Facebook: Useful or Overrated?

[Scootalove 10,684]

I'm pretty much neutral on this one. Facebook has it's flaws and it's pros, like when someone keeps sending you game invites it pretty much annoys me to death. I feel pretty good when I have my friends from school added on Facebook.

But like I said, Facebook is usually good and bad.

[Golurk 467]

I'm opposed to Facebook. To me, it seems nothing more than permitted virtual stalking. If I want to speak with someone, I look up their phone number, arrange a rendezvous, or find them on Skype. It just seems a bit unnecessary and synthetic for me. Interaction between people should feel personal, which Facebook fails to replicate.

[Thrashy 2,799]

Facebook is nice if you want to use it as a simple method of staying in touch with friends and family without having to download unnecessary 3rd party messenger programs like Skype. (Speaking of overrated...)

 

Moreover, it's good for artists looking to get their names out there, just like any social networking platform. However, it's very easy to get stalked and/or harassed on FB, so if you're going to tread those waters, do so with caution.

 

Just stay away from twitter, though. For as useless as FB may be seen as by some, it will never be anywhere near as useless as twitter.

 

EDIT: Just saw when OP created this thread...

Edited April 26, 2013 by Lowline

[King Brony 15]

I got one just for fun and because all my friends have 1 but really I thought it was lam and overrated. I don't think I have used it this past year.

[Unikitty 1,211]

Facebook does suck. BUT I find it very useful. I use it to contact my friends on a daily basis as it helps me keep in touch with them on a whim. It's also a good help for keeping up to date on events and groups that you follow(me, for instance using it to keep up to date with YouTubers, as well as a majority of pony related events).
Sure, you get whiny people who just have to spam walls with how much their life sucks. But there is a cure to this. It is very easy to simply block all of their messages appearing on your wall. You can even block communication with them entirely, if you'd like.

 

Be careful with what you put on there, though. As said above, Facebook isn't famous for keeping a secret, and there are some things you may just want to keep between a set few people.

Overall, I'd say: It's a good idea, IF you are going to use it properly. If you want to keep connected to friends and family, and be able to have a central hub for all information about things you are interested in; then this is a great solution.
If you're just going to use it for attention, and to complain about how everyone sucks, because they won't acknowledge how much your life sucks; then I'd suggest just turning off your computer and leaving.

[Sweet Dreams 1,893]

Facebook is incredibly useful for start up businesses and the like. Otherwise, no. All you really do on it is like photos and send messages to people otherwise. I've never had an account on Facebook, and I'm not planning on getting one anytime soon.

 

But, if you do get one, I'd recommend being very careful. There are a lot of security risks that come with getting Facebook. I just don't think it's really worth it. 

[Dr. Eggnog 203]

I have never used Facebook for anything in my entire life and I feel rather proud of myself for that.  I've also never used Twitter.

[hawkflame 3,308]

I voted "it depends".  I think it's a good way to keep in touch with people and be generally aware of what's going on in your friends lives.  But a lot of people do use it for stupid, meaningless shit, so you have to wade through a lot of that.

[Nature's Spell 526]

I'm not a fan of Facebook because I find it bloated, however, I am big fan of Twitter. I find Twitter to be much more enjoyable. Ironically I know all the people I'm friends with on FB in person, but I don't know anybody in person on Twtitter. I have over 200 followers on Twitter who share my intererests and can leave if I start to bore them. I have very few "Facebook Friends" and I'm trapped with them and they don't share my interests at all. They are all my family or friends of my wife since I don't really have my own friends. I use Twitter almost like a blog or link blog and it's very impersonal, which I like. I pretty much post nature pictures, nature observations, and nature/science articles and reteeet the same.

Edited April 26, 2013 by Nature Spell

[Just some guy 1,070]

I personally don't find it useful.I'd much rather talk to people in person or on voice chat than just over text.Plus,most FB updates are trivial and I generally end up glancing through them in the rare instance I find myself on FB.If you're thinking of using it for business and such,LinkedIn is much better for that.

 

However,I can see how it can be useful if you're moving a lot or something.Keep in touch with all the friends in all the different places you made and stuff.Other than that though,I don't much use in having a FB.You're really not gonna miss anything.

[Kyznetsov 9]

At the beggining its all fine, the games are ok and you can find lost friends, but as soon as your parents find you then everything goes to hell and you end up leaving the whole thing...dont do it dude, its a black hole to hell.

[Pinguino~ 85]

It all depends on who you add, and what you use it for. Facebook for me is get on see if anyone has said anything to me and look at hilarious photos, and post a few things (Mostly about Pathfinder(a LARPG)) but it is really up to you if you want to see things about, how people hate this and hate that or how people feel about the government. (Well in the U.S.)

[Soundgarden 2,757]

"Like you love god, scroll if you love the devil"

"1 like = 1 respect"

 

"Like if you love your mom, comment if you hate her"

 

Yea, definitely not overused...

[TheFabulousPony 102]

Realistically, Facebook is very useful. No one wants to admit it, because most of us hate it lol But in this day and age its the most practical way to get in touch with people. For example I live in a rural area with no phone reception and live far from town.. so its the easiest way to organize seeing people in person. Facebook sucks, its full of attention seeking dullards.. but it is unfortunately very useful.

[DND 2,354]

Screw facbook! If you really think about how dumb it is, and how people just go on it to show how great their grammar is with those very cliche 'You-Only-Live-Once' and 'lolmyfriendsaremylife' kinda crap, instead of actually wanting to do something with your friends instead of getting a butt-ton of- (ah, really long sentence, almost done!) - pre-pubescent guys that just want to look at all these heavily makeup-ed teenage girls. Instead of being a place where I can safely talk with my friends, It's more of a place where I can be reminded of how condescending my classmates can be. Screw facebook. I'll pick Ponysquare any day.

[Guest]

Unbelievably overrated. Facebook is a massive waste of time. It's not a crucial communication tool like a cell phone, nor is it any more convienent than texting. I mean it has some uses, sure, but for the average person; just unnessicary.

[Ashley 2,427]

I don't enjoy Facebook and don't recommend it...

For me, it seems like stupid re-posts and drama.

However, it all depends. Mainly on the type of friends you have.

[Fluttashy 325]

I use my FB to stay in touch with family and friends but sometimes it can become a battleground filled with drama and BS. It's also being used to campaign people's agendas too much. I get so sick of all the political crap I see on there all the time and all the pointless pages begging for likes by posting pictures of sick children. Facebook wasn't half bad in the beginning but has went down hill fast. I will sometimes deactivate mine for periods of time if I get tired of it.

[Inactive01 5,298]

I actually have a Facebook account now haha. It does have its uses, but a lot of people tend to just post pictures of themselves or of other people I don't even know. 

 

It's not to say I think Facebook stinks. I actually get a lot of meme and sports team updates. So it depends. If you like to have updates on products and comedy through meme pics, then it's ok. If you want to keep in touch with friends, it's also useful. But if you're just going to be a person who posts just for likes, it's not worth it.  

[Blue Moon 6,336]

I personally find Facebook to be stupid and useless. I almost never use it and have not been on for months. It is really boring.

[astalicia 4]

It depends ! If some of your friends live in another city/state/country, then it's a good way to keep in touch! If not, then it's not really useful. I don't use mine reaky often, even though I like to check from time to time what people have added on their profile...

[Gourgeist 262]

It's super useful if you have friends or family far away or that you rarely see. It's especially good for me because I have no real life friends and can only attract internet people

[SCS 7,443]

I voted for "depends." It's a really useful tool to keep in touch with my friends, especially those who don't live in my city anymore. However, since other people may have differing preferences about that matter and/or use different methods of contact, then whether or not they should make an account on Facebook depends.

[Gone Airbourne 21,969]

This may sound odd but as of today's standards facebook is a barren wastleland well to me it has become just that. The same bs day to day with everything once I joined this site I pretty much abandoned that place. It was neat while I was in high school but now it has become a mundane pile of crap .

[Betez 1,734]

Back when I had a facebook, I didn't understand the concept of social media. I didn't realize that facebook was basically the same thing as a forum, only you knew everyone on it.

 

I had one between 2011-2013 (I actually deleted it a few weeks ago, because I hadn't been on it in over 6 months). I was one of those people that would friend everyone and then never talk to them. I was a lurker. I had like 300 friends, I made like 2 status updates the entire time I was on there, and I don't think either of them got any replies. I commented on like 3 of my friends' statuses, and had maybe one legitimate conversation with one person on there.

 

The constant amount of spam through apps (Apps making automatic posts that look like you made them) and all the stories about jobs looking at your facebook, AND the fact that I never used it, led me to delete my facebook.

 

Then, I discovered forums. This place is basically what would have been facebook if I understood what it actually was.

 

In conclusion, I feel like it's pretty overrated.

 

Also, at least for me and all my friends (I was in Junior high when Facebook was big), I felt like people got this false sense that they knew what they were talking about when they were on Facebook.

Edited April 27, 2013 by Betez