4 ms·

A related question is "Should you sign up for Facebook today?". Five years ago I killed my Facebook account (and LinkedIn and G+) and it hasn't bothered me, but

A related question is "Should you sign up for Facebook today?". Five years ago I killed my Facebook account (and LinkedIn and G+) and it hasn't bothered me, but... am I missing out on something?

hashkb 10y ago
I log into Facebook once a year or so. Twitter, never. HN and Reddit I enjoy. Am 30. Don't feel bad.
- jgrahamc 10y ago
  I don't feel bad, I'm just curious what I'm missing out on by not taking part in something that's very popular. I love Twitter.
anondon 10y ago
You are not missing out on much. The only productive use of Facebook is to keep in touch with people. If you do this using alternative methods (Whatsapp, email or direct phone calls) then you save yourself from the continuous stream of garbage that is the news feed.
bluGill 10y ago
Facebook it the only way I see my second cousin's kid's piano recital. It is a valuable way for me to know something like that happened (they live more than a thousand miles away). It lets me keep up some of the people who I went to high school with - we were not really friends but we had a connection. Facebook is the easiest way to ensure my parents (300 miles away) see pictures of their grandkids doing cute things. Unfortunately it sucks me into political fake news and lots of other bad things. Blocking all games helped greatly. On balance the real purpose of Facebook: keeping up with distance family and friends; is a very useful part of life. Thus it is worth it.
- Broken_Hippo 10y ago
  This is me - only I'm on the other side of the Atlantic from family. In fact, this was the only reason I signed up for facebook 3 or so years ago. It is also the reason I have some loyalty: The main drawback of other social networks is the lack of cross communication between chats and some people's pages.
sgustard 10y ago
Currently, if you're in the US, you're mostly missing out on people re-posting articles about politics, rants about politics, expressions of solidarity with protestors and so on.
__jal 10y ago
I've never used Facebook, see no reason to start. I occasionally get pushback from some relatives who tell me I'm not taking part in family stuff. That probably matters to some people, depending on their family dynamics. I simply point out that I also publish stuff online in places they don't choose to look. I also miss out on some community chatter and the occasional event with a couple of orgs I'm involved with. I don't personally care. In general, my calculation is that my life is noticeably better without it. I'm not someone who needs constant human contact, in fact, too much is bad for me. I'm also apparently pretty far off-median on the Bell-curve in terms of the value I place on my privacy. YMMV.
- mythrwy 10y ago
  You could suggest a private service if they want your participation. Something like http://spokt.com http://spokt.com

A related question is "Should you sign up for Facebook today?". Five years ago I killed my Facebook account (and LinkedIn and G+) and it hasn't bothered me, but... am I missing out on something?

hashkb 10y ago

I log into Facebook once a year or so. Twitter, never. HN and Reddit I enjoy. Am 30. Don't feel bad.

jgrahamc 10y ago
I don't feel bad, I'm just curious what I'm missing out on by not taking part in something that's very popular. I love Twitter.

anondon 10y ago

You are not missing out on much. The only productive use of Facebook is to keep in touch with people. If you do this using alternative methods (Whatsapp, email or direct phone calls) then you save yourself from the continuous stream of garbage that is the news feed.

bluGill 10y ago

Facebook it the only way I see my second cousin's kid's piano recital. It is a valuable way for me to know something like that happened (they live more than a thousand miles away). It lets me keep up some of the people who I went to high school with - we were not really friends but we had a connection. Facebook is the easiest way to ensure my parents (300 miles away) see pictures of their grandkids doing cute things. Unfortunately it sucks me into political fake news and lots of other bad things. Blocking all games helped greatly. On balance the real purpose of Facebook: keeping up with distance family and friends; is a very useful part of life. Thus it is worth it.

Broken_Hippo 10y ago
This is me - only I'm on the other side of the Atlantic from family. In fact, this was the only reason I signed up for facebook 3 or so years ago. It is also the reason I have some loyalty: The main drawback of other social networks is the lack of cross communication between chats and some people's pages.

sgustard 10y ago

Currently, if you're in the US, you're mostly missing out on people re-posting articles about politics, rants about politics, expressions of solidarity with protestors and so on.

__jal 10y ago

I've never used Facebook, see no reason to start. I occasionally get pushback from some relatives who tell me I'm not taking part in family stuff. That probably matters to some people, depending on their family dynamics. I simply point out that I also publish stuff online in places they don't choose to look. I also miss out on some community chatter and the occasional event with a couple of orgs I'm involved with. I don't personally care. In general, my calculation is that my life is noticeably better without it. I'm not someone who needs constant human contact, in fact, too much is bad for me. I'm also apparently pretty far off-median on the Bell-curve in terms of the value I place on my privacy. YMMV.

mythrwy 10y ago
You could suggest a private service if they want your participation. Something like http://spokt.com http://spokt.com