What's good about Facebook?

[LaMarschallin]

I'm not on it.

The only SM I use is MN.

But - goodness me! - the amount of threads started by posters who are cross with something read on FB is very large indeed.

If it's that annoying then, given people are wedded to it, it must be that useful/entertaining.

What am I missing?

Interest groups.
Sharing lost dogs etc.
Sharing stolen cars.
Missing people - I only share if it's a Police post.
Keeping in touch with ex colleagues on a casual basis - not necessarily people I would ring up for a chat.

I don't have anything on there that winds me up, annoying people would be instantly blocked.

I love it for the groups.

They're the only things I post on. I don't post personal stuff about myself or put pictures up. I'm not bothered about the day to day stuff of friends but the groups are great.

I was very anti Facebook until I got it. I think people who don’t have Facebook have preconceived ideas based on all the negatives you hear about it – people posting inane stuff, goady posts etc. It is easy to avoid these kind of posts simply by being choosy about who you have on your friends list. I don’t have many Facebook friends because I avoid being friends with anyone who would post this kind of stuff. Also, I unfollow or unfriend anyone who does this.

I am a member of a few local Facebook groups, and it is a fantastic resource for local knowledge:

1. When you want to find an emergency plumber or electrician – this really is a brilliant resource that I have used a number of times
2. Why a road is closed because there has been an accident or a lorry has gone into a bridge (this happens a lot round here because we have a lot of low bridges)
3. Which roads are passable or closed when it has snowed
4. Why our GP hasn’t been able to offer the covid vaccine because they haven’t received their vaccines yet
5. Which local pubs are offering a takeaway service
6. Finding out if the reason you have no power is because there is a local power outage
7. Finding out if the reason your internet is down because there is a local problem in the area
8. Being notified about local events or if a local event has been cancelled
9. Finding out why the bins haven’t been emptied and when they will be
10. Selling stuff
11. Finding lost pets
12. Messenger for keeping in touch with DD who is a student

A Facebook page is easier and quicker to update than a website, especially during the pandemic when people are working from home.

Basically, Facebook is what you make it. I use it. It doesn't use me.

I've been on Facebook for years. At first I posted a lot of personal stuff on it - updates and photos etc. I got back in (casual) contact with people who I genuinely like who I'd lost touch with over the years. It was nice to catch up with them and see photos of their kids and spouses and holidays etc.

As time has gone by, I use it less and less for personal stuff and more for groups and events. I'm in a couple of book/reading groups. DD's Scouts group post updates on their Facebook page. I found out about local events (pre-Covid obviously) from friends sharing events.
It was invaluable when the Corona Virus arrived and all the restrictions started to take effect. By following local businesses and attractions, I was able to keep track of them opening and closing and changing their opening hours as we moved up and down through the Levels. I find businesses are very slow to update their websites (probably because they don't have the technical knowledge to do so - they probably paid someone to set it up in the first place) but are very quick to post updates to their Facebook page. There's a traffic group for my area and the members post updates about police checks roadworks or roads closed due to accidents/fallen trees etc.

There are lots of negatives too of course - the attention seekers who check in from hospitals or post about having a bad day leading to the inevitable "You ok hun" responses, the racists who share offensive comments and memes, 'friends' who add you to their MLM page so they can sell you things. Then there are the ads. You can block friends or hide posts. You can't do much about the ads unfortunately. For now, the positives outweigh the negatives.

It's creation gave an opportunity for Jesse Eisenberg's acting talent to be shown to a wider audience. In the film The Social Network.

Can't think of anything else.

@cherrypiepie

Groups and local businesses/ info/ community stuff information/ marketplace are all quite useful.

Yup. It's a good way of connecting with the local community, ie. when you have free stuff to give away. I also really like it for events - I've found out about loads of stuff via Facebook, both IRL and online. I've joined some fun online events during lockdown. I'm in a ton of groups but mostly have them on mute and just check when I want to. For example, I'm a member of the local "Gossip girls" group which would annoy the crap out of me if I saw every notification about what time does Asda open, someone saw a schoolkid behaving well/badly etc etc but can also be a really good source of local knowledge, recommendations for tradespeople etc.

I also unfollow people that I'm not really interested in, or who annoy me, but that I don't want to de-friend for whatever reason. I think that most people would enjoy Facebook a lot more if they did this more often...

School info page, and the free photo storage that you can have if you switch all the albums to "viewed by me only".

Mainly use it for local noticeboard. Handy to find out about roadwork etc.

I also unfollow people that I'm not really interested in, or who annoy me, but that I don't want to de-friend for whatever reason. I think that most people would enjoy Facebook a lot more if they did this more often

I agree. I have one friend who posts a lot of political stuff, so I unfollowed him for a bit. He has calmed down now.

I forgot to add that there are a lot of support groups on Facebook as well.

You don't have to buy and post a birthday card.

You don't have to buy and post a birthday card.

And this ^^ as well

I like seeing what my friends are doing, particularly the ones with children of similar age to mine. My friends will also say the same, and I like to share what me and my family have been up to.
I have different groups of friends, we wouldn't all text each other constantly with what we have been up to.
I also like the local groups; book swaps, litter picking groups, community notices, events etc.

So many people get frustrated with it. If that's the case I suggest either not being on there, deleting the people or groups that annoy you, or just being a bit less caring about the crap you read 🤷🏻‍♀️
I don't get why people let it get to them so much. I see so many people getting in arguments on there too.
Used correctly, which I think I do, it's just a nice little way of keeping updated...

Although I LOVE reading the arguments in local groups

I'm a member of quite a few groups related to my hobbies, which are great. They're also quite good for organising events. I also like seeing what my family are up to who live overseas, and it's always good to have a snoop at what old school friends are doing. A lot of them seem to be doing really well for themselves, which is lovely to see.

I post very little on it myself, so if anyone wanted to 'stalk' me, they'd be disappointed with what they found, I think.

Groups
Openly sharing little snippets of life that make you smile which initiates conversation with friends that wouldn't be worth directing a message/ call to.
Keeping up with local businesses/ news/ events.

I hide / unfriend people that are too annoying. I'm selective about friends. My settings are private and kept close.

In 2.5 days I’ve raised £600 for charity through friends’ sponsorship (I don’t usually ask so it’s an unusual thing), I find out about local events, keep in touch with people I otherwise wouldn’t. I’ve removed anyone who doesn’t add value to my life so that makes a difference.

I use it for groups and events. The newsfeed (the main bit) is awful.