Do you hate social media?

I hate it. I think for the most part its a cesspool filled with vapid, self interested, egotistical individuals unable to derive positive attention through their endeavors IRL. Why is it we have reduced our thoughts and feelings to status' and hashtagging rather than concentrating our efforts into actually socializing.

Its almost impossible for me to go on a night out without waking up the next morning with photographs of myself placed on the internet by others, tagged and commented on. I know it might come across old fashioned but this whole process is just beyond comprehension to me. Now I do think certain sites like YouTube are a beacon of light, I have watched many DIY videos on there that have been beyond helpful. I am not ignorant enough to assume social media has NO place in society. I just wondered if there are any OT dwellers that have equal dislike for it or love it?

I don't hate it per say, but I stop frequently using it years ago. Best decision ever. The only social media related thing I use nowadays is Tumblr and that's just to see the GiantBomb guys and others response to questions.

I certainly don't hate it and have found it to be simply as good or bad as the user makes it. If you have vapid, uninteresting friends with out of control habits and egos then I suppose, assuming you aren't into that scene, it must be kinda annoying. But if you don't, or perhaps if you just delete the irritating ones, then it can be an easy way to stay apprised of the sometimes amusing, interesting, and sometimes informative events, minutiae, and interests of people of whom you are rather fond.

sell your soul to social media equals freedom

I will sell my body to who ever wants it.

I think the internet as a whole is bringing people and cultures together in ways never possible before. It's amazing.

I actually enjoy it. I don't spend much time on Facebook but i use it to keep current with some old friends, family and etc...

My news feed is usually flooded with memes and pictures of my friends kids so I don't even bother with it.

It's pretty much an email/messenger client for me.

If you hate it it's your own fault. Choose better friends.

@comp_atkins: I had an egg and sausage omelette. How about you? :P

No, but I mostly see it as people shouting into darkness with hopes of a response or an echo.

@comp_atkins: Well summarized. I only have a FB account because I'm a moderator on my wife's professional page and I keep an eye on people's comments. Otherwise I don't use it. Have some family and friends there, mostly for quick chat and when they ask me why I don't "like" or comment on their stuff I normally say "If it's a photo of something you wouldn't deem worthy of a conversation topic when you see me, then I'm probably not interested on you posting it on FB"

nah but mostly it's stupid as hell.

It has it's positive uses but most people abuse it for their own selfish reasons.

Social media has its uses so I won't throw it under the bus. Some people were able to reconnect with family members they haven't seen in years through Facebook. But then you have shitbags who use it to bully others and you have emotionally fragile people who hurt themselves over posts on social media and then you see why it has a bad name.

This is just a stupid ignorant thing to say. Its perfectly possible to have a treasured and valued friend who also happens to be a total dick on social media platforms. Im not about to abandon a childhood friend/ a pillar of stability...just because he cant go a day without checking facebook.

My topic was not about choosing friends it was about social media and the positive and negative experiences people have with it.

If my friend loves heavy metal and I dont is that my fault too? because we differ in our tastes? should people simply not be friends due to trivial differences in their preferences?

I could understand a "if you hate it dont use it" response, but yours makes almost zero practical sense.

i'm at the age now where most of my friends are married and popping kids out. so my fb is pretty much a non-stop kid-pic fest. oh little emily did this today, isn't she so great!, ohh, look at this super cute pick of jason being super cute!

we get it, you have kids.

Dislike. Someone should create a more "real" social media. That would be nice.

didn't fb buy oculus? maybe they're working on some kinda crazy VR facebook experience..

@comp_atkins: No kidding. What do these people think? "I bet my FB friends' goal in life is to live vicariously through my children's accomplishments"? =P

"I think for the most part its a cesspool filled with vapid, self interested, egotistical individuals unable to derive positive attention through their endeavors IRL."

Certainly sounds like you need new friends on it. Social media is what you make of it; so yeah it's perfectly fine to assume it's your own fault for having a bad experience on it. And no one said anything about abandoning your friend, I meant "friends" as defined on Facebook. If you don't want to see his posts, simply click unfollow them and it's done. You don't even need to remove them completely off your list.

Its my opinion regarding social media in general and why I for the most part steer clear of it. It wasnt a commentary on my friends.

The day has already came where someone has lost their job due to a post they made on their wall when they were a young teenager at school.

The day will come where someone is at a Job Interview and they will be turned down because they didn't open their Facebook page to public. They will fail because it's set to friends only, so the interviewers will come to the conclusion they have something to hide, and that they are a heroine junkie who spends their holidays in Thailand looking for young boys.

The day will come when we are no longer able to express ourselves on social media, so people will just not bother using them, but then you'll not get a job interview people you don't have a Facebook page, so your obviously hiding something! So to counter it you make one and just post generic stuff that ticks the boxes.

I don't use social media of any kind. Believe it or not, I've yet to ever own a cell phone...and I'm 35 years old and work in IT (Programmer/Analyst).

i don't hate it i just refuse to have anything to do with it.

Got pretty boring lately.

I don't hate it, but more people are getting dumber because of it.

@Evil_Saluki: That thought spiraled out of control quickly =P

You mean NSA media?

Regardless, that's not social media's fault it's your friend's fault. If my best friend egged my car tomorrow, that doesn't mean I'm suddenly gonna hate eggs.

Quite the opposite.Got a lot of friends that don't live here in Vegas so it's really easy to keep in touch with them at my convenience. Lot of great people I like to talk to living hundreds of miles away and while I'd like to visit them IRL, it's just not feasible with my schedule and financial situation. Only time I actually go to visit friends outside the state is for weddings or get togethers planned weeks in advance.

Only negative experience is with facebook when I marked some friends as "close friends" and my phone would go off 24/7 with stupid updates about their feeds. I wouldn't recommend that feature to anyone.

No. Look at my post count.

Why would I? It's a revolutionary way for people to remain in contact with people who may move halfway around the Earth, and stay completely up-to-date with what's going on in their lives, without having to sit through a 30-50 minute phone conversation (which costs a fortune) detailing each and every item of interest that may come to mind.

The only people who wouldn't like such a communication method must be highly antisocial.

If you use properly then I think it can be a good thing. As a way to. Connect with old friends, stay in touch with family far away and being included in events coming up is worth while. If you are being posted without wanting to be then talk to these people and let them know you don't want it. Most will understand. But if you are posing for the photo then don't be mad. Just stop posing! Lol

I hated how in college when I needed to use the computers in the library for actual schoolwork the computers were always flooded with people using them to be on Facebook and Myspace.

An egg isnt an outlet of expression its an inanimate object thats not really equal to social media and its nature. I wouldnt blame an egg for anything.

Lol

Why would I hate it

Follow a better class of people

Also be less insanely perturbed by nonissues

It sure as shit is an outlet of expression if you choose to use it as such. When someone eggs your car or toilet papers your house, you don't think that's an act of expression? Context, baby. A flag is just fucking fabric, but you're goddamn right that it's an outlet of expression when you take one and set it on fire in the middle of the street.

Point being...social media doesn't make you do shit. Eggs don't make you do shit. Guns don't make you do shit, words don't make you do shit. These are lifeless fucking things that don't have meaning until people assign them one. They are all things to use. And they don't become bad until some asshole comes along and uses them in a way that pisses someone off. There's nothing inherently wrong with social media. Lots of people use social media all the fucking time and manage to use it in a way that doesn't make them come off as assholes. When people do use social media and end up looking like assholes, then you blame THEM for being assholes. Don't blame the tool, blame the operator.

@always_explicit:

then what are you doing here .... this gamespot forum is a social media too........

I don't hate it, I just make trivial comments/posts...

I think it's good if you have a business or are in a band and trying to expose your art to the public. I like that aspect of it - it's like an all-in-one stop shop for my fave bands that I follow.

As far as personal use goes, I think it's a detriment to our society. It's dumbing down people with all the crap that utilizes Facebook these days - Farmville, Candy Crush, people posting recipes (who gives a shit?)....it's just more reasons for people to NOT do anything, but be glued to their phones 24/7.

Yes, I used it for a few years, but then I thought to myself, "why am I on here? Do I really care about people I went to high school with that didn't talk to me back then and don't even talk to me now? Do I need to stay in contact with them - for what reasons?" I couldn't come to any sound conclusion, so I deactivated my account. And you know what? Life goes on. I don't feel compelled to check my phone every 5 seconds in hopes that some amazing story is going to be posted and my life will be so much more enlightened! Facebook is a waste of brain cells and people need to go back to doing things in PERSON with people, living life that doesn't involve status updates; learning to connect socially outside of the internet.

Social media is a distraction, plain and simple.

Nope. as others have said its all in how you use it. And as others have said forums are social media also so if you really hate it so much what you doing here?

I don't hate it... i just rarely use it

Mybe I should be the judge of how perturbed I am. Assuming I am "insanely" perturbed doesnt add weight to you point.

I also said I am not ignorant enough to assume there is no place for it in society. I also said there are beacons of light such as YouTube, what I didnt want to do was bog down my OP listing every forum/website that I do like. My issue comes mostly from websites like Tumblr, Instagram and Facebook.

I also disagree that its alll bout how I use it. Its not its about how others use it. I know a girlt hat goes to art college that is absolutely awesome to drink with and socialise with in general, but she loves uploading pictures of her lunch to facebook, also when she gets her nails done. I know this is her attempt at expressing her character, being the metrosexual, artistic young woman she is. but I dont wanna see her lunch. I do however want to see her when she has uploaded a picture of her artwork.

This is my issue....Beacon of light vs vapid self interested egotistical nonsense.

P.S

I didn't need to be told I am posting on an internet forum. I knew this.

@always_explicit: why do you let trivial things bother you. Like your art buddy seems fine. The issue is with you my friend. Be stronger