Social media is it just me?

I have avoided facebook until lock down started and unwillingly downloaded it so could find out about local services and supplies etc. It has been very useful for that. I also joined a very lovely knitting group. My privacy settings on highest level. I only have real life friends and never post anything personal such as photos. I'm not very trusting of FB as a company.

I use Facebook in a limited way and that's how I want to keep it. My photo is one of my (now late) cat as I don't want my face splattered all over it. It's good to see pictures of family days out and that sort of thing - it's taken the place of the traditional postcard. I sometimes comment on local matters but I'm very wary of trolls.
There are some very immature and unpleasant people who make silly comments - I wonder what they're like in real life? An innocent complaint can go on and it's astonishing how it can escalate as it does on any site.
I look at Mumsnet which can get quite nasty. Sometimes I comment on an innocent subject but that's as far as it goes.

I wouldn't be without it. We have a family WhatsApp group that starts, from my point of view, when the UK family get up and catch up with the overnight posts, We get a "good morning" from my American family about lunch time and another from my Australian family round about when I am thinking of going to bed.

We have a smaller group with my son, daughter and their families on FB Messenger where I can see videos of children and gardens and all the things that matter to them.

Facebook itself keeps me in touch with friends (actual ones) old and new, what my old school, etc., is doing and far to many sewing groups and embroidery machine groups which are full of very kind and generous people. I have blanched at couple of times at a re-posted post but I have never seen anything to terrible.

Oh and our small town has a page where a small dog keeps me up to date with what's opening and what's not and what's happening in the town and around about. It's weird but it makes me smile.

You just have to be selective.

Any site that I’m on in real person mode is restricted to family only. It can get tricky though. Some family aren’t always as concerned as others about privacy so I only share private information with a trusted few. The ones that won’t share anything or tag anything.

Actually now that I’ve read some of these posts I am wondering if I should change my user name.

Thank you all for your interesting replies. It seems some of us do and don't use Facebook and some of us do and don't like it. I do understand how important it has been for people during lock down and for those who have family and friends all over the globe. At the moment I am quite happy keeping in touch by phone (lovely to hear a voice) email and text. You never know I may change my mind at some time in the future. Thanks again for sharing your views.

I really don’t like social media. It brings out the worst in faceless people - a licence to be unpleasant

But you’re on social media here Rosylyn69 ??? had you forgotten
What I do like about FB is if I make a comment quickly (which I can be guilty of if I feel passionate about something) then having second feelings about getting involved I can delete it
So many people who complain about fb aren’t on and never have been
Gransnet is a lot lot less safe than fb, as I have no idea who I m talking to, I ve no idea who could use anything I say against me, I have no idea if my comments will end up in the daily press or on GN Facebook page ...at least with fb you know who will be seeing your remarks or your photos and yes I ve always put photos on fb that way my children and grandchildren overseas can still see me

No I hadn’t forgotten BlueBelle.

I have my FB privacy settings set high. I have found it invaluable during lockdown to access our local village hub for information on how the local shop is handling safe distancing, which local pubs are now doing takeaways, a local wedding florist who has opened a stall on her front drive to sell flowers to try to make ends meet, etc., etc. It has, in general, been helpful and makes us still be a community, even if we are all safely tucked indoors or our own gardens. A few people have posted advertising free to collect greenhouse surplus,children's toys, books ( obviously a lot of clearing out going on), and I think that perhaps those who are frightened of FB should give it another try. Anyone using GN is able to google how to make their FB settings private. Yes, there is a fair bit of piffle and nonsense on there, and no, I am not interested in 'news' about Peter Andre's family life, but when you buy a newspaper there are some bits of interest and some bits you flick over.

I think we have to be very very careful over the choice of words we use on social media. Its so easy to be misunderstood just because no-one can see our faces or hear the tone of voice we're using.

I only joined FB around 5 yrs ago because dd said she was going to be posting pics of Gdd1 there. But she and SiL have hardly used it for ages - it’s all WhatsApp now - we have a family group. So I rarely look at FB any more.

I agree with comments about the extremely unpleasant comments I see on GN. I've tried on a few occasions to report some with no success at all.

I'm on FB and follow a few excellent pages. Admin for those pages are brilliant and reports are taken seriously. I like that you can block people or snooze friends for 30 days! Admin also appear to monitor the comments. There's far more flexibility with FB than GN. You can turn off further comments or admin will do it. You can edit or delete your comment (wish GN was like this).

It's been said before but GN comments feature a lot on FB.