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Original poster

To ask what you people actually use Facebook for??!

123 replies

anythingwithagiraffeonit · 02/03/2011 14:10

Recently I've seen threads saying how no one writes how they love DH / can't wait to see him etc on Facebook. People hate that apparently.

Then I saw one about how people hate when people announce pregnancy / write about pregnancy / post pictures of children...

A few people wrote 'can't stand people who go on and on about their lives!'

So what exactly is it okay to do??

OP posts:
Barmcake · 02/03/2011 14:32

as someone who lives overseas and has family scattered across the globe it helps me to keep in touch with everyone and they get to see pics of ds as he grows,friends only have access, but I do not declare undying love to dh, I tell him I love him when he leaves for work each morning so don't see the need to post it for everyone else to see, but some of my friends do this Hmm
and I do not have thousands of friends on there as others seem to have, am quite choosey Grin

rickymummy · 02/03/2011 14:32

Don't think any of my FB friends have ever said anything nice about their husbands in their status updates.

Punkatheart · 02/03/2011 14:32

I'm a writer and 90% of my friends on Facebook are writers/artists/poets and journalists. So I use Facebook to keep up with their book launches and events, competitions and general writerly things.

I fought it originally - yes it did seem childish and I wasn't particularly interested in the 'I had a bacon sandwich for breakfast' style status updates.

But what it is wonderful for doing is shrinking the world, keeping all my friends from all over the globe in my pocket.

So networking and keeping up - basically. I love it.

JenniPenni · 02/03/2011 14:34

It's a great tool to keep in touch easily with friends and family far away. If you don't like it/understand why it's there/are cynical about it... stay away from it. Quite simple really!

Original poster
anythingwithagiraffeonit · 02/03/2011 14:37

I'm not cynical - I love it! I'm probably the worst kind... I update everyday, post loads of photos of DD and even do that 'checking in' thing.

It let's DH know what DD and I are doing all day and if we're out eating and who we're with.

Love it.

OP posts:
ShowOfHands · 02/03/2011 14:38

Like Jenni says, I stay in touch with family in Canada/NZ/Australia, can share photos with them, follow their travel blogs etc and all in a single convenient place.

I keep up to date with friends' bands and enjoy sharing people's news, use book groups etc.

If you don't like it, don't use it. Don't also assume that everybody on it is lolling, having illicit affairs or playing stupid games.

It's what you make it.

snowmama · 02/03/2011 14:44

I have friends and family all around the world - it was wonderful to find all my old school friends again, whom I thought I had lost for good.

I keep in much closer contact with more distant relatives and I like being more involved in their lives.

My privacy settings are set at a high level so you can't just randomly search for me. Yes, some people's status updates are bit TMI - but I don't generally notice them.

Toygirl · 02/03/2011 14:45

I use it because it helps me keep in contact with friends and family. I live down near London now and everyone I know is in Scotland. It makes me a little less lonely.

kingbeat23 · 02/03/2011 14:45

  1. dont have any other "messenger" service...bbm, msn etc so use it for keeping in touch with people.

  2. stalking - can keep my obsessive tendancies to myself, re: men i fancy!:D

And as above, regular privacy setting updates and culling of people/friends/not accepting people "just because"

FioFio · 02/03/2011 14:45

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted

Original poster
anythingwithagiraffeonit · 02/03/2011 14:47

Just to be clear Jenni and Showofhands...

I love Facebook! I'm here asking about the recent threads of Facebook criticism...

OP posts:
redstripeyelephant · 02/03/2011 14:50

I use it for those rare moments when I actually think up something vaguely humorous to say about my life/the telly and want to tell someone other than a 2-year-old.

It seems my recent status updates have mainly been about poo or masterchef. That pretty much sums up my life Grin.

shesparkles · 02/03/2011 14:52

I keep in touch with my cousins who are spread far and wide-I know we'd not make the effort otherwise.

It's also the BEST way to catch up on the gossip at work Grin

issey6cats · 02/03/2011 14:52

i like to play some of the games and chat with friends who live all over the country who i dont see very often, my kids are usually on there same time as me so a quick chat with them just another communication tool really

mmsmum · 02/03/2011 15:04

I use it mainly to keep in touch with school mates, most of whom I had lost touch with before FB came along. I make little postings if something interesting has happened, might even post my opinion on something that's popular at the time

If I find someone annoying or boring I just hide their posts from my news feed. If they are really annoying I delete them from my friends list

diddl · 02/03/2011 15:11

I´m abroad & use it to stay in touch with friends/family in UK.

It´s great to have to just put pics up once.

Have never posted a status though & message individually.

TricityBendixx · 02/03/2011 15:15

snooping. snooping and spying.

fb is shit. it gives a false sense of being in touch with people when you aren't really. it is okay for sharing photos. i have many 'friends' who i don't really care about and who i'm sure don't care about me. i closed my account for a few weeks but felt out of the loop. if you're not on fb you get left out of stuff.

Loie159 · 02/03/2011 15:15

I use it as some of my oldest / best friends live in NZ, Canada etc and its lovely for me to see what they are up to , and for them to see pics of DC etc.

Some people seem to "art direct" their lives and post things continually about how wonderful thye are,how perfect their life is which i cant stand.

However as far as its uses, I have and a lot of people I know sometimes post status for help with problems with little ones as people respond quickly and with good advice, whne realistically with a newborn you cant exactly call up 10 people to ask them for their help, so its good for that.
Also great for posts like " can anyone recommend a resturant in xyz" or does anyone have a xxx I can borrow".

My pet hate though is people who have 356 fiends - who knows that many people let alone is "friends" with them!

shewasashowgirl · 02/03/2011 15:26

It allows families friends to connected on a regular basis who might not be able to other wise, especially those who live far away. It also allows a casual style of communication and a feeling of closeness because you hear all the silly daily things that are happening as well as the main events. In short it mimics real life communication with those who you would choose to spend more time with but can't because you live far away.
There are people who say I don't care where so and so went last night but if you had a friend who called up for a natter or passed in the street it's the sort of thing you might talk about. I think it does become a bit silly when people who do meet up regularly or live together chat on it. But if that annoyed me too much I'd just block the updates. Simple really.

amiheartless · 02/03/2011 15:34

I find overly lovey dovey statuses usually amusing!

im far too placid for it to actively bother me

ShowOfHands · 02/03/2011 15:49

anythingwithagiraffeonit, I didn't mean you. Smile

I meant every time you see these threads, somebody says 'it's shit/juvenile/there's no point/it's all arguing and playing games' when a lot of people use it for reasons outside of that. My 86yr old grandmother gets inordinate amounts of pleasure from staying in touch with people, seeing their photos, sending them messages etc. She can't use the phone anymore and some photos of her great grandchildren, messages from friends/family and a world outside her mobility adapted bungalow is a brilliant thing. She's neither having an affair nor writing 'luvvvvv you hunnneeee' all over the place.

You don't like fb, you don't use it. But I find criticising it blindly and generalising about the people that use it is shortsighted.

FreakoidOrganisoid · 02/03/2011 15:52

I use it mainly so that family/friends overseas can see pictures of the children and keep up with what they're doing. It's a great way for me to keep the ex ILS up to date without actually having to communicate directly with them Wink

Also to make plans with groups of people, easier than text/email where you forget who knows what.

To be nosy also Grin

Punkatheart · 02/03/2011 15:53

..forget to say that I have even got work out of Facebook. I commented on a thread for the Tate gallery - about proofreading. A lovely foreign student contacted me and gave me a substantial amount of work proofreading her thesis.

I don't have anyone on Facebook I do not care about...

MrsJohnDeere · 02/03/2011 16:06

Farmville.
Arranging things with local friends.
Drumming up support for local events and fundraisers.
Keeping in touch with friends overseas.

PlasticLentilWeaver · 02/03/2011 16:08

I used to use it for keeping in touch with friends, sharing photos etc. We move regularly, and often our friends are too far away to see very frequently. I used to just let people know what we'd been up to, low key type stuff.

Then I got a 'friend' request from MiL, which I ignored for several weeks, but she kept ringing DH complaining that I hadn't accepted and what had she done to upset me. I basically felt bullied into accepting it. I no longer post ANYTHING about what we have been up to, as I don't want MiL interfering or commenting. I no longer share photos that way, as I hate that in her world it is MY grandchildren, rather than our DC. I comment on friend's photos etc, but I have my security locked down so tight, it's all a bit of a pointless exercise. So, I don't really use it at all