I had a conversation with someone recently about social media. This person was tiring of the onslaught of extreme criticism and political rhetoric and made the decision to delete their Facebook profile.
I do admit. This person has a valid point and I support their choice to do so. I just choose to do things a little differently. As a Blogger, I feel like I have a voice – a voice that attempts to be the voice of reason. Of course, it is my opinion and you may have your own and I would respect that.
I am the type of person who likes to find out why something is happening. I like to understand what they are thinking so I will often stand back while others are shouting injustice to the world and do a little digging to find the truth. I don’t like to stand on my own soapbox until I’ve found the facts.
Truth be told Facebook is probably my favorite of all the social media outlets for personal use. Not many of my friends actually use Twitter. I use Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+ and even StumbledUpon more for promoting my blog. I have a separate Facebook account for my blog, as do most authors and bloggers.
Social Media is like free advertising. You can pay for some ads to promote your blog, but I am not at that point at this time.
Still Facebook, while it is my favorite of all the social media, has it drawbacks. Believe it or not, you still can feel like you are alone in a crowd.
What I do like about it is that people (on my friends list) can see the real ME.
That may be a good thing or a bad thing. LOL!
But by sharing my blog I hope to let people see parts of me
that I have kept hidden as well such as..
Not only do I hope to share some of myself but I also hope to help others feeling some of the same things I have experienced.
Facebook is also a way to get the facts about things to others and hopefully help people learn some things they may not have known.
Facebook is also a great way to share news with family and friends that you don’t see on a regular basis.
Our church has several Facebook groups we use to communicate including the one for our ladies that I coordinated. It is very helpful in prayer requests, announcements for activities and requests for items needed for a church project. It reaches people you may not normally reach other ways.
Now I totally understand if you don’t want to see inflammatory posts that just makes you want to yell, “Just stop!”
But there are some ways around that as well.
You can click to either unfollow the person (i/e Liz Bakerfield)
OR
something I prefer to do,
click to hide the info anyone shares from that Facebook Page (i/e 93Q)
If you just hide the page, you can still see the posts that person posts and you don’t have to UNFRIEND them either. Less rude!
So if I am tired of seeing animal cruelty posts like my friend complained about, I can click to hide the page rather than the person.
Either way, I can still utilize Facebook to share things and support my friends without compromising what gets repetitive, inflammatory or what may be offensive.
We are granted the freedom to make decisions, so, hey, my friend, you can choose to delete your Facebook profile while I choose to use mine to make my stand or keep in touch. Both are okay by me!
A Tattoo On His Palm 
I go back and forth about this a lot. Partially because I get tired of the drama some people post, but then I decided to “defriend” those people. I felt that if we were genuinely “friends,” then it does not matter what happens on social media because the friendship would be rooted at a deeper level. Also, I look for honesty throughout everything, so if I notice dishonesty on Facebook, I’m less likely to be social with that person overall. The only reason I keep Facebook is because I enjoy the easy path towards connecting with old friends with reside throughout the world. Meanwhile, I also balance it with writing notes, making phone calls and sending quick texts. I understand your point about hiding the content from your news feed. I previously did that as well, but then I felt like I wasn’t being completely real with those people and so I pressed “defriend.”
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Thank you for your honesty. Unfortunately some of those posts are from family. Also my personality often plays into this because I obsessively compulsively hate disappointing people. 🙂
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I think many people with a sturdy conscious do not like to disappoint others. It’s a balance between not upsetting others because we care about them, and also doing what is best overall. The saying is true “you can’t please everyone.”
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