A Rant AGAINST Facebook Haters

A defense of facebook.

Her beef:

Notice to my friends: I love you all dearly.

But I don't give a hoot that you are "having a busy Monday," your child "took 30 minutes to brush his teeth," your dog "just ate an ant trap" or you want to "save the piglets." And I really, really don't care which Addams Family member you most resemble.

The hater-in-question thinks her friends are boring. See...this isn't the issue I have with facebook. In fact, I rather like getting gossip and other information from other people through their facebook accounts. I don't like what facebook would do to ME. I don't want to be constantly updating information and pictures online about my private life. I don't want my mom reading the same things about me as my friends. I just don't. I need some compartamentalization in my life.** My personal life is not open source software for anyone and everyone to have equal access. Furthermore, I don't want to waste time reading up on all the details of everyone I know. I can imagine it's addictive. It allows you to stalk people you shouldn't be stalking. No, you should not have the power to look up every single cute girl you meet briefly out on adventures in LA and become their facebook friend/stalker. Facebook has the potential to make us all into creeps.

As to the fun and joys of gossip, I realized this weekend I like facebook as a second hand source. I like hearing gossip through a filter. That's what's so fun about gossip anyway. I like hearing people update me about other people. In the same way I don't like reading AP news reports - which are just prepared statements about events. I prefer analysis and coverage. Same with gossip. I like hearing not that so-and-so got married, but the analysis and details - how they met, was it a big or small wedding, are they a good couple, etc. That's the juice. Facebook as a supplement/compliment to gossip is a good tool.

**Facebook defenders will undoubtedly cite privacy settings. I don't need to be a CIA case officer to know you can learn as much by omission as admission and these privacy settings, I'm sure, can be very revealing if anyone with a brain is paying attention.