Facebook

I’m not on Facebook.  I think this is an important thing to spell out, because so many people are it’s assumed that I am (almost everyone else I know is on Facebook).  I have reasons for not being on Facebook which I’m happy to spell out in this post and to anyone who asks why (which is far less than perhaps should in my opinion).

When I first came across Facebook, it was 2007 and my then boyfriend joined because he was being paid a lot of money by a firm to create an app for Facebook.  At that time he told me that Facebook was a waste of time and collected data on people.  My husband and friends joined Facebook and I sat on the outside and looked in.  From time to time I’d borrow various people’s Facebook accounts from time to time and look up people I’d actually like to reconnect with, often failing to find them.  And I didn’t sign up.

My brother-in-law investigates Facebook privacy for fun and has written many detailed articles covering privacy issues on Facebook (all here) and that also did not endear me to use the networking tool any time soon.  My husband encourages me to go on and make a false persona to network with people, which to me defeats the purpose, but I really don’t want to give Facebook Inc any of my personal data (real or imagined).

Facebook is also another time sink, and as it is I struggle to find time to do all the things I want to do.  Do I want to play this game from my stack of shame, read my RSS feed, chat with friends, spend time with partners or write posts on my blog?  I struggle to get the things done that I want done, let alone adding new things to the pile (thank the flying spaghetti monster I’ve actually finished my degree).

I suppose one of my biggest reasons for not being on Facebook is because I like being different and a rebel.  So, on principle, Facebook is not different and rebellious – though it may have had it’s foundations that way.

So yes, if you want to invite me to that cool event that you’re hosting, and you’ve invited all your Facebook friends, have a think about those of us who are not on Facebook and email us an invite too.

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