Hands down, my biggest problem with social networking is
having to friend, follow or subscribe to people I don’t care about. I’m just not
one of those people that can follow thousands of folks on Twitter or be
friends with thousands of people I’ve only met once, a long time ago and be
happy. I only follow people I actually like and/or care about what they have to
say. On Twitter I normally give someone about three strikes before punching
that “unfollow” button. And no, I’m not too cool to bother to follow anyone
back. It’s more of an OCD thing with me; I can’t tolerate certain types of tweets
clogging up my feed. This is most likely the reason I don’t have many
followers, because I won’t just follow anyone for the hell of it. And I’m okay
with that. There have been people I’ve followed, unfollowed, refollowed to see
what they’re up to, remembered why I unfollowed in the first place and still continue check their Twitter feed
every now and again. It’s a sickness I’m dealing with.
There’s some kind of rush that happens when you unfollow a
celebrity as well, it really is like you’ve been freed. Click the button, sit
back and let out a sigh of relief, the suffering is over. When I first got
Twitter in 2009 (those were the days), I followed every celebrity I’ve ever
heard of. That number is at about 6 now and one of them is on thin ice. I
follow mostly random people I find entertaining and I’ve “met” some great
“friends” that way. I only personally know about 5 of my followers, but that’s
my favorite thing about Twitter, it’s a great place to meet people you wouldn’t
have otherwise come in contact with if it weren’t for a common interest in
being part of/making fun of today’s pop culture.
Facebook is a different story; it’s where you add people you
already get enough of on a personal level. I rarely add someone on Facebook
that I don’t know in real life, with very
few exceptions. Most of my Facebook friends I’ve known since at least high
school and I hardly ever read anything any of them post. I’m just over it. Like
my friend Melissa (@30plussome) says “Facebook is to Twitter what Myspace was
to Facebook.” It’s just too much. That’s why I don’t really understand Facebook
going public, it’s already at its peak. **I wish I could somehow prove to you that I
wrote this weeks ago, therefore predicting how poorly Facebook stock would have
done. I’m so smart. Why am I not rich?**
In my opinion (which means nothing) I don’t see it lasting
for much longer. I prefer Twitter much more and I’m most definitely more like
myself on Twitter. I can’t say anything I want on Facebook because most of my
friends on there don’t “get me”. I post a few pictures per week but that’s
about it. It’s mainly a tool to keep in contact with family/friends that no
longer live around me. You know what the main problem with Facebook is? The
character allowance per status update. I’m not sure if there is a limit but if
there is, it’s way too long. That’s also
one of Twitter’s greatest qualities. 140 characters and that’s all you get,
make it short and sweet and to the point. Some people tell their life story in
their Facebook status updates and I simply cannot take it anymore. That’s where
“hiding” comes in.
The ability to hide people on Facebook is one of life’s greatest
blessings. 60% of the time it works…every time. Yes, you could “unfriend” but
what if it’s someone you actually see on a weekly, even daily basis? What if
it’s one of your oldest friends? Hiding is a great way to defriend on your end
only. (Another one of Twitter’s pluses, it’s mostly one sided.) I’m going to go
out on a limb and say hiding those chosen few people on my Facebook was one of
the best decisions I’ve made recently. I just clicked “hide all by _____
_________” and never looked back. The best part is, they never have to know.
You don’t have to offend anyone or hurt anyone’s feelings; you just simply
don’t have to read their posts anymore. I’m sure someone’s hidden me, and I’m
okay with it. Do what you gotta do.
Besides the annoying and all too frequent posts (if you want
to post statuses on an hourly or even more frequent basis, GET A TWITTER,
that’s what it’s for), there’s the never-ending evites, the game requests, and
the notifications: “so-and-so commented on so-and-so’s status that you also commented
on” Couldn’t care less, wasn’t looking for a debate. Hence the reason I’ve
resorted to my new motto: “’Like’ it or Leave it.” Don’t get me started on how
badly I want a dislike button to exist, on Facebook and in real life.
I guess what I’m trying to say is, I enjoy complaining about
these social media sites that I get to use for free. Even though the people of
Twitter can get annoying sometimes, I’m dependent. I could probably count on
one hand the number of days I’ve stayed off of Twitter. It’s an addiction and
to those of you think it’s too complicated: get over yourself. Just admit I’m
always right and realize I was the one who told you to move from MySpace to
Facebook way back when…you know who you are. Follow the trend, Twitter’s where
it’s at…for now. Have fun, just don’t follow me ;)
