This is a follow-up to a previous post. You can read the first one here.
As I’m sure those of you who have read this blog know, I’m not a huge fan of Facebook. Last November, I wrote a post to that effect, and have thus far, kept my nose clean of that unruly social network. However, with the recent update of the Facebook for Blackberry application (now ver. 1.5), I felt pressured into rejoining my friends and colleagues in the interactive online community.
So, I purged my “friends” and my applications and my photos, and I started fresh, convinced that this time was going to be different. I even signed up with a new email address. It was as if I was a brand new person, starting a new life, in a “new” world, but with all of my previous knowledge. Knowledge that I thought would give me an advantage over my 2006 self.
I could not have been more wrong. I won’t go into too much detail about what happened next, mainly because I’m not entirely sure myself what happened, but somehow, Facebook managed to suck me back in. The service that, just days before, I promised to treat like my beloved Twitter, gobbled me up and spit me out again.
I found myself accepting requests from people I didn’t know, and making a lot of interactions and updates that just weren’t warranted.
Now, I know the general consensus is that “Everyone’s on Facebook”, but I knew that that couldn’t be true. So, I broke out Google and did a few searches. A lot of interesting and controversial blogs, message board posts, and videos entered my radar, but I found one that deserves special mention.
This may come as a shock to some, but in February, ReadWriteWeb.com wrote a story about recent studies done at Stony Brook University in New York, that concluded that Facebook use by adolescent girls actually contributes to depression.
You can read the full article here.
Clearly, I’m not a 13-year-old girl, but this alone, much less the rest of the crap that Facebook brings to the table, is enough of a reason to keep me off of it. I will give it another week, even though I don’t see myself liking it any less, and then I’ll make my final verdict.
Any predictions?