I love search engines. If a thought comes to me that I want to know more about, I Google it. A movie coming on that I want to know more about? I Google it. When someone on Facebook posts an interesting quote, I Google the author’s name and see what else they’ve written that might interest me. I love to research and learn, and Facebook lets me keep up with whatever my friends are interested in. Facebook, that’s another reason I spend more time on the computer. Since 2008, Facebook has been my social life and that’s one reason I spend so much time on it. I can take a few moments here and there during my work day, to pop in and say hi and see what my Facebook friends are doing. Several dozen are my real life friends who live locally, and if I had more free time, I’d hang out with them in person. Facebook helps me feel connected even when my schedule doesn’t allow me to attend many events.
A friend who teaches a Facebook 101 class posted “Facebook is hard to research because I keep getting distracted by Facebook.” I commented, ” It’s perfect for people who think their life is boring or who isolate from others in that social phobia we all think we’re the only ones with. It helps awaken their natural curiosity (Google it!) and having friends on Facebook lets them feel connected without having to leave the house.”
As my friends get older, I see more and more of them begin to isolate themselves and that results in a lot of feeling alone and friendless. They stop having interest and curiosity in life and don’t have the discipline to motivate themselves to get out among people. They want their life to be different but don’t want to take any steps to make that happen. They may not even have enough interest to research any steps to make that happen.
For a lot of these people, tv has been their life up to now, parked on the sofa with a bag of chips. For a lot of these, Facebook can give them a real sense of being connected with real people, people they know, and it also satisfies a natural voyeurism, letting them look into the life of someone else for a moment.
I helped a friend sign on to Facebook yesterday and I told him what we were doing at each step in the process. I told him FB would ask if he wanted to use their Friend Finder feature, which would use his email address book to let him know which of his email contacts are on Facebook. I suggested he do this and a handful came up.
As we got more into the process, he began getting suggestions from Facebook about “People You May Know.” Some he kind of knew and wondered how their profile showed up. I told him what FB was doing was finding “mutual friends” which are people who have one of his email contacts in their own email contact list. He’s like me, he’s self employed and busy and Facebook can be a good place to keep up with friends. I found all my childhood buddies on Facebook.
I also get a lot of business from Facebook, just from people who go to my website from my facebook profile. What do you use Facebook for?
July 11, 2014: I’m suddenly getting a lot of traffic to this post and don’t know why. If you can tell me how you found it by emailing horizonsmagazine@gmail.com I promise you won’t go on any list.
I’m just discovering Facebook
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Facebook quizzes; every little bit of insight helps
Facebook posts; I’m in charge of what I attract
Facebook friends to the rescue, helping me Excel
If a Friend Asks For $$ In Facebook, Ask A Personal Question
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How To Stop The Stupid Facebook Posts On Your Wall
The Zen of Farmville on Facebook? WTF?
Are Your Facebook Friends Really Your Friends? Don’t Assume Mine Are Either
What I post on Facebook
Finding childhood buds on Facebook, flashback to age 18
Putting personal details on Facebook and Myspace
Is it ok to break up with someone over Facebook?