To think that there must be mumsnetters out there that don't use/aren't on Facebook?

[LaurieFairyCake]

there must be.....

Say I'm not the only one (don't have one now, got rid more than 4 years ago)

"But it's not in the public domain if you keep your settings private."

What would be the point in having a FB account if no-one can "see" you? I have my settings set at friends only which, to me anyway, seems to be the most sensible option. But anything I might post would be seen by all of my friends.

I keep in touch with friends and family by telephone and email.

I used to use Friends Reunited and have now lost interest in finding people I haven't seen for a long time.

Keeping your setting private means that people can't see what you're writing to other friends,or your photos etc.
You can still be 'seen' (if you want) and people can friend request you/contact you, but you don't have to reply and it won't show that you've ignored them.

I use the phone too,even a landline!

Anyway,each to their own,i like it.

Is it me but if your 'friends' were real friends why would they need photos of you and up to date information, plus all the info about where you live etc. They would be there living life with you wouldn't they?

At my friends school (she's a teacher) they seem to be investigating a new case of serious bullying via this site every week!

After a recent death of a young kid the media were apparently nicking quotes of the rememberance page as though the people had spoke to them personaly.

I'd shut it down!

seeker "Over 50? What do you think stops the over 50s being on Facebook? I would hve thought it would be perfect for people as they start to slow down and they become less mobile. They could keep in touch with their friends without having to go out And lots of older people don't like going to the pub and places like that,"

FFS do you think the over 50s stay at home riding up and down on their stair lifts to get their knitting patterns!!? Jeez!! I will be 50 in 2 months time and am apalled that anyone thinks I might be "slowing down" or "becoming less mobile." Do you actually know anyone over 50?

Having said that I have, on the whole, been heartened by this thread because I can't really see the big attraction of Facebook. There are people I know and like and I have ways of keeping in touch with them. I just cannot see how Facebook has anything to offer me.

Riversidegirl.
In my friends list I have people from..

France.
Uruguay
Canada
Alabama.
Minnesota.
Idaho.
Australia
Scotland
and Wales.

They can't always be with me when I'm out and about but they are still my friends and we are mutally interested in each others lives and like to keep in touch in a fast and free way.

I do not understand why anyone "needs" these so-called social networks. I find them quite anti-social and it would seem others do as well, judging from posts on this board.
I have a "skeleton" Facebook page, but cannot honestly remember when I last visited. I find getting the updates in my mailbox irritating enough (must remember to turn them off).
I am also concerned about the amount of "information" being collected on internet users these days, as well as the "predictive" assumptions made by certain websites. Recently I was on business in Switzerland and wanted to look at flights from Germany. I was automatically re-directed to the Swiss website because it was assumed that, as I happened to have a Swiss IP at the time, I would be dealing with flights to or from the country and wanted to see prices in CHF! Let's say this was not helpful and did not endear the major airline to me - especially when I saw the significant difference in cost between paying in ? and paying in CHF.

e320 - surely it was helpful if you saw a price difference as you could take advantage and pay the cheaper cost?

"seeker "Over 50? What do you think stops the over 50s being on Facebook? I would hve thought it would be perfect for people as they start to slow down and they become less mobile. They could keep in touch with their friends without having to go out And lots of older people don't like going to the pub and places like that,"

FFS do you think the over 50s stay at home riding up and down on their stair lifts to get their knitting patterns!!? Jeez!! I will be 50 in 2 months time and am apalled that anyone thinks I might be "slowing down" or "becoming less mobile." Do you actually know anyone over 50?"

I don't use FB - I'm (way) under 50.

It is such a load of old drivel - the dreadful, attention seeking status updates, the endless photos.

My cousin uploaded 112 holiday photos of her and two dc. All in their swimwear (teenagers) - I bloody hope she asked them first.

It makes me mad when people upload pics of me on to facebook without my permission.

I cannot bear all this over sharing and privacy annihilation. What the fuckity fuck is it all about?

Facebook is for show offs is all I can ascertain and we have somehow become a nation - a world - of big old show offs.

I feel very uncomfortable when other people put photos of DD on FB without my permission. On my FB page there is one photo - of me. That's it.

I agree about attention seeking status updates. I don't understand why some people need to be the centre of attention all the time. DD is 11 and not interested in FB, and I can reiterate that the worst kind of bullying at her school has been carried out via FB.

I feel very uncomfortable about the idea that the more people use FB the more it will be exploited, and not in a good way.

Facebook is up there with the 10 worst things ever invented - I truly hate it. I think its pointless - surely those friends you want to keep in touch with you do in other ways and those you don't - well they aren't really friends then are they?

Who wants to read about someone just making a cup of tea or some other rubbish.

In my job (a divorce solicitor) the majority of divorce cases feature facebook somewhere - either the cause of ther marriage breakdown, or a way of harassment. If I hear one more person say "he said xxx about my on fb" I think i will scream.

And as for children being on it ....don't get me started!

Its the recent move by employers (especially in the USA) to demand you unlock your FB account so it can be viewed by them to check your background that bothers me. I know many employers in the UK already routinely check out public FB pages as a matter of course.

I have told my DSs about this danger that anything they do and then out on FB will be documented for ever and read by future employers. Problem is I can't stop their friends putting stuff up there about them.

There is a debate about passing a law that allows the internet to forget you after a few years. Everyone has a right to a past life and a redemption - even criminals.

facebook has two good uses:

(1) you can snoop into the lives of those you used to know

(2) you dont have to sit through someone's reams and reams and fucking reams of holiday photos, you just say "yeah, I saw them on FB, looks gorgeous" and hope they don't ask which photo was your favourite

for this reason, it's worth doing.

rule 1: if you dont want the entire world to know it, dont put it on the internet. even a private email can go around the world in minutes.

even if you delete, someone somewhere may have a copy

In my job (a divorce solicitor) the majority of divorce cases feature facebook somewhere

and before facebook it was friends reunited, before that it was something else. The world moves on to the next big thing for five minutes

"and before facebook it was friends reunited, before that it was something else. The world moves on to the next big thing for five minutes"

But previously it was less public and less permanent.

I agree with autumnchild that most "friends" on FB aren't real friends. Unfortunately the children in DD's class who already have FB accounts are the troublemakers in class. There might or might not be a correlation here, but they are all under 13.

I was talking about this the other day with my best friend, and we were saying "thank god FB didn't exist when we were at uni" because we all did some pretty outrageous things/ got ridiculously drunk/ behaved like complete dick-wads and I'm bloody glad that there aren't any pictures (this is pre-digital so people just didn't take photos everywhere like they do now as film was way expensive on a student budget).

I am on FB but my rule is to keep it very light hearted (no heavy emotional shit on status updates). I like it for the local groups (i'm an expat) as there is a pretty good trade in second hand kid's stuff and advice on good places to get things.

I can honestly say I'd have no qualms about letting any employer look at my FB page.

I use it a fair bit. I used to use specialist forums for bereaved parents, sn etc. now I can have friends on FB and it's a lot simpler.
Sometimes I dereg to get an easy done though.

I have an account.

I never use it and if I could be arsed, I'd delete it.

I prefer to do my oversharing face to face, thankcherverrymuchly.

Twitter... wtaf??

I don't have facebook. Had it for a few years and then deleted it a few months ago. I was completely sick of it.

I don't. I had an account for a while but it all seemed so horribly superficial. And it made me feel bad about some of my nicest friends.

All that 'Why is life so hard? (sad face)' attention-seeking crap.

Boring, posed photos. Parents blathering on about their children. Dull, dull, dull.

Never have & most likely never will have a facebook account.

Not for me either. The thought of everyone I know or ever did know all in one place makes me feel quite ill.

Also I think if you lose touch with people - there's gotta be a reason I have no interest in updating a load of people I never see anymore about the minutiae of my life and I don't want to hear about theirs.