Should I get a facebook?

[Keinnicht]

I can't decide, so I thought I'd ask a bunch of people who really don't care either way.

On one hand, I feel like I may be missing out on an aspect of social interaction with my friends, most of whom have a facebook account, and it additionally seems like a good way to talk to those of them I don't get to speak to with frequency.

On the other hand, I am hesitant to acquire something that will lead to personal details, no matter how insignificant, leaking out. I know it's not like my home address, social security number, and where I happen to be at 3:04 AM next Friday are going to be revealed, but I have a tendency to be extremely paranoid with personal information.

Plus there's all those stories of people getting screwed over by work/school/etc. for stuff on the interwebs.

[Sneak]

Will you use it? Do you want to you it?

If so, yes.

If not, no.

It's really very easy to control your privacy settings on facebook, so I wouldn't worry too much about that.

[Jack Squat]

It won't do any harm...But like Sneak said, if you're not going to use it and don't really want it, don't bother.

As far as those stories, there's two rules to avoid that.

1. Don't do stupid stuff in a stupid place at a stupid time.
2. If you do, don't post it on the Internet.

[Keinnicht]

It won't do any harm...But like Sneak said, if you're not going to use it and don't really want it, don't bother.

As far as those stories, there's two rules to avoid that.

1. Don't do stupid stuff in a stupid place at a stupid time.
2. If you do, don't post it on the Internet.

Yeah, I figured. I tend to be more paranoid about the stupidity of others than the stupidity of myself. Do facebook pages show up if someone googles your name?

[Recaiden]

You can set it so they don't.

[Phaedra]

Having just tried it, apparently not. You're safe from Google, my friend.

[RTGoodman]

Do facebook pages show up if someone googles your name?

I think so, but people still can't see anything about you other than your profile picture, your name, and your networks (college, city, whatever) without actually being your friend (unless you change your privacy settings to allow more).


EDIT: I checked on Facebook's Privacy Settings, and you can SET your Facebook to be indexed by Google, but by default it isn't.

[Keinnicht]

Having just tried it, apparently not. You're safe from Google, my friend.

Wow, I didn't know anything was safe from google.

Well, now that just leaves the question of whether or not I want to speak to my friends when I'm at home as well as when I'm with them. It's a difficult choice.

[Sneak]

Wow, I didn't know anything was safe from google.

Well, now that just leaves the question of whether or not I want to speak to my friends when I'm at home as well as when I'm with them. It's a difficult choice.

If that's your only question, you might as well try it out. I mean, it's not like you HAVE to talk to your friends just because you have facebook. But anyway, if you don't like it, you can deactivate your account or just stop using it. If you do like it, you can just keep using it.

[Fostire]

Wow, I didn't know anything was safe from google.

Well, now that just leaves the question of whether or not I want to speak to my friends when I'm at home as well as when I'm with them. It's a difficult choice.

Well, it's free, and if you're not stupid, it's also safe. So get one, and if you don't like it just stop using it.

[Icewalker]

I have a lot of friends who I'm close to but don't get to see often, so I find it a good way to keep in consistent contact with people. Other than that I wouldn't find it terribly necessary.

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

I don't have one and do just fine socially in college, so I see facebook as a large waste of time that may or may not be a small risk. Rather than debate the risk, I focus the time wasting.

[Keinnicht]

I don't have one and do just fine socially in college, so I see facebook as a large waste of time that may or may not be a small risk. Rather than debate the risk, I focus the time wasting.

Well, it's the dead of winter right now. So I thought it might be good to have some random thing to waste time with on the days when it's -20 degrees out.

[Weezer]

I got one earlier this year and I use it pretty exclusively for pictures seeing that I dont have a camera and all of my friends take gobs of pictures its the easiest way to get my hands on the pictures that I want. I don't really use it socially that often though it has come in useful a few times.

[Vaynor]

Meh, I think the whole Myspace/Facebook phenomenon is rather silly. Both work by making you think you need one. Pass.

[sheepofoblivion]

In my opinion, (it is of course your choice) no.

It even makes the time that you spend with your friends less real. "yeah, on facebook, I keep having to do such and such blah blah wall blah tag photos blah"

I think that if one wants to be connected with their friends at home, just use a messenger service. As far as I know, if you don't randomly talk to the african princes promising bank shares or talk to the spam bots, it's pretty much risk free.

[Mauve Shirt]

I find facebook very useful. I use it for pictures mostly, but it's really useful for planning parties and other events. Pretty much everyone I know has a facebook, so it lets everyone know when and where and I can change the info depending on what people have written, it's all in one place instead of having to make a dozen phone calls.

[Icewalker]

Ah yes, that is the one other thing that most people like about Facebook. It makes for a great universal photo location, you can see photos of your friends, and only your friends can see photos of you.

[toasty]

Meh, I think the whole Myspace/Facebook phenomenon is rather silly. Both work by making you think you need one. Pass.

Possibly. But its also useful to talking to people that you know, but are in completely different countries and you won't see for a few years at the least.

Most of the people I talk to on facebook are like that for.

IMO, that's the best use of facebook, talking to people you don't see regularly. If most of your friends you see often off of facebook, there isn't much point of the thing. And yes, it can be a waste of time.

[Recaiden]

I find it useful in terms of friends you rarely see offline, but it's also okay for communicating with people you do see often.

[Nohwl]

no because i dont like facebook or sites like it.

[TRM]

It won't do any harm...But like Sneak said, if you're not going to use it and don't really want it, don't bother.

As far as those stories, there's two rules to avoid that.

1. Don't do stupid stuff in a stupid place at a stupid time.
2. If you do, don't post it on the Internet.
The problem with facebook is that other people can post pictures of you on the internet, tag them with your real name, and you can't do anything about it (except detag them, which is sometimes too late). You can also get a lot of information from entries such as sexual preference, favorite movies, books, music, etc... (If I ever find the paper I read about this, I'll post a link.)

I use facebook and really enjoy it. I use it to talk to people that live far away, that aren't convenient to see in person currently, that I'm too shy to talk to in person(...) or when it's 2300 and I'm sitting at my computer.
There are times when face to face interaction isn't very practical, and it's nice to be able to talk with friends even when I'm sick or they're sick, or I have fifteen minutes and they live 30 minutes away.

I do keep personal information to a minimum; my last name is blanked out (e.g: J—K) and I'm not a part of any networks and don't list most things like "about me"; I prefer not to be tagged in photos either.


I find facebook very useful. I use it for pictures mostly, but it's really useful for planning parties and other events. Pretty much everyone I know has a facebook, so it lets everyone know when and where and I can change the info depending on what people have written, it's all in one place instead of having to make a dozen phone calls.
This as well.



It even makes the time that you spend with your friends less real. "yeah, on facebook, I keep having to do such and such blah blah wall blah tag photos blah"

I think that if one wants to be connected with their friends at home, just use a messenger service. As far as I know, if you don't randomly talk to the african princes promising bank shares or talk to the spam bots, it's pretty much risk free.
I need enlightenment. What is it about facebook that makes friendships "less real"? I consider facebook a communication tool, like email or IM, and don't understand what people dislike so much about it.

[xyzzy]

It depends on how much it'll effect your social life. Whether you see most of your good friends on a consistent basis and call them often when you're not with them is an important factor to consider --- there's simply no reason to use facebook if you already see all of your friends often and use, say, flickr to keep up with photos.

I'd suggest getting one simply because it's a great way to get back with people you've not seen in a while, and there's essentially a subculture for anything ever, but how much you interact with your closest friends really determines whether you use it at all.

(Also, it's possible to make it impossible for anyone to find out anything about you --- I think you're required to have a profile picture associated with searches for yourself, but nothing else is required if you don't want people knowing about it.)

[sheepofoblivion]

*snip*

I need enlightenment. What is it about facebook that makes friendships "less real"? I consider facebook a communication tool, like email or IM, and don't understand what people dislike so much about it.

Herm... I guess what I meant was interactions between the two people when they're not on facebook may resemble the conversations/interactions they have on facebook. Some people get obsessed with it... replying to ever single comment on their wall (my friend c---e for example does this the moment he gets home. I have seen it happen. It is ugly).

Members of a recent survey conducted amongst my friends (actually like, 2 seconds ago) said that although they may not act in such a manner, they do encounter people at school who say stuff like "ZOMG UR BUMPER STIKER IZ COOOLZ!!!!!" on a regular basis. Although this is a rather rare case, as it seems to be isolated so only some areas, it is still reason enough for people such as myself to dislike facebook.

[Narmoth]

You sign over all rights to all you upload to facebook.
That is, all you photos that you upload will belong to facebook and they can do anything they want with them, including reposting, selling to third parts, using in commercials and so on.
I don't use facebook for that reason