People with no online presence

[exlibrisok]

After a morning of nosing around old classmates facebook pages and seeing what everyone is up to these day it got me wondering about the one or two who have no facebook and one in particular who has no online presence at all. I come from a small village and I think I am facebook friends with virtually everyone in my year at high school except one girl, who will now be 40 and a guy who does have a twitter but no facebook.

The girl is just off grid nothing comes up for her. I do know her brother and I know she went to art school in London and lives in Copenhagen now with her Danish husband. She was always a bit of a loner at school but nice. I guess I am just pretty nosey about her and wonder why she or anyoen doesn't have any social media or linkedin at all? I used to think people who didn't use social media had something to hide or that looking at other peoples lives just made them depressed but it sounds like she has done well for herself and I find it a bit sad she doesn't keep in touch with the old country!

I know a lot of people do give social media up if they find it overwhelming or depressing and some just don't care. This isn't meant to be judgmental I'm just curious about why people don't do social media, especially if they have normal or successful lives?

I don't have any social media presence because I am extremely private.

She's not necessarily off social media-just you haven't found her.
She could easily be using a different name-perhaps married name or even another. I know a couple of people who work in secure situations and use a derivation of their name and don't put any photos up. If you don't know them in RL you wouldn't pick up that they're on it.

I should add that I think I am quite sociable and enjoy being with friend and I have a really interesting career. Funnily enough thinking about it I am mentioned on a Wikipedia page which could count as social media?

I know lots of people who don't. Some of them don't want to broadcast what they are doing to people nosying around online.

My work colleague has no social media. I take my hat off to her for it.

I only joined Facebook this year and I'm in my 30's

Well I had a horrible time at high school so there's no way I'd be Facebook friends with anyone from there and I'm not on any other social media.

I only joined Facebook because a sporting group I was part of used it to organise all it's events. When I set it up, I set it so you can't actually search for me, because I didn't want to be found IYSWIM?

If you google my name, which is quite unusual, you get a few professional things that I've been involved in and nothing else.

I have no Facebook. I used to but it bored me rigid. It was always the same offenders that put up weekly pics if their kids (who I had never met) and then there were the other tribe of Constant Competition Sharers (honestly Sharon if you haven't won a spa weekend by now I feel sorry enough for you to organise a whip around) and then there were the Inspirational Quote People. Yes dawn does come after night, Theresa, I think you'll find that's a fact of nature.

I deactivated and haven't missed it once.

Also don't have Twitter. It's just aren't I so clever soundbites.

One family member is involved in politics, and a local councillor. He avoids social media (well Facebook at least) because he wants to have a private life, plus with some social media (back onto Facebook) you risk other people posting less than flattering photos and tagging you in them; many of us will have seen embarrassing photos of various celebrities dug up and posted for all to see; I can understand wanting to avoid that.

'Private' people always make me laugh! It's like a form of delusion that they have something special that only they get to see.....! 🕵️‍♂️👀

I have social media. But you'll have a devil of a job finding me unless you already have links to me somehow. I'm using it less and less though, I don't think it's unfeasible that in a year or so time I won't have anything that isn't anonymous

I don't have any social media presence because I had a horrific experience with a stalker. Nothing to do with being delusional about my specialness

I like talking to people and am sociable. But I don’t understand broadcasting my experiences randomly, to no-one in particular. I feel it is like walking into a room full of people, and spouting off about what I’ve been doing. Or randomly waving pictures of my kids around. That is not a conversation. I just don’t get it, and that is why I don’t ‘do’ Facebook etc.

My DH has no sm presence at all. He's not remotely interested!

I have very limited social media presence. Partly because of my job and partly because I have no desire to join Facebook or twitter.

I don't have any social media because it almost ruined my life.
It's a choice that I now keep myself and my business private. I like the fact that I am invisible.

I'm not on facebook, instagram, snapchat, twitter, or linked-in. I just googled myself to see what comes up and just an empty linked in account I made at work.

I see no point in any of those things. I am very sociable and not particularly private but I keep in touch with people in real life by phone/email/meeting up. I liked my school years and would go to a reunion if organised - and regularly am in touch with the girls I was friends with back in primary and secondarty school - but have no interest in being on facebook with people.

'Private' people always make me laugh! It's like a form of delusion that they have something special that only they get to see.....! 🕵️‍♂️👀

What does that even mean? Everyone has a private life that is special to them. Some people have no problem talking about part or all of it in public, some people don't. It isn't delusional or thinking you are special it is just a different approach.

'Private' people always make me laugh! It's like a form of delusion that they have something special that only they get to see.....!

Is that the only reason you think people would want to have a private profile?!

I use a fake surname on facebook, because I don't want certain abusive family members to find me. But even then I just keep it because of a group that I'm in. I can still look through photos of people who have kept their profiles private- I don't unpload any of myself anymore and removed them.

I have instagram but have recently disabled it. It's easier to control who you let see your stuff.

I'm the opposite. I have a big social media presence because I absolutely hate talking to people IRL . Social media is the only way anyone ever hears from me!

I am on social media but I am not Facebook friends with everyone I went to school with just a select few, I have a couple of friends who use alterative names on FB due to their work/husbands work.

I can never understand people who are fb friends with anyone they have ever met!

I'm just curious about why people don't do social media, especially if they have normal or successful lives?

I expect, like me, they like their privacy and don't want nosy people (like you OP) squirrelling around to see what they are up to.

It is not mandatory to use social media afaik.

Powerless Perhaps because some of us grew up before the internet and mobile phones, we can see that life can be lived without oversharing your information, and it is possible to retain your privacy. For some of us, with relatives in the military, there is the security angle as well, especially, if like me, you grew up with checking under the car for bombs in the 70s.

'Private' people always make me laugh! It's like a form of delusion that they have something special that only they get to see.....!

Or maybe just maybe we just don't like people knowing personal details about ourselves. Maybe we have been burnt in the past and so it's easier to stay invisible. Maybe we are safeguarding ourselves due to abusive exes. What a ridiculous statement.

I had a work colleague who is not on social media and has virtually no internet presence at all.

She is a data protection lawyer. Make of that what you will.

My husband is on FB but never uses it and he doesn't use any other social media.