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Then use other means of contact. The point isn't to replace facebook with the same amount of convenience. The point is to disable the illusion that Facebook is

Then use other means of contact. The point isn't to replace facebook with the same amount of convenience. The point is to disable the illusion that Facebook is necessary to keep in contact with your distant friends/family. Use a phone. Use the postal system. Yes, it's not as "instant" but it at least shows that you put in work to contact them. Or you can use open technologies like Jitsi or Ekiga to do video chat with them (if they are willing. If they aren't, then perhaps explain to them why it's important). There are options out there. Facebook isn't the ONLY technology that closes the gap.

taligent 14y ago
Many of my friends don't live in the same country. So phone or video chat is impossible and using the postal system is just being stupid.
- dbaupp 14y ago
  Why is video chat impossible? International calls are the perfect use case for it. (I guess you could drop the video, and just do a VOIP phone call also.)
- taligent 14y ago
  @dbaupp .. Full time jobs + Time zones.
  - deerpig 14y ago
    I live in Cambodia, work 18 hour days and between email, skype and the telephone I keep up with friends in family in North America on both coasts, in Europe, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, India and even people in my own time zone (Thailand, Laos, Singapore). I don't use facebook for any of this. It isn't difficult, and at least out here, most international calls are very cheap. And even if they were you can call through google voice or skype to mobiles and land lines at very low rates.
_Simon 14y ago
I'm sorry, but this is just "anti" for the sake of it. If you have a good enough relationship with friends and family, Facebook is just another medium to stay in touch. I'd agree that if it's the only medium, there may be issues, but your suggestions are merely alternatives, no better and in some instances slightly worse (no, the postal service is not a valid alternative). Yes, there are other options, but Facebook works well enough for a majority of folk. I'll come clean and say that I'm not a fan of Facebook, I find it too intrusive. That said most of my immediate friends and family use it and get an awful lot out of it. The psychological benefits of just feeling connected cannot be understated.
- biomechanica 14y ago
  It is not "anti" at all. Like I wrote already, the point isn't to replace the convenience of facebook. It is to seek alternatives that will "do the job". Yes, the postal service is absolutely an alternative, whether you agree or not. It is a means of old communication. Yes, it's a bit "inconvenient" but it works. Complacency is not a good argument: "the majority of people I know use it so it shouldn't be criticized for the sake of convenience". That's what I hear, maybe I'm deaf. Jitsi or Ekiga or any other type of open technology can effectively replace facebook quite well. They also give you "the psychological benefits of just feeling connected". I would submit that the Internet fills that niche, not Facebook or others like it. People can use it all they want. Fine, no problem. But to lean on the idea that it is somehow impossible to delete an account without becoming a hermit is, in my view, a complete asinine idea.
  - _Simon 14y ago
    Why 'open'? Is that the issue that you have with Facebook? If not, why not Skype? It's available on more platforms that the two specific examples that you mention. The thing that you are dismissing is the convenience. Like it or not, literally millions of people find it extremely convenient to stay in touch with friends and acquaintances easily.
    - biomechanica 14y ago

taligent 14y ago

Many of my friends don't live in the same country. So phone or video chat is impossible and using the postal system is just being stupid.

dbaupp 14y ago
Why is video chat impossible? International calls are the perfect use case for it. (I guess you could drop the video, and just do a VOIP phone call also.)
taligent 14y ago
@dbaupp .. Full time jobs + Time zones.
- deerpig 14y ago
  I live in Cambodia, work 18 hour days and between email, skype and the telephone I keep up with friends in family in North America on both coasts, in Europe, New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, India and even people in my own time zone (Thailand, Laos, Singapore). I don't use facebook for any of this. It isn't difficult, and at least out here, most international calls are very cheap. And even if they were you can call through google voice or skype to mobiles and land lines at very low rates.

_Simon 14y ago

I'm sorry, but this is just "anti" for the sake of it. If you have a good enough relationship with friends and family, Facebook is just another medium to stay in touch. I'd agree that if it's the only medium, there may be issues, but your suggestions are merely alternatives, no better and in some instances slightly worse (no, the postal service is not a valid alternative). Yes, there are other options, but Facebook works well enough for a majority of folk. I'll come clean and say that I'm not a fan of Facebook, I find it too intrusive. That said most of my immediate friends and family use it and get an awful lot out of it. The psychological benefits of just feeling connected cannot be understated.

biomechanica 14y ago
It is not "anti" at all. Like I wrote already, the point isn't to replace the convenience of facebook. It is to seek alternatives that will "do the job". Yes, the postal service is absolutely an alternative, whether you agree or not. It is a means of old communication. Yes, it's a bit "inconvenient" but it works. Complacency is not a good argument: "the majority of people I know use it so it shouldn't be criticized for the sake of convenience". That's what I hear, maybe I'm deaf. Jitsi or Ekiga or any other type of open technology can effectively replace facebook quite well. They also give you "the psychological benefits of just feeling connected". I would submit that the Internet fills that niche, not Facebook or others like it. People can use it all they want. Fine, no problem. But to lean on the idea that it is somehow impossible to delete an account without becoming a hermit is, in my view, a complete asinine idea.
- _Simon 14y ago
  Why 'open'? Is that the issue that you have with Facebook? If not, why not Skype? It's available on more platforms that the two specific examples that you mention. The thing that you are dismissing is the convenience. Like it or not, literally millions of people find it extremely convenient to stay in touch with friends and acquaintances easily.
  - biomechanica 14y ago