Facebook: not just about faces nor about books
(I wrote this as one of the entries for a friend's website pinktales.com and adding this here as well)
I can't really say what the figures are but I think it's safe to say that most people now have a Facebook account and that they use it for pretty much everything! (and by everything, I mean EVERYTHING!)
Status Messages: Just woke up, good morning world. :-) (snaps picture of self) Hello sun, I am up too! I am up and about, good morning everyone!
If you had a good night's rest, then there is absolutely no problem with this; the problem arises when you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and your status message ends up like this. "@$&*%^$#@ late again! Where is my shoe! Darn cat! Can't get a ride! @&@#$@(*&%!!!"
As they say, "laugh and the world laughs with you, swear and Cyber Patrol censors you".
Status Messages: Taking a bath. Washing my hair. Cutting my nails. Pricking my pimples. Brushing my teeth. Combing my hair. Eating brunch. Picking my nose. (pictures not necessary please) etc etc etc.
In case some people aren't aware of this, the term TMI meaning Too Much Information was coined for a reason and it looks like this is one of those. Honestly, I might be guilty of this as well but with Facebook, gone are the norms of privacy and boundaries. The onset of Facebook definitely changed our concept of what we can or cannot tell other people about ourselves and with a click of a mouse, how easily we can humiliate ourselves or others in the process.
Of course, this is again subjective because right now, people's tolerances to things seem to have increased as well; it could be either due to an innately high level of tolerance or simply habituation. The latter seems apt though because on FB, you get thousands of these statuses that sometimes, it just seems natural!
Status Messages: Eating at "million dollar meal restaurant". Drinking beer at "only the rich and famous bar". Bought a "work your entire life but never be able to afford" bag. Swimming at "entire life savings gone" resort. Having a cup of "you have to be me to afford it" coffee.
On a daily basis, we see a barrage of status symbols all aimed to outdo everyone else! Let's admit it; we never want to be seen as the "taong grasa" in this Facebook jungle where everyone else is checking into the fanciest restaurants/resorts/hotels/places and eagerly publicizing it per second or if not millisecond of their stay there.
It is only on FB that you feel self-pity or self-glory (or both) very easily and as quickly - just by viewing other people's posts! Let's not be hypocrites but at one point or another while stalking other people's accounts (mostly our frenemies), we sometimes smirk at what they have achieved for themselves and then in secret tell ourselves, "am sure she got that by kissing people's a**.
A concept I stumbled upon some time ago is perfect for this "compare yourself to others and you will never be happy - because there will always be people below you and people above you". I could not have said that any better.
Status Messages: Pictures of food. Pictures of drinks. Pictures of desserts. Pictures and pictures of anything and everything edible and on a plate. All of this of course before eating.
Someone posted a comparative picture showing 2 scenarios; pre-FB when people said a prayer before eating and post-FB when people took pictures and posted them before eating - - that said everything!
I am not saying this is wrong of course because technically we eat with our eyes and nose first before we eat with our mouths but it is wrong when we no longer say grace or give thanks for the blessings we have received.
I like to take pictures of food too (with the intent of making other people envious) and admittedly I go back and check how many likes I got. I can't help it if I like the "monggos/ginamos/buwad" combo and want other people to salivate over it too!! hehe
Status Messages: I really can't stand people who seem to know it all. Please talk to the hand. Can you just mind your own business? I don't need you to live a good life. If you think you're pretty, newsflash - you're not!
Ok, so maybe most of the above are of an extreme state but we really have to give credit to Facebook for providing the avenue for us to vent our anger/frustration/paranoia/madness/qualms/etc without being confrontational or being downright rude. (of course this does not apply if you actually TAG the person you are referring to!)
But do we really need to publicize that our bf cheated on us? Or we're having a fight with another family member? Or that we're instigating a fight with our in-laws? As if the programs like Face to Face or Personalan don't do a good enough job that we have to drag it to Facebook for all to see? Or do we do this to gain confidence and a few allies to back us up?
The then sensitive things that we used to hide from the public due to embarrassment seem to spice up our FB lives now if we share it. And ironically, the more likes we get the more perky we get!
If at the end of the day, one actually gets words of wisdom from another friend and not just words to fan the flames, then great! But if publicizing issues like this makes matters worse, then might as well keep it to themselves or actually get some good less public help and resolve it internally.
Status Messages: I am selling my dog, who wants to buy? Car for sale, PM me. House and lot for rent, PM me. I need to find a rental space, PM me please. Who wants to buy a second-hand baby stroller, send me a message. Ads, ads and more ads!
If there is one great thing I really appreciate much about Facebook, it's that you can post ads for free and you can get feedback instantly for free as well. I put this to good use every time I had something to sell "pitchi2x, palitaw, cake, etc" and so far is has served its purpose very well. I have had customers and continue to have them because of it.
It is so effective that I am amazed no one has actually created a private ad for themselves - Single and looking for a bf, good-looking, ages 24-35, has a stable job, good conversationalist, good sense of humor, PM me! Or, maybe some have actually had and probably even got a good result too! ;-) (Can I tag someone I know on this part? Hehe)
These and all are what Facebook is for most of us; a tool that we use for our daily lives. We just need to know our bounds and probably have our own censorship as to what needs to be publicized and what needs to be hidden from the public.
So, what now? "To post or not to post, I guess that still remains the question!"
06/03/13 nmed
Aside from making stalking legal, what has Facebook done to us? Or should that be, what have we done to Facebook?
I can't really say what the figures are but I think it's safe to say that most people now have a Facebook account and that they use it for pretty much everything! (and by everything, I mean EVERYTHING!)
Status Messages: Just woke up, good morning world. :-) (snaps picture of self) Hello sun, I am up too! I am up and about, good morning everyone!
If you had a good night's rest, then there is absolutely no problem with this; the problem arises when you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and your status message ends up like this. "@$&*%^$#@ late again! Where is my shoe! Darn cat! Can't get a ride! @&@#$@(*&%!!!"
As they say, "laugh and the world laughs with you, swear and Cyber Patrol censors you".
Status Messages: Taking a bath. Washing my hair. Cutting my nails. Pricking my pimples. Brushing my teeth. Combing my hair. Eating brunch. Picking my nose. (pictures not necessary please) etc etc etc.
In case some people aren't aware of this, the term TMI meaning Too Much Information was coined for a reason and it looks like this is one of those. Honestly, I might be guilty of this as well but with Facebook, gone are the norms of privacy and boundaries. The onset of Facebook definitely changed our concept of what we can or cannot tell other people about ourselves and with a click of a mouse, how easily we can humiliate ourselves or others in the process.
Of course, this is again subjective because right now, people's tolerances to things seem to have increased as well; it could be either due to an innately high level of tolerance or simply habituation. The latter seems apt though because on FB, you get thousands of these statuses that sometimes, it just seems natural!
Status Messages: Eating at "million dollar meal restaurant". Drinking beer at "only the rich and famous bar". Bought a "work your entire life but never be able to afford" bag. Swimming at "entire life savings gone" resort. Having a cup of "you have to be me to afford it" coffee.
On a daily basis, we see a barrage of status symbols all aimed to outdo everyone else! Let's admit it; we never want to be seen as the "taong grasa" in this Facebook jungle where everyone else is checking into the fanciest restaurants/resorts/hotels/places and eagerly publicizing it per second or if not millisecond of their stay there.
It is only on FB that you feel self-pity or self-glory (or both) very easily and as quickly - just by viewing other people's posts! Let's not be hypocrites but at one point or another while stalking other people's accounts (mostly our frenemies), we sometimes smirk at what they have achieved for themselves and then in secret tell ourselves, "am sure she got that by kissing people's a**.
A concept I stumbled upon some time ago is perfect for this "compare yourself to others and you will never be happy - because there will always be people below you and people above you". I could not have said that any better.
Status Messages: Pictures of food. Pictures of drinks. Pictures of desserts. Pictures and pictures of anything and everything edible and on a plate. All of this of course before eating.
Someone posted a comparative picture showing 2 scenarios; pre-FB when people said a prayer before eating and post-FB when people took pictures and posted them before eating - - that said everything!
I am not saying this is wrong of course because technically we eat with our eyes and nose first before we eat with our mouths but it is wrong when we no longer say grace or give thanks for the blessings we have received.
I like to take pictures of food too (with the intent of making other people envious) and admittedly I go back and check how many likes I got. I can't help it if I like the "monggos/ginamos/buwad" combo and want other people to salivate over it too!! hehe
Status Messages: I really can't stand people who seem to know it all. Please talk to the hand. Can you just mind your own business? I don't need you to live a good life. If you think you're pretty, newsflash - you're not!
Ok, so maybe most of the above are of an extreme state but we really have to give credit to Facebook for providing the avenue for us to vent our anger/frustration/paranoia/madness/qualms/etc without being confrontational or being downright rude. (of course this does not apply if you actually TAG the person you are referring to!)
But do we really need to publicize that our bf cheated on us? Or we're having a fight with another family member? Or that we're instigating a fight with our in-laws? As if the programs like Face to Face or Personalan don't do a good enough job that we have to drag it to Facebook for all to see? Or do we do this to gain confidence and a few allies to back us up?
The then sensitive things that we used to hide from the public due to embarrassment seem to spice up our FB lives now if we share it. And ironically, the more likes we get the more perky we get!
If at the end of the day, one actually gets words of wisdom from another friend and not just words to fan the flames, then great! But if publicizing issues like this makes matters worse, then might as well keep it to themselves or actually get some good less public help and resolve it internally.
Status Messages: I am selling my dog, who wants to buy? Car for sale, PM me. House and lot for rent, PM me. I need to find a rental space, PM me please. Who wants to buy a second-hand baby stroller, send me a message. Ads, ads and more ads!
If there is one great thing I really appreciate much about Facebook, it's that you can post ads for free and you can get feedback instantly for free as well. I put this to good use every time I had something to sell "pitchi2x, palitaw, cake, etc" and so far is has served its purpose very well. I have had customers and continue to have them because of it.
It is so effective that I am amazed no one has actually created a private ad for themselves - Single and looking for a bf, good-looking, ages 24-35, has a stable job, good conversationalist, good sense of humor, PM me! Or, maybe some have actually had and probably even got a good result too! ;-) (Can I tag someone I know on this part? Hehe)
These and all are what Facebook is for most of us; a tool that we use for our daily lives. We just need to know our bounds and probably have our own censorship as to what needs to be publicized and what needs to be hidden from the public.
So, what now? "To post or not to post, I guess that still remains the question!"
06/03/13 nmed
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