Facebook Is A Downer

[xoxoxoBruce]

Scientific American.

However, it doesn’t take much reflection to notice that the way people interact with each other has radically changed in recent years. Much of our contact happens not face-to-face, but rather while staring at screen-based digital representations of each other, with Facebook being the most prominent example. This raises a very fundamental question – how does online interaction with other people differ from interacting with people in person?

One possible way these two interaction styles might differ is through how rewarding we find them to be. Does interacting with Facebook make us feel good as does interacting with people in real life? A recent paper suggests that the answer is “probably not.” In fact, the data from this paper suggest that the more we interact with Facebook, the worse we tend to feel.

[lumberjim]

I think it's good for initiating contact with distant friends. ... either distance distant, or time distant.

I recently contacted a former friend/boss that I had not talked to in 10+ years...We switched to phone and chatted like we used to do at 3am working late shift at Dennys. She lives in Maine now. Heidi.

She is like Brianna. Obnoxious, and awesome. I tried to recruit her to the cellar, but she is off the grid. Only gets online sporadically at the college she works for.

I'd rather speak face to face, but some contact is better than none. And if not for fb, there would have been just that.

[infinite monkey]

Facebook would be good if it weren't for all the assertions that everyone has produced kids made of solid gold, the perfect humans in perfect relationships, all the walks in the park and days by the seashore and perpetual goddamn happiness of every single person on earth. Isn't that what the 'family christmas letters' were for? Fake fake fake fake/elaine benes

it's not for sharing information, it's not for being real...it's a conglomerate of victims of Bill Mumy's Twilight Zone episode: it's a GOOD life. It's all so fucking wonderful. There isn't an ounce of honesty or thought behind any of it.

I disabled my account earlier today. The next step is complete deletion. I found a website to guide me.

I don't need any more fake shit and phony crap. I can just look around in my real world for that. Mostly, I'm not fooled by the modern day equivalent of "look how great I am."

[Aliantha]

I like facebook. It helpe me keep in touch with family who are in other cities or countries. It also gives me a place to store and share pics (mostly of the kids). I think i am pretty real about my content there. Sometimes life is shitty. Sometimes i am trying really hard to convince myself its not. Sometimes life is good.

[John Sellers]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

I disabled my account earlier today. The next step is complete deletion. I found a website to guide me.

I thought Frakbook only allowed account deactivation, not complete deletion.

This is the thing most webmasters don't think about. When a user deactivates, closes, or deletes his or her account, it should be totally erased from a given website's database upon cancellation leaving absolutely no trace. It's be as if that user had never registered at that website. This might mean that if a user decides to re-register an account, he or she will have to re-enter his or her info., but it also has the advantage of allowing the user to start fresh (like I'd like to do on PayPal, Google, Yahoo, and a bunch of other sites).

[DanaC]

I hate the way they draw conclusions about virtual interaction from Facebook.

I find interacting in the virtual sphere really enhances my life - depending on where that interaction is. The Cellar for example has enriched my life enormously and helped me through all sorts of bad times. I enjoy interacting with the people here: I have good friends here.

I find Facebook demoralising and at times depressing. I don't like interacting on there.

It's like judging face to face interaction purely on how you feel at a family gathering at Christmas.

[Griff]

Guess what I joined this week. Gonna have two girls in college next year who I need to keep track of. So far my impression is it looks like a lot of prostylization, baby pictures, and some organization stuff that'd work better texting. If Al Q and the NSA use it, it must be awesome.

[glatt]

I have a love hate relationship with facebook. I post a fair number of pictures on there, mainly for the grandparents to see what's going on. I don't like phone calls, and never call them. So this way they can see what we're up to. I share less than I used to a few years ago. Depends on my mood.

Nobody wants to hear about homework wars or how I hate my job, so I only post the interesting stuff. That skews reality a bit, but so does any communication.

I go back and forth between making my stuff public and trying to target it to specific individuals. Depends on my mood.

I hate how FB follows you around to different sites and recommends connections for you based on all their knowledge and how they track everything you do and sell that information. But I like seeing what my friends are up to and having a convenient place to share pictures.

[infinite monkey]

Originally Posted by John Sellers

I thought Frakbook only allowed account deactivation, not complete deletion.

This is the thing most webmasters don't think about. When a user deactivates, closes, or deletes his or her account, it should be totally erased from a given website's database upon cancellation leaving absolutely no trace. It's be as if that user had never registered at that website. This might mean that if a user decides to re-register an account, he or she will have to re-enter his or her info., but it also has the advantage of allowing the user to start fresh (like I'd like to do on PayPal, Google, Yahoo, and a bunch of other sites).

John, I found information on deletion at this site:

http://www.techhive.com/article/2050...k-account.html

I don't know how thorough it is, but if you want to go back to facebook you are starting from scratch with the deletion. I can still go back and regain my account with deactivating...but I don't know if I want to.

[Perry Winkle]

I deleted my Facebook account maybe 2 years ago. Couldn't have made a better decision. I wish my wife would kill her account. She spends anywhere from 1 hour to all damn day on it.

[John Sellers]

And after having an on/off "relationship" with Twitter, I think I've finally decided to quit tweeting for good. Yesterday, I de-activated my account for the last time.

[John Sellers]

Originally Posted by infinite monkey

John, I found information on deletion at this site:

http://www.techhive.com/article/2050...k-account.html

I don't know how thorough it is, but if you want to go back to facebook you are starting from scratch with the deletion.

Thanx, but no thanx. I don't care for the way Frakbook works.

[Gravdigr]

...how does online interaction with other people differ from interacting with people in person?

Well, online, people don't get the shit slapped out of them nearly often enough.

[John Sellers]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Well, online, people don't get the shit slapped out of them nearly often enough.

Agreed. If someone insults you or bullies you online, they don't have to be concerned with physical retaliation...even tho some people richly deserve a good beatdown.

[monster]

Originally Posted by John Sellers

This is the thing most webmasters don't think about. When a user deactivates, closes, or deletes his or her account, it should be totally erased from a given website's database upon cancellation leaving absolutely no trace. It's be as if that user had never registered at that website. This might mean that if a user decides to re-register an account, he or she will have to re-enter his or her info., but it also has the advantage of allowing the user to start fresh (like I'd like to do on PayPal, Google, Yahoo, and a bunch of other sites).

Maybe they do think about it (most of them are pretty smart). Maybe they know there are trolls/attention hos out there who get off on flouncing off demanding to be deleted or creating new accounts when they have run out of tricks, and the webmasters want to give the other users the option to call them out on their BS when the come back anew?