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I'm just finishing up a 4 year college degree, and have had a Facebook account since high school. Over the years, I've friended just about everybody I've ever

I'm just finishing up a 4 year college degree, and have had a Facebook account since high school. Over the years, I've friended just about everybody I've ever been acquainted with, even if I never had any real connection with them in the first place. I figured it would be a good way to keep in touch with all of these people if I ever wanted to - a great way to be social. Last weekend, I realized that I don't care about 80% of these people. I would waste countless hours a week browsing through photos, profiles, and status updates from people who I've hardly ever known. Not in a creepy stalker way, just in an aimless zoned-out kind of way. Impulsively, I deleted 600 friends (leaving me with about 160) without even feeling the slightest bit of guilt or loss. For me, Facebook was not a networking tool. Facebook had not provided me with social experiences that would have otherwise been lost. Facebook did not connect me with people I would have otherwise not been connected with. Facebook was wasting countless hours of my time that could have been spent on more productive and rewarding endeavors. Facebook has transformed meaningful interactions into emotionless clicks and keystrokes. I'm really considering getting rid of my account altogether for a more wholesome social experience.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
lotusleaf1987 16y ago
I did the same purging of random Facebook 'acquaintances' when I graduated (2009). Then even a year later I was able to trim that 140-150 down to about 80. I also deleted all the random people I had lost touch with from high school who were no longer relevant to me, as since they were added we hadn't bothered to communicate. I realized a lot of people on Facebook are there to collect friends like it's a status symbol. I really didn't like having college friends, coworkers, professors, high school buddies, employers, random celebrities/bands all lumped into one list together, there needs to be a way too separate these groups.
- araneae 16y ago
  >there needs to be a way to separate these groups I was on Facebook when there were only a few schools on it, and it was very useful and very relevant. Because there were no other schools on it, I was only friends with friends from college and there were certainly no high schoolers or parents on it; you had to have a university address. Facebook essentially got to where they were because that privacy made it awesome, and then promptly lost the very thing that made people trust them with their data to begin with, which was a limited user base.
indigoviolet 16y ago
Perhaps the conclusion is that Facebook is not intended to be a networking tool, or a replacement for a real life -- it is simply a place/way to share online experiences with your real-life friends. AFAIK, it doesn't pretend to be anything else.
- guynamedloren 16y ago
  One point that I am trying to convey here is that experiences are not being shared on Facebook, real-life friends or not. Let's go with photos as an example, since they are a pretty integral part of Facebook. I love taking photos while on vacation. I take photos for two reasons: to reminisce at some point in the future, and to share my experiences with friends and family... even if those photos convey just a fraction of the real-life experience of the vacation. When I return from vacation, how do I share all of these photos with friends? Facebook, of course - it's easy, convenient, and everybody is already connected. As great as it seems, I somehow feel absolutely terrible after sending off so many emotion-packed photographs into the endless abyss that is Facebook. I feel empty and unsatisfied. I know that these photographs, displayed so carelessly upon lifeless white background, will never convey the experiences that I had. It's just not a natural form of expression.
  - dminor 16y ago
    In olden times, people would get their vacation photos made into slides, invite their friends over, and bore everyone to death with a slideshow that didn't convey the experiences they had. Facebook is way better.
    - revdinosaur 16y ago
      Yes, but now that experience of being locked in a room and bored to death is pieced up and spread throughout every day of your life; album by album.
philwelch 16y ago
You know, I find that I trim people down not so much according to how much I care about them as how interesting they are. Boring people I don't have a real connection to get deleted, but interesting people I don't have a connection to I follow.
rimantas 16y ago
For me, Facebook was not a networking tool. Facebook had not provided me with social experiences that would have otherwise been lost. Facebook did not connect me with people I would have otherwise not been connected with. Facebook was wasting countless hours of my time that could have been spent on more productive and rewarding endeavors. Why would you expect Facebook to do that for you? It just a tool, it enables but you must create something meaningful with it. I have a paper and a pen, I don't complain that they don't write a nice poem or a novel for me, I have to do it myself.
- guynamedloren 16y ago
  Create something meaningful with Facebook? The last time I checked, Facebook is not a creative outlet. Sure, you can let your collection of virtual friends know that you despise public transit, and post a few photos - but create something meaningful? I don't think so. As for your analogy - a paper is quite literally a blank canvas. You can create anything that you can imagine, assuming your talents allow. Facebook, however, is not a blank canvas. Far from it. Facebook confines its users to a predetermined set of rules for their own benefit ($). Edit: to elaborate on my last point - when was the last time you saw something truly incredible created entirely via Facebook? Something absolutely amazing that just blew your mind. Please let me know. I'm ready to be educated.
  - ahlatimer 16y ago
    While Facebook may not be a "creative" outlet, at least not in the common definition of "creative", it can still be useful. I co-founded of a non-profit, and we do most of our organization, event planning, and networking through Facebook. It's been incredibly useful to get the word out, not just about our organization in general, but also to spread word about specific events we hold and other organizations we support. Have we done anything particularly creative using just Facebook? No, not really, but we have helped gather support for local artists and musicians, who do do creative things. As rimantas noted, Facebook is just a tool. It can be a waste of time [1], but that doesn't mean it's always a waste of time. [1]: A pen and paper can be a waste of time as well. Just look at all the people doodling during lectures.

deleted 16y ago

[deleted]

lotusleaf1987 16y ago

I did the same purging of random Facebook 'acquaintances' when I graduated (2009). Then even a year later I was able to trim that 140-150 down to about 80. I also deleted all the random people I had lost touch with from high school who were no longer relevant to me, as since they were added we hadn't bothered to communicate. I realized a lot of people on Facebook are there to collect friends like it's a status symbol. I really didn't like having college friends, coworkers, professors, high school buddies, employers, random celebrities/bands all lumped into one list together, there needs to be a way too separate these groups.

araneae 16y ago
>there needs to be a way to separate these groups I was on Facebook when there were only a few schools on it, and it was very useful and very relevant. Because there were no other schools on it, I was only friends with friends from college and there were certainly no high schoolers or parents on it; you had to have a university address. Facebook essentially got to where they were because that privacy made it awesome, and then promptly lost the very thing that made people trust them with their data to begin with, which was a limited user base.

indigoviolet 16y ago

Perhaps the conclusion is that Facebook is not intended to be a networking tool, or a replacement for a real life -- it is simply a place/way to share online experiences with your real-life friends. AFAIK, it doesn't pretend to be anything else.

guynamedloren 16y ago
One point that I am trying to convey here is that experiences are not being shared on Facebook, real-life friends or not. Let's go with photos as an example, since they are a pretty integral part of Facebook. I love taking photos while on vacation. I take photos for two reasons: to reminisce at some point in the future, and to share my experiences with friends and family... even if those photos convey just a fraction of the real-life experience of the vacation. When I return from vacation, how do I share all of these photos with friends? Facebook, of course - it's easy, convenient, and everybody is already connected. As great as it seems, I somehow feel absolutely terrible after sending off so many emotion-packed photographs into the endless abyss that is Facebook. I feel empty and unsatisfied. I know that these photographs, displayed so carelessly upon lifeless white background, will never convey the experiences that I had. It's just not a natural form of expression.
- dminor 16y ago
  In olden times, people would get their vacation photos made into slides, invite their friends over, and bore everyone to death with a slideshow that didn't convey the experiences they had. Facebook is way better.
  - revdinosaur 16y ago
    Yes, but now that experience of being locked in a room and bored to death is pieced up and spread throughout every day of your life; album by album.

philwelch 16y ago

You know, I find that I trim people down not so much according to how much I care about them as how interesting they are. Boring people I don't have a real connection to get deleted, but interesting people I don't have a connection to I follow.

rimantas 16y ago

For me, Facebook was not a networking tool. Facebook had not provided me with social experiences that would have otherwise been lost. Facebook did not connect me with people I would have otherwise not been connected with. Facebook was wasting countless hours of my time that could have been spent on more productive and rewarding endeavors. Why would you expect Facebook to do that for you? It just a tool, it enables but you must create something meaningful with it. I have a paper and a pen, I don't complain that they don't write a nice poem or a novel for me, I have to do it myself.

guynamedloren 16y ago
Create something meaningful with Facebook? The last time I checked, Facebook is not a creative outlet. Sure, you can let your collection of virtual friends know that you despise public transit, and post a few photos - but create something meaningful? I don't think so. As for your analogy - a paper is quite literally a blank canvas. You can create anything that you can imagine, assuming your talents allow. Facebook, however, is not a blank canvas. Far from it. Facebook confines its users to a predetermined set of rules for their own benefit ($). Edit: to elaborate on my last point - when was the last time you saw something truly incredible created entirely via Facebook? Something absolutely amazing that just blew your mind. Please let me know. I'm ready to be educated.
- ahlatimer 16y ago
  While Facebook may not be a "creative" outlet, at least not in the common definition of "creative", it can still be useful. I co-founded of a non-profit, and we do most of our organization, event planning, and networking through Facebook. It's been incredibly useful to get the word out, not just about our organization in general, but also to spread word about specific events we hold and other organizations we support. Have we done anything particularly creative using just Facebook? No, not really, but we have helped gather support for local artists and musicians, who do do creative things. As rimantas noted, Facebook is just a tool. It can be a waste of time [1], but that doesn't mean it's always a waste of time. [1]: A pen and paper can be a waste of time as well. Just look at all the people doodling during lectures.