Is Facebook necessary?

[mishap]

Obviously not in terms of water/food/shelter necessary, but is it a required mode of communication these days in the way that email or a cellphone are?

I recently deleted my Facebook account because I was getting way too invested in it, and it was such a relief not to be on it anymore. Seriously, I feel like I've lost 10 pounds. I've had a few people who have seem baffled by this. "But how am I going to know what you're doing?" Um, call me? Text me? Email me?

Not surprisingly, I seem to be left out of the loop a bit now. But I'm guessing that if anyone truly wanted me to know something, they would find a way to do so, as evidenced by the friend who called me yesterday. We hadn't spoken on the phone in over a year because we'd been able to keep in touch peripherally via Facebook.

DH is a bit ticked as he doesn't have Facebook but liked that I did so I could keep in touch his family members.

[aw]

I had FB for about a year and found it was too much of a timesuck (plus I also got a little wierded out by some privacy concerns) and I am very happy that I got rid of it. There was an adjustment at first because it was the only way I kept in touch with a lot of people, but now it's nice not being on it.

The only thing I miss is seeing people's pictures of their growing families. I feel like I miss out on a lot because of that.

I also don't have texting on my phone, so I just don't get a lot of the info about new babies being born and stuff that other friends do.

[ECB]

No, I don't. I have an account, I go to it on a daily basis, I enjoy FB and "keeping up" w/ people that way. But I honestly get annoyed at the friends who now ONLY message me through FB. I use email and text and the phone to actually really communicate. MOST of my FB friends do the same thing. But the few who don't.... it frustrates me.

But - yes, the friends I have who aren't on FB at all, I find myself updating them on mutual friends who I keep up w/ via FB. If it weren't for FB, I wouldn't know some of the goings on in their lives, and I do feel that my friends who aren't on FB are missing out on that.

So... it's not "necessary", but I do find that it helps a lot.

[ringstrue]

I got into it for the photo sharing with weddings and babies and whatnot. IMO it can't be beat. I also like that I can still see my OOT friends and their lives and drop a line and keep in touch easily. It's diminished my need to write individual emails to various people catching them up on the same news.

Can you get an account but only check it when someone mentions that they posted pics online?

[msmerymac]

I temporarily deleted mine last year and I had people who were shocked when I didn't know something they had done or had happened to them and then say, "Oh, yeah, I forgot you're not on FB." Not, "I can't get in touch with you anymore!" by more like, "But how will you know what I'm doing every minute of my day if you don't read all my status updates?!"

So, in that sense, it really is nice to not have an FB.

[brookles]

I'm probably still on Facebook way too much, but it hardly has any use for me anymore. It's great for keeping up with friends who live far away and seeing pictures of their kids, but otherwise it's just people posting someecards. I get way more out of Twitter and Instagram.

[lilmgirl]

I say it depends on how many of your friends/family use it to communicate. If no one you care about really uses it, then you don't need it. If everyone is using it but you and you missed the memo on so-and-so's surprise birthday party, then you probably need it. At least limit how much you check it.

[pixy0stix]

I hardly use it for IRL stuff, so I say no. Although I'm logging into it more since the haunted house group is using it for primary communication.

[Deleted]

I am getting more and more annoyed by FB by the day, mostly due to the inability to block yourecards and specific pages people share photos and sayings from, so I get you.

[arborgold]

Meh, i actually use it a lot more now than I ever did. And it's been useful in networking in the DC area, but I'm one of those annoying people who uses it both for personal things, and for lots of political commentary.

I think my circle of friends is pretty into social media in general, so we communicate and set up events primarily through FB. :: shrug ::

[pescalita]

I'm a hermit and I hate talking to people but I'm also nosy and I love knowing what they're up to, so FB is perfect for me. There are people I wouldn't have much other contact with. I actually have one friend from HS who is not on FB and I've fallen way out of touch with her compared to her sister who I was not previously good friends with, but who is on FB.

[dev22]

Jul 11, 2012 16:10:20 GMT -5 pescalita said:

I'm a hermit and I hate talking to people but I'm also nosy and I love knowing what they're up to, so FB is perfect for me. There are people I wouldn't have much other contact with. I actually have one friend from HS who is not on FB and I've fallen way out of touch with her compared to her sister who I was not previously good friends with, but who is on FB.

This is me exactly. The chance of me picking up the phone and calling someone that is not H, my Mom, my Dad, my Sister or my 2 BFFs is less than zero. So for socially weird people like me, I love FB.

[summer]

If you live in a 6-10hr away timezone from friends and family, then yes. If you all live in the same relative place, then maybe not so much.

But I've really reconnected to people I would have lost touch with otherwise and we now visit each other and are quite close.

People who use it only for games and "I farted" updates give the rest of us a bad name.

[Deleted]

I am the worst at wasting time on Facebook - its such a time sucker. BUT I'm probably even worse at wasting time on PCE....

[secretlyevil]

I just think it's a mode of communication. Some days in on it way too much. If I need to have a real conversation, I'll call them. But honestly I was never a big phone person. I like to just say what I need to say and then get out. I like being able to stay up to date on people. A lot of these people on fb I would never be able to stay in touch with. Just because of life.

[2vermont]

Considering I have yet to get an account and I'm surviving quite well without it, I'd say No.

[sparrowsong]

I love fb and wish more people used it more regularly. I'm down with regular mail and texting but am not big on using the phone, never have been. I still get nervous when I have to leave a voice mail. And I'm definitely not one to chat for hours on the phone. I can't get off the phone fast enough. For me it's live or email/online only, for some reason. And there are so many people who I'm interested in, but honestly, we'd probably never manage to get together in person or otherwise. I'm so glad to see pics and updates from them on fb. It's better than nothing.

[marie427]

Jul 11, 2012 16:15:59 GMT -5 dev22 said:

Jul 11, 2012 16:10:20 GMT -5 pescalita said:

I'm a hermit and I hate talking to people but I'm also nosy and I love knowing what they're up to, so FB is perfect for me. There are people I wouldn't have much other contact with. I actually have one friend from HS who is not on FB and I've fallen way out of touch with her compared to her sister who I was not previously good friends with, but who is on FB.

This is me exactly. The chance of me picking up the phone and calling someone that is not H, my Mom, my Dad, my Sister or my 2 BFFs is less than zero. So for socially weird people like me, I love FB.

Please add me to Team Weirdo Hermits too please.

[crazycakes]

In my group of friends, we tend to coordinate everything via Facebook because it is usually easier than a bunch of emails or phone calls. I wouldn't know about half of the parties and get-togethers going on without it. DH never checks his FB account and I end up playing social coordinator with his friends, too, since I'm the one on it daily.

I also like being able to "keep up" with people who live out of town and get back in touch with old friends. I have recently started messaging one of my best friends from high school after many years. We lost touch when I moved away. Turns out that now she is living only a couple hours from me and we're planning to meet up in a few weeks. I may have never seen her again without FB.

So, yes, I definitely think it serves a purpose.

Would I die without it? No. But it is a useful tool in my life.

[bluestreet]

I love FB because the degree to which I have the energy to socialize IRL really varies (read: I'm moody), but I always get a lot out of interacting with people. I also like maintaining day-to-day familiarity with far-flung friends. It takes the pressure off of reconnecting with friends I haven't talked to in a year in a way than feels too heavy.

And during the isolating post-partum periods, FB and the boards have preserved my sanity. But I'm good about hiding idiots (except for some family members), so my feeds are usually entertaining and have good links.