Is social networking a waste of time

In the age of Facebook , twitter and all the rest of it i was wondering what you think of it all , complete wast of time or is there some good to it ?

Personally I don't bother with it and have no desire to put my business out there , how about you ?

reply to post by Max_TO

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I am sure what I have to say dates me pretty badly, but I don't have anything to do with the Social Media. I have accounts at MySpace and Facebook but those give my son games to play under our supervision. Aside from making them, securing them and double checking on what he's up to, I've never logged into them.

I suppose with the web sites I am developing I'll have to insert some accommodations to the social networking...it seems expected if not demanded by the web audience right now...but it doesn't mean I even bother to fully understand how it all works. This old fuddy duddy found chat rooms and message forums to be quite sufficient. I've never had an ego quit large enough to build a monument to myself for the world to gaze upon...which is about what these seem to amount to from where I've been sitting.

reply to post by Max_TO


Hi - odd to have 2 in 1 day - but I just created a thread today about this topic - have had some good replies so far if you want to pitch in over there?

My social networking thread

reply to post by facchino


Nice thread but you feel it's all just a waste of time ?

In the "Century of Self" - it's all just marketing. Personal brand maintenance, egomania and voyeurism. It's sick and I have no use for it.

I see the benefits for social causes or crowd sourcing, etc, for instance e-bombing DC over the debt crisis. However, it's no good when I see people I know on-line managing their social media more than they actually live their lives. In my neighborhood alone I see people less and less in their yards or on their porches socializing, but they still all know each other's business because they're all behind closed doors, facebooking.

I have hope that the end of this fad is in sight though since my 55 year old aunt, an old-fashioned, sweet-heart of an uber-conservative who lives in the middle of nowhere Nebraska asked me if I was on Facebook.

Surely that means it's all but dead. At least I hope so...

No offense Nebraska.

Social media experiences are only as good as what you put into them. Say for instance you just post status updates like, " Can't wait for the weekend! " or share links like " How to catch the perfect one night stand ". While we all want to say these things, upon further inspection they share absolutely NO useful data with the rest of the human populace. Now flip that and say you post updates about, say, enviromental causes you're a part of, or clothing drives to help the less fortunate. Due to you sharing when the local blood drive time is, they notice that they have a few more people show up to give blood. Then they start sharing that sort of information with their friends, and it just keeps snowballing.

Of course you can still organize get togethers of your friends ( and the fact that you can share different things with different circles is one reason I - adore - Google + ) and update people on your social life, but it should be done in moderation.

Social media is an awesome way to share different views with people who may not have any other way to hear about them, but we do need to practice moderation in acessing their features and intergrating them into our lives.

I hope I have given you something to chew your mental cud on!

Good Discussion Topic.

When it becomes a substitute for real-life and face-to-face friendship thats sad. I think in about 10 years people will tire of it and want to meet in Cafes again.

well, seeing as it's the ultimate CIA database thats filled to the brim with corporate #, i absolutely hate it, but at the same time it's a very efficient means of communication, and its the only way to communicate with the bitches these days.

I just used it to organize a party this weekend among all my high school friends who could only find each other on fb. I say it has its uses.

I think, as ScarletNyx said, it depends how you use them.
I actually really enjoy Twitter, i've only just started using it but it allows me to see other's opinions (people either in the public eye, or who I wouldn't usually get a chance to converse with) on subjects that I am interested in. I see updates of wikileaks and on other similar topics and share my opinions or give food for thought.

Facebook on the other hand is purely a way for me to keep in contact with everyone I know - it's pretty much just an interactive phonebook/contacts list. I use it to keep in touch with old and new friends and arrange to physically meet up with them. As much as I dislike the idea of facebook (after understanding it's terms and conditions, silly me for not researching it first) I see a lot of good in it too.

These sites really shouldn't be relied on for communication - but generally they arn't so it's ok.

A balance is always good As long as parents teach their children that, and encourage going outdoors, it shouldn't escalate into too much of a problem.

reply to post by Jen86


I work at a large cellphone carrier, and I cannot tell you how many times I have seen spineless parents cave into their kids whining to get smartphones at 14. Part of it is the parents just not being parents, while the other part is the insane peer pressure to " be part of facebook/twitter/ect ".

We have to treat social networking as something to be earned, worked, and maintained, not just something people can use to bleat loudly over and over again.

Nope. Facebook reminds me of a resume. Seems narcissistic to me.. something teenagers would be into. Also, I'm old.

reply to post by Max_TO


Not entirely - fb has it's uses - although I see twitter as complete waste of time - but fb can be useful in contacting people.
My issuses with it are more to do with people using it to tell people they've just walked the dog etc - and live their lives in this virtual bubble. Having 900 "friends" at least 800 of them they couldn't ever just call and go down the pub with....
Another poster above mentioned putting useful info on there like blood donations etc -now I've tried putting on topics about fuel prices, MPs expenses etc and get nothing - and that's my point - for the most part people on there have no interest in anything slightly taxing on the brain - more info on my thread if you wish to read my opening post as don't really want to get involved in this one too much...

As mentioned by a few posters , there is no shortage of " hey I just took a pee " , or , " I am going to the cottage this weekend " type posts on face book .

Although , the later does prove to be very funny when the mad FB spamer comes back from a restful weekend get away only to find there home robed by some crook using there face book stupidity agienst them

reply to post by Max_TO



Short answer.......Yes..

~Morpheus

It allows a computer interface for ones own personality, they can edit themselves and alter how they are perceived by their peers, and then when they have crafted their ideal "self" they can then proclaim thier new "id" to the public - it is highly addictive as an individual is able to observe the "third person" perspectives of himself or herself, thus, one can take control of thier own ego, and in essense, they become addicted as they have to constantly adjust thier "self" so that they appear to be in congruence with thier idea of what is socially acceptable.

Not at all. It's a great way to keep in touch with friends who live in other states or other countries. People say this and that about social networks and are all paranoid about it, but if used with common sense I don't see anything wrong with it.

"Is social networking a waste of time" Yes. What can you get with just a few words with people who are supposed to be spending more quality time with you other than frivolous information of the mundane? Oh, I'm fine! This is what happened. Who cares?

Yeah....not for me. Have never been a fan of magazines telling you what this talentless celeb had for lunch or where the other minor wanabees got their latest handbags from.
Now we have the likes of you and me handing over the same mundane information.
Its my idea of hell if any Tom Dick or Harry can find you whenever they want.
Stay in the shadows.

I think it is ok. I don't put my business out there but sometimes it is good to know what your friends are doing. Sometimes when you just don't want to use the telephone, you can just go in and look. But of course it is best not to be too dependent on the social networking sites. I still use the phone and meet my friends in person.