What is the point/use of having Facebook?

[viridus]

I am thinking about joining Facebook, just to keep in contact with friends. Is it worth losing my privacy, and is it worth it?
Just would like some opinions, please.

It's good for keeping in contact with friends and isn't too much of a privacy issue if you limit what you put on it. Look into the privacy features when you join and limit who can see your profile.

You don't have to lose your privacy, just don't share every intimate detail of your life.

I put up photos one time of me in a stripclub and then my cousin spread a rumour I was a stripper and a lesbian.
Lesbian because I was standing next to a female he knew of who was a lesbian and I'm in a stripclub meaning I must be a stripper.
This is Facebook logic.
So it got deleted a few years ago, I like my privacy and people not spreading rumours about me over my pictures.

What do you mean "losing your privacy"?
You can choose who you are friends with.
You can make it so that only people you have chosen to be friends with can see what you have posted (pictures, links, stuff you've written).
If you comment on something (a photo, an article, a piece of writing) that someone else has made, your friends and their friends can see what you've written.

I use it to:

keep in touch with friends and family

share photos (and look at other people's photos)

share things on the internet that I think are interesting (and look at things other people think are interesting)

organise events (and hear about events that other people are going to)

participate in group discussions

There's not really a privacy issue - you don't have to share any details. It's good for keeping in touch with people, event invitations and for interesting articles people share on the newsfeed.

Why would you lose your privacy?
Use the privacy settings.
FB only knows what you tell it so only put on what you're willing to share.
I enjoy facebook. It keeps me in touch with people I rarely see and allows me to share with friends the other side of the world.

I use it to keep in touch with friends and family. Its useful to send quick messages to groups of people, share bits of news, and to find out about local events easily. I also post the odd photo.

It's easy to adjust your security settings so only people you add as friends can see any information about you or pictures you post. I know some people think it's the devils work but I find it a quick and easy way to stay in contact with people. I also love seeing what my friends are up to all over the world.

I recently deactivated my account but realised I wasn't hearing about local events being held. So many companies, charities, local groups etc use fb to advertise events, I only missed it for that

I also use it to send pictures to people who don't use email.

e.g. I can send a picture of a friend's baby to my mum (who would like to see it)

I am a bit of a dinosaur with technology as I been avoiding not keeping up with it. Now it is less costly, and more user friendly.
I like the idea of only putting in what you want and using the privacy settings. Also hearing about local events seem useful.
Thank you for your replies and opinions, much appreciated.

Do you have someone who could take you through it to start with?

My mum is generally pretty slow to adopt technology (she wouldn't be found on MN) but she now uses and likes facebook, although she never posts anything herself she likes following other people.

I love Facebook!
I am on various groups such as Walking For Pleasure, local film club,sports groups that I'm part of, my local newspaper, favourite radio stations etc

I am also 'friends' with various establishments such as Manchester Academy, SoundControl etc and hear what gigs are coming up.

I like some of the daft postings that come up and tag other friends in.
I like the private message and that I can easy create a group for an event.

Just good fun and an easy way to communicate.

It is far more than a place to keep in contact with friends and family now. You can search for all sorts of things that interest you and if you 'like' their page, you receive their newsfeed too. It becomes your own personalised news website.

For instance, I have 'liked' certain holiday locations I have spent my life visiting, a group who post pictures of my home town, my local town's history site, certain tv programmes, craft and food websites/bloggers, etc. So every day I receive news about things and places that interest me, or can share a conversation with complete strangers who happen to share my interests.

I love it. I find it's the easiest way to keep in touch with my cousins who I normally only see at weddings and funerals. It's also really handy to contact people in similar situations to me through groups. Me and an old school friend who I'd lost touch with both had babies with cleft palates within a couple of weeks of each other. We wouldn't have known without facebook and it's great to talk to someone I already know about it.

Forgot to add that I'm virtually housebound due to my dc's disabilities so things like mn and facebook are often my only forms of contact.

This is Facebook logic. No, that is stupid person logic.

Trills - yes younger ones are good at helping me. I do love technology and have enrolled on IT course, - I found one which worked better than another one which was more advanced, and getting more input from the Tutor now.

Whathavilost - your post sounds exactly what I would use it for, and I like "daft" like lighthearted stuff sometimes too.

Great for housebound people too.

I am not going to put my photo on it though, maybe add that later.

I use it to keep in touch with my brother and see all the amazing places he is,
Look at my far away friebds baby pics
Stalk exs in moderation imagining what would have happened if I had run off to st tropez with glamorous french ex like he wanted to

People will be much more likely to accept your friend requests if you have a picture of your face in the box where your face should be.

Keep your privacy settings as high as you can, just google how to do this, there's plenty of info online.

It's a tool really - it can be incredibly twattish but it can also be useful. I'm no longer living in the UK, and many friends and family have emigrated. It's useful for us to keep in touch with as we are all spread all over the globe!

Thank you everyone. I only have the original I pad, but will get a digital camera or smartphone for photos.

I have a lot of friends who live abroad and FB is an easy (if superficial) way to keep in touch with them. I love seeing the occasional photo of their kids or days out or whatever I'm not a stalker, honest.

Some of my friends have the same interests as me so if I see a news item or post I think they'd like, I can share it with them.

There are some good local pages so I hear about local initiatives and events.

Those are the things I use Facebook for.

There are negatives too, of course.

Facebook often puts 'Suggested Posts' into my newsfeed. This is basically advertising.

Another problem is that the things your friends choose to share may not be things you have any interest in. For example, one of my friends was always posting really long, boring 'inspirational' posts. I'm not talking about a nice picture of a sunset with a brief inspirational quote. She would go on an on with very detailed accounts of her philosophy on life. After a lot of eye rolling on my part, I blocked her. Once in a blue moon I have a quick glance at her page to see what she's up to.

For some reason a lot of my friends share cute animal pictures or videos. Obviously there's nothing wrong with this and it's not offensive or anything. Just gets tedious after a million photos while.

You quickly learn to filter the news stories as you scroll through your news feed. I ignore the posts I've no interest in and focus on the ones that I find interesting.

i find it very useful for groups - am a member of one got my daughters disability, like seeing pics of kids doing well and the new babies as does dd. The info and support I've got from one related to my illness has been invaluable- met some of the people off it in real life too at the hospital. Day to day nice to see photos of friends and family eg on s day out and think oh I haven't been for ages. Local places advertise. Also use the local buy and sell. Useful for arranging a night out. Dd's dance school stick reminders on eg fees due next week.

I love facebook - you do get a lot of rubbish on it, but I skip over that. It's particularly great for me because I am deaf and don't use the phone - this way I can keep in touch with more friends and family than I would otherwise.