends only. BUT, I wanted to answer No because I hate the fake news and the politics and the way it has divided family and friends. I have defriended a number of people because I don’t care to have their political views shoved down my throat. What happened to the era where we didn’t know or care what political affiliation you were? I look forward to the day when a new medium will replace FB.
Have you also noticed in the last year or two that the younger generation does not use FB? The majority of users are the baby boomers.
The ONLY “social media” I enjoy is RVTravel.com. I do no care at all what someone had to eat, or what they saw at the Grand Canyon, or quite frankly, almost anything., If you have a new grand kid, call me or write me a letter or email if you really care about me. My wife decided she thot she needed a smart phone so we got a inexpensive one. One night she got a text stating “did you enjoy your diner at Steak n Shake?” The next day was a text, “did you have a good experience at Joann fabrics?’ What the heck? We turned it off and took the battery out – who was following us around? A friend found some sort of GPS thing or something on the phone and removed it for us. Only stupid people should have smart phones because they seem to like to video their crimes and let the cops know who they are and where to find them.
Sorry for the soap box and if you like your social media that is fine with me. Don’t ask me about cable TV. OH, I’m not on Face Book.
I like the idea of the private pages, but I haven’t stayed on FB long enough to figure out how to set one up. So, no thanks.
There are a great deal of positive benefits that has come from Facebook and other social media.
Name one.
I am not Bill, but to name one benefit, I can easily connect with church members and friends to share prayer needs and testimonies, especially now while we cant go to church.
Are you on the Church site or your personal FB page?
And if it is the church, how do they secure your information? I’m not bashing churches. Ours use it to. I just don’t participate thru that medium. There is Sunday, Wednesday and there are numerous email opportunities. We also use the phone. And we live blocks away from the church.
Sure, FB makes it easy to stay in touch or reconnect with folks, it also provides an unfiltered medium by which half truths and untruths can fly with equal energy as truth. It is often a great waste of time. Not to mention the “phishing” opportunities it provides and the fact that it’s subscribers are the “product” for those who profit financially from “the book of faces”.
Facebook and all social media collection sites are for the chronic emotionally derelict.
They are sites for the ego driven folks that have nothing else to say that might benefit the rest of us.
I totally agree with this post. I refuse to use Facebook and deal with the complainers, morons and self pity people.
Facebook basically is place where insecure people can show how apparently great there live is. Most post pictures of there homes, fancy cars and the latest $10,000 vacation they just borrowed money for. As far as keeping in touch with family and friends how about a private email or text or oh know a phone call.
Facebook has the possibility to be something great. But in most cases, people shy away from the truth, politics, and social issues. Big mistake, and because of that, Facebook has taken on the look of frivolous postings, false identities, and information.
If I remember correctly, Facebook was instrumental in political change in both Turkey and Eygpt. It could do wonders for much of the world but the internet in general, the greatest library in the world has not been utilized. Why? We as educators and parents have not educated our children on the use of this great tool.
I use the internet and Facebook groups related to education and teaching, in my everyday research. It’s a shame that so many people here see it in another light and some of that may have to do with their age group.
I beg to differ with you on age group, I’m 75 and tech savvy. It has to do with distrust and a mindset opposed to anything new in many cases…
Facebook exist for only one reason to sell ALL your personal data to ANYBODY with money to buy it.
Another very valid point.
The easy resolution to that is to limit what personal data you list on FB or any other social media outlet. I see people who post entries everywhere they go, I’m at the Bowl, I’m checking in at the mall, etc. There are others that post all their personal business and feelings everyday. To me that is not the smart thing to do, and not to be nasty, but whatever happens because of all the info posted, is deserved…
Been on Facebook for many years. I keep a small circle of considerate “friends” who enjoy easy communication, exchange of family photos, humor, news and also limited politics. I’ve had to unfriend one or two people, but that’s easy to do to maintain positive interactions. Maybe those who don’t like FB should try Instagram, other options, or stick to letter writing, phone calls or whatever works for them. Not a problem.
I have mixed feelings. Yes, I like keeping in touch with friends. BUT I have no control over what friends see my feed due to FB’s algorhythms. FB controls that, not me. And speaking of control, they regularly censor material they think is controversial or “false”. It’s really not for them to determine, but they do it. I also know that people can’t read your “tone of voice” in postings and often misunderstand what you are saying. You have to be aware of all these things. It really gets frustrating at times.
Negative on FB. How many times have they been hacked? How many individuals are stalked? How many younger (and a few older) persons put their personal and sensitive information on FB in their profiles?
The reason most older persons refuse to use it is because they see and understand the potential dangers. Younger folks are niave and don’t understand the risk. You can tell them and show them til you are blue in the face. They are invincible or they don’t believe it will ever happen to them. All they have to do is watch what is already going on.
If you want to share with family, use an encrypted email service. It does the exact same thing. You can create groups. You can post pictures. You get instant notification on your phone if you IMAP your account. You get to choose who reads it and who doesn’t. Criminals are not looking at encrypted services. Like a house, they look for the easy way in
Yes, encrption costs a few bucks. The service we subscribe to is $9 a month. Its well worth your security.
No opinion. I use FB and have for several years. It keeps me in contact with many friends I don’t get to see. It has its problems and what dosen’t. If we fear it, what else do we hide from. I refuse to be a recluse for fear of change.
Got off three years ago and do not miss it. It’s a wonderful tool for animal rescues and some business. But that’s about it as far as I’m concerned. I hate nosy people.
The survey needs a “Maybe” or Sort of”. A lot of great info on some sites but a lot of BS also!
This is a loaded question. I enjoy facebook as it is a fun place to chatter with friends. But as many have said, to many people use it a a vehicle to be mean and nasty and WAY to many people put much more personal info out there than anyone should.
What most people don’t realize is facebook is a giant advertising vehicle where you get bombarded with never ending ads and the data mined is used to send you ads in your email in-box.
It is perfectly good to use IF you are smart and make sure you keep your personal data to a minimum and don’t be a faceless jerk.
I have logged out of Facebook after watching respectable “grown ups” destroy another person’s life just because she did not agree with their “opinion”. I also have more free time to enjoy nature and learning about real things around me. On a side note, the people I work with everyday enjoy the “facebook drama“. It was once a great tool but now being misused.
I am not a fan of “Farsebook” at all.People have lost their job, been broken into when they say they are on vacation, tons of misinformation, and the list goes on and on..I do not have an account, and probably never will…
Facebook has been good and bad to improve the world. It is bias to a liberal slant, and does tend to bring out the worst more then the best in people.
Never thought of it that way. Of course I and my friends mostly use it to post pictures of family and to wish each other happy birthday. Other than that I belong to special interest groups that were helpful such as asking out to swap out a trigger assembly on a pistol or advice on cabin locations for a cruise.
Facebook hit the streets when i was in my late 20’s. I was on Myspace shortly however deleted that account in 2007. Never got on Facebook. It seemed to me years ago that it had a massive potential to hijack my daily life, and exploit my digital life as well. There are 4 people in my family, one is 16YO, he was not even born when Fb hit, and no one in the house does FB. However we are the exception to the rule i think. An anomoly. I think in order to consider ones true position to Fb or Not, one has to look behind the curtain of the website. because once you see you cannot unsee what it is and how it has manipulated societys general ability to communicate effectivly. While it is mostly said “i just use it to keep up with friends”, the insidious transformation is that generally people who use it regularly are less capable of socializing one on one with other people face to face these days because it has changed the brain synapses of the way people communicate. to each their own.
I refuse to use Facehook, no I did not accidentally misspell it. Too many are hooked on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms. The news you often get is just plain wrong or misleading and rarely fact checked. This is why it is haevily used but Russian trolls and bots. It poorly informed people last election and it is doing it once again. If you just use it for family/friend pictures, looking up old classmates, etc., I don’t think it is bad. However, many, many people get their news on social media and that means you are getting misinformed regularly. It amazes me that the major news networks that have been around for 70 years, ABC, CBS, NBC, AP, PBS etc. are now being called “fake news”. While not perfect, they are highly accurate and very trustworthy.
Or I call it “ Fakebook “ nothing is accurate anymore.
Facebook never have been there and never will. It’s like the national enquires. We have email, text, phone and oh the famous pen and paper and many video chat apps. I dont want pictures, private stuff broadcasted. I think an RVers Friend Site could be cool. To stay in contact with each other but not based with a search engine like Google. Something set up along like Microsoft teams. Has video, chat, friends list within that I would have a name search engine only to find someone within that site. Then you wonder how it would work and I think find because it would be friends talking to friends. Because I have heard my younger son state I just slammed that so and so person that he didn’t even know or sometimes on here it can be a little rough. Friends don’t slam friends it’s called friends for a reason. So no facebook has I only my opinion been destructive to humans as a whole there are many other applications that has helped the world.
I certainly use facebook. I use facebook to communicate with user groups on facebook, keep up with and get in contact with old friends. If we have private matters, we certainly don’t blast it on facebook or any other social media. That’s what we use our cell or email for. I have friends scattered all over the U. S. and Canada and when I see a post from them it’s great. I refuse to let any social media outlet take over my life. In talking to many millennials it seems that social media is the center of their existence. The purpose is not to have thousands of folks on your friends list. For me I believe the number is at 167 currently, because if I don’t know you, haven’t gone to school or worked with you, or met you face to face in a social situation, you are not on my friend list.
Facebook initially made the world a better place. In its first few years it proved that technology can help bring the world a better understanding, bridge cultural gaps, provide insights in real time and a host of other things. Remember after the dot com crash, there was this huge distrust in the “internet”, FB helped legitimize the net again. When it stopped being a force to make a world a better place is when that ***** SuckenBerg monetized the site in order to make huge profits, go IPO and basically lied to everyone and sold out his users. From that day forward, we, you, the users have been used to make money. IN ways most don’t even think of. FB has data that since the dawn of time companies would pay any amount to have access too, and he sold us out and sold our data, all of it to the highest bidder. And yet. 230 million still use it every day. At this point FB is making the world a worse place.
The Las Vegas Police Department says Facebook is the #1 way people get their identities stolen. I don’t have an account and I’m surviving just fine.
FACEBOOK, ALONG WITH CANCER, DROUGHT, OBESITY, RAP MUSIC, OLD AGE AND GOVERNMENT ARE AMONG THINGS MOST WRONG IN THE WORLD TODAY.
You forgot Acid Rock? I bet you spent that stimulus check form the government. SMH.
As I see things, Zuckerberg and Dorsey should both be taken out behind the barn and horsewhipped to the extreme. I don’t do Facebook or other social settings because all the data they collect is held in a recently built large warehouse in China for analysis by commies for who knows why?
I stopped using FB when it no longer let me use a fun and obviously fake user name. When they started asking for a driver’s license or other ID I got off it. And just in time. Shortly after that they had their big publicized data theft/hacking incident. Sorry China, I detest Communism and I’m not going to make it easier for you to track free citizens.
100% NOT! I’m off facebook and will never go back on! I always used the excuse, “Well, I like to keep in touch with my kids and other family members, that’s why I use it.” No longer. My DW keeps her account for that reason, but I don’t go there at all anymore. We do use other technology tho, to keep in touch with family. Marco Polo is our go to app (It’s like a text only uses video) so that way we can see their faces. Yeah, I think if they can pull down any account they want because it doesn’t fit their agenda, then I think WE should be able to pull the plug on facebook. Meaning, take FB down! All it’s done is provide a platform for rude and obnoxious people to push their agendas down everyone’s throat. NOT A FAN!
FB has been grossly overrated from the outset. Collecting info of a private nature is non-essential. No valid explanation justifies it’s collection. There are already enough avenues to track any of us. Zuckerberg didn’t gain millions of dollars through his generosity and love of mankind, it’s a command and control behavior. He and otherrs have abused the sytem, SHUT EM DOWN.
Facebook is a cesspool of vitriol, vanity, narcissism, misinformation (aka lies) and self-indulgence. While it’s true it has the potential to create a sense of community and can be quite useful in helping families stay connected in this day when we tend to be geographically dispersed, the bad unfortunately far exceeds the good. I got off FB two years ago and don’t miss it at all. I might miss out on some information due to some folk’s tendency to assume the whole world is on FB, but I don’t regret my decision one bit.
Facebook was okay a few years back but now it’s garbage. I quit over a year ago and don’t miss it at all.
Left Twitter and Facebook over a year ago. If I want bad opinion’s there is no dearth of places to find it.
It’s blazingly obvious by now that the immense harm Facebook causes far outweighs any positive aspects. FB is being used to divide us and destroy our country. It should be transformed into a means-tested fee for service platform run by an apolitical, neutral, benevolent non-profit. Keep the good, ditch the bad. In it’s current form, FB is evil.
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