Social media is it just me?

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Do all the people who are so frightened and anti fb realise that Gransnet has a fb page and your posts can appear on there without your permission

Food for thought

My family members are scattered across the globe. Facebook is an easy way to keep in touch with them all. I also belong to a couple of groups connected with my personal interests. I don't share my life with the rest of the world, and can't understand those who do.
People can be very nasty, it's true, but that shouldn't stop you using social sites in a way which is convenient to you.

This is the only social media site I visit. I have never used Facebook , although I did consider joining for OU purposes. I am still pursued by weekly invitations to join from people I have never heard of, five years later.
There is a village Facebook page, and I gather from people who use it it is full of critical comments about residents' behaviour during lockdown.

dizzyblonde I agree 100%. This is the most aggressive forum I visit. Like you I only accept FB friends once I have scrutinised their backgrounds. If any appear to broach my moral code, eg racists, or bible thumpers, Trumpers, them they are quickly unfriended.

That way I’ve built up a lovely supportive network of FB friends who share my values. As in RL I choose not to surround myself with negativity.

Yes that has caused me some concern from time to time BlueBelle. I am more circumspect in what personal details I reveal in my posts.

You can control what you see and what others see on Facebook. There is a chance to edit and delete.
I am in local groups and know what's going on. I can see what friends and family are up to.
Nothing to worry me there.

easybee
critical comments about residents behaviour during lockdown
A bit like GN then ?

Do use and enjoy Fb. Have for many years. My family are all there, and all friends on it are exactly that - real friends in my life. Never had any trolling. Also have interest groups, including local ones, which have proved very useful at times.

Also use the Fb Messenger system, find messages sent on that to my busy children get seen so much quicker than normal emails, as they get a 'ping' when one goes to them.

We have a private family only photo group in that also, which is great. Obviously, as all the people on my fb are genuine friends, most feel similar to me on current affairs, etc. I do keep a couple with different ideas, just to keep me down to earth.

I belong to Gn and one other similar Forum group.

Like everything in life, with care so much can be an asset. I do spend a lot of time refusing friend requests from people I do know, but do not think of as friends.

This forum is far more open than Facebook. Strangers cannot see any of my posts on Facebook but this forum is open to anyone. I am often astonished at some of the pictures people post on here particularly of DGC.

Posts on here have turned up on Facebook and the national newspapers.

I don’t agree with the OP. I’ve been on FB for ten years, admittedly I was a bit wary at first, but as has been said upthread, I am careful about who I’m friends with and can honestly say I have never found it anything but a positive and useful way to keep in contact with family and friends who are scattered far and wide.

If I read something I don’t care for, I scroll on. There’s no need to react to every comment or post that you don’t like.
I also delete people who hold views that I don’t share on certain subjects.

I have seen far more nastiness, cattiness and outright snobbery on Gransnet, to be honest and it does concern me that we actually have no privacy whatsoever on here as regards who can see our posts.

I do understand how some people might not want to sign up to Facebook, just as I’m not tempted by Twitter, WhatsApp and the like, but it is not the work of the Devil that some seem to think it is.

One of my interests is a minority interest and I'd be seriously deprived without the social medium that allows me to 'meet' others with similar interest.

They all use Facebook at work and I don’t. I’m normally a very private person but sociable. I like to chat at work and have close friends but again don’t do Facebook have had a quick look at it but it’s not for me.

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

I agree with dizzyblonde and Furret - GN is sometimes extremely unpleasant. I belong to a couple of other forums for older people and find discussions don't descend into name calling and insults - you know, adult conversation. I am also on Facebook but have a limited number of "friends" and only people I have met. I have never experienced any trolling or unpleasantness on Facebook.