Social media is it just me?

I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and can honestly say I’ve experienced a lot less nastiness on those sites than on gransnet. My privacy settings are high and I only have friends I actually know. WhatsApp isn’t really social media, it’s just a free messaging platform.

Like you Judy54, I'm not on FB or any other social platform other than gn. Even here, I try to avoid posting anything too personal.

Most of my family and friends moved on from Facebook long since. We keep in touch more by WhatsApp and Instagram. I do still have a FB account (with very high privacy settings) and quite enjoy the banter on my local groups, my old school group, etc, but rarely join in.

It can be a real force for good, as in the daily local posts about lost and found cats, keys and cards, etc, and finding out about what’s going on in the area at least a week before the local paper does.

Twitter can be interesting and informative, but I haven’t tweeted once (I’m just a lurker). Any aggro or nastiness on any platform and I stop looking and do something more interesting, and the same applies on here. Life’s really too short to spend even a minute of it worrying about what random strangers on the internet might think or say.

Ladies and gentlemen, Gransnet is social media...

By all means decry Specific aspects of Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Instagram and the like, but if you have some objection to social media in general, you probably need to reconsider your activity here.

I have heard some real horror stories regarding FB so I’m reluctant to sign up. To be honest I am a bit of a scaredy-cat. Might seem odd in this day but I still prefer to pick the phone up and actually speak to people.

I really love Facebook I only have a few official friends but subscribe to lots of different things like a group for crime book readers, old F. where we used to live and the localyown group as well . It keeps you in touch with any local news , you can ask questions like " When is the chemist open ? " . I also s
ubscribe to slowcooker groups diabetic groups etc. which are a fund of knowledge.

I am on twitter, FB, Instagram and Whatsapp. Never had any problems. I don't post anything controversial and most of the time just read other posts so that may be why.

Like Chewbacca and SueDonim say, if you set your privacy high on fb so that only those you trust see your posts, you won't have any unpleasantness. If you do you can always 'unfriend' that person!

These comments come up from time to time. Like anything, if you use it properly it can be of help and interest. Make your settings secure, so friends only can see. Do not accept people as friends who you don't trust or want to "have a nose" at your activities. I ignore friends requests from most people at work. IF anyone ever was horrible/bitchy etc I would delete them, but as I am choosy who I accept as a friend, that has never happened.

I am a member of quite a few private groups specialising in my interests. Local wildlife, crafts etc etc. - you can learn so much from people this way.

I am also a member of some local FB groups, and they are useful too. Those members cannot see any of my private life posts, just the ones pertaining to that group. Sometimes I will ask for recommendations locally if I am searching for, say, a good car mechanic, or painter etc.

I use it for my cat charity to advertise lost cats locally, or to find homes for cats.

I sell items locally at no charge on market place, and can buy.

I keep in touch with distant family and friends. I have a couple of private message groups (just 4 old friends) who chat privately. It can be a godsend for people who are a bit lonely, especially with the lookdown.

So don't dismiss it in a disparaging way just because you have read scare stories. Maybe it's not for you, but the picture you paint is not the truth for me at all.

I'm on Facebook but control my privacy settings and am only 'friends' with family and people I know. There's never been any unpleasantness from any of them.
Recently a group was set up re a dear friend who had died. It's been lovely seeing the posts if reminiscence and old photos. If set up well Facebook can be an asset.

I'm not on Facebook as much as I used to be. I'm finding it a bit boring so I only use it probably once a week mainly to see if I have any messages and a quick flick through.
I have a relatives in America so it's nice to message and see photos.
I've never posted anything on there. I think it's taken over some people's lives. Always on there.

Neither I nor any of my DC use Facebook. I had to join WhatsApp because of various groups I needed to join, and keep in touch with DSs and DiLs with that although we would all prefer to use one of the other, non-FB messaging systems.

I have never looked at Facebook and only once followed a link there. I was immediately asked if I knew some people and it scared me stiff that of the 12 or so people listed, I did actually know about 10 of them.

Am like you Judy as I really don’t need much social media in my life, I enjoy things without the need for it.
Apart from GN I used to belong to a gardening site and a book club site, but since joining those two clubs in real life, have let the online clubs drop.
GN is good for information and for some amusing chat and for some ‘robust’ debate.?

I've had a bad experience with FB as well, I only use GN now and a family WhatsApp group.

I agree with the OP and find that Gransnet is enough for me . I have made some really good and supportive friends on here. I was on FB for quite a while but found that some people were saying things about their lives which were distorting the truth somewhat(idealising) or else quoting other posters( boring). I am lucky in that all of my family and most of my friends live locally and so I can have face to face contact or by phone. Others I email and that is enough for me.

I keep in touch with family on FB ,right across europe and America ,people I dont see regularly.They send me FB msgs with pictures and keep me up to date .I also have all my Independence friends on there so I get the times and dates of meetings and rallies and my SNP branch for monthly meetings..though they're online for now .I dont get trolled ,maybe because its just close friends and family I did get some horrible trolling and indecent stuff on Friends Reunited years ago and left the site because of it.I learned then not to put my photo on my profile to avoid men making suggestive remarks ..and worse .

I’ve been on FB for more than ten years. I set my privacy levels high and only have ‘Friends’ who I know and that seems to keep any nastiness away.

It’s a great way to keep in touch with folk especially those who live a long way away (I’ve got very few local people on mine, because I can see them anyway) and it’s been a godsend for me to help my old mum during lockdown.

Like many things, social media can be used to suit your own purpose.

I've never been on Facebook and the only other forum that I've ever been on is a crime one, which got quite heated and one which I frequent now and again if there's any up to date news about an on-going case.
Otherwise I don't bother with social media either.

I'm on FB and find it far less intimidating and much more pleasant than Gransnet!

I've never been on Facebook or any of the others. Just Gransnet.

If you set your privacy settings to the highest level, so that only those that are close to you or those that you trust, can see your page, Facebook can be an excellent method of communication. I, personally, have never experienced trolling, nastiness or cruelty, ever on Facebook. I've had some good laughs though!

Garbled message as DH kept on asking me questions! Meant to say 10 or 15 years ago.

i havent had any problems thsat i cant deal with ,there is a delete button .some comments sound nasty/are nasty .but again you can block or delete .i have no problem having my circle of friends worldwide its easier to keep in touch...i'm not on there 24/7 . bad idea...but maybe 2-3 times a week...

I have a Facebook account although I only have a very small and select group of friends. I signed up so that I could join the Ninja Foodi Facebook group, to get hints and tips on using the foodi, and recipes from other users. I also joined our town's local group.
I make sure that my privacy settings are all up to date too.
Gransnet has been a good place for support and advice, and I pop in every day to see what you are all talking about.

I flirted with FB for about a year about 10 years ago 15 years ago but didn't feel it was "me". I have no desire to go back on there. I use WhatsApp and subscribe to several YouTube channels as a way of connecting with the world - oh and GN of course.