Facebook Overload

Somewhere in here is my status update. Good luck finding it…

In the past week, Facebook has gone public and stock for the company started at $38 a share. I happened to be in New York when this went down and I had a few people wondering if I was camping out down in the Financial District, waiting to make my bids. The truth of the matter is…despite the fact that Facebook IS still my go-to form of networking with my friends from pretty much every facet of my life…it’s kind of wearing thin on me. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE posting pithy, snarky comments and perusing the status updates to see what you (or your kids, or your dogs, or your neighbors) are up too, but let’s face it…Facebook, as a simple medium, has become overwrought with WAY too much information.

At any given time within the last couple of years, I have noticed that The Facebook has simply become a springboard for people to spout off their opinions on EVERYTHING ranging from religion to politics to who makes the best hamburger. In the early days of its existence, people were unsure of what to put on status updates, which made for some awkward postings. “Newbies” would simply put how they were feeling today or what their kids were doing. NOW we have long-winded paragraphs on whatever thought has crossed our minds. Sometimes this doesn’t bother me when it’s told in an entertaining fashion. Sometimes, reading a completely misspelled sentence about your love life can be hysterical! But usually, it’s downright maddening how many people just can’t spell…at all. Not that I’ve spelled everything I’ve ever written correctly (because I haven’t) but there are moments when I read something and I have to wonder…what were you doing when you posted? Were you carrying groceries into the house? Swerving through 4 lanes of traffic? Applying makeup…WHILE carrying groceries and swerving through traffic? I don’t know. And I’m starting to realize through political and religious rants that there is a reason we haven’t kept in touch after all these years. I whole-heartedly agree that, as a country, we should be allowed to voice our opinions. However I have to think that it could be done in a more productive fashion (maybe by starting a blog like this one and writing, in concise and educated fashion, WHY you think gay marriage is a bad idea? Or why you think President Obama is the anti-Christ?). But I dunno if Facebook is the best way to be expressing yourself on hot button topics. It’s difficult to get all of your points across and all it usually does is piss off the “Friends” who disagree with you. Thus…Facebook is working in reverse of what it was made to do and that was to bring you back together with your “Friends.” Right?

Here’s my deal with Facebook. I like to know what you’re up too. It’s cool that I can see that a friend that I had lost touch with back in the 4th grade is now enjoying life, has 4 kids and is going fishing this weekend. What ISN’T cool is everyone (including myself)  jamming every article they’ve read, every thought they’ve had in their head or every video they’ve ever seen on YouTube on their Facebook page. I swear…I don’t need all this CRAP cluttering up everything!!! And I blame Facebook for this because it has allowed itself to become and extension of Twitter (which I can’t stand). I don’t mind a selective funny video or an occasional article that sparks some thoughts, but HOLY CRAP! It’s a clutter of information that, quite frankly, makes browsing updates a chore and so…I don’t do it as much anymore. Surprised? Don’t be.

Why am I slowly drifting? Mostly because I have a life. Don’t take this the wrong way because I WANT to care. I like ALL of my Facebook friends however when the medium becomes SO narcissistic and so angry and so completely driven by marketing, it loses its fun. And that’s what Facebook USED to be to me…FUN. Now it’s all about videos and advertising and stupid games (that I will NEVER play…OKAY??? Stop inviting me already!). It’s exhausting and I’m over it. So lately, I’ve been posting a lot less and I will check in from time to time to let you know what I’m up to but, for the most part, unless I have something funny to say, I’ve been staying away as much as possible. It’s just giving me a headache and the load time on my IPhone has slowed to a crawl due to all the software changes. I guess it’s safe to say that Facebook has lost its shine for me and that’s okay because I have other things I need to be doing anyway…like my yard work. Yesterday I posted…

“I have got a LOT of yard work to do today. Anyone wanting to stop by to help me mow/trim/plant or de-weed is MORE than welcome to stop by.”

Sadly…no one came to help. I guess in all the clutter, my update got lost. I should have linked it to THIS article about weeds and how pesticides are affecting the environment. Or how about THIS video…

Now THAT is quality entertainment and obviously Facebook status update worthy…