Does Facebook make you feel lonelier?

[sk66rc]

I have few people on my facebook & it doesn't really bother me when I see what's going on with their stuff... I only use it to see what my friends are up to & sometimes to communicate with them... I don't really pay that much attention to how many "likes" their pictures or status get...

 

[Peaches]

on the other hand, some days fb is the only thing that gets me through the day, a couple of chats from faraway friends from high school and such and life seems more bearable

 

[Rainbows]

I couldn't live without Facebook, I think.
Then again.. I don't understand why some of my posts get 30 likes. It's not that they are that funny.

lol.

 

[Darrell_Licht]

Not as long as I don't venture toward my high-school peers sector..

 

[Case]

Facebook is a constant reminder of how many of my friends are superficial.

 

[BookLover120]

Yes, it's one of the reasons i'm barely on it anymore

 

[lonelyfairy]

Yup, it makes me feel much worse.

 

[Raingirl]

Seeing everyone move on with their lives, going to another state, going on adventures, making new friends, getting engaged, married, moving in with their bf/gf, and here I am still living in the same shithole having no life, still feeling like a child because of no life experience and barely leaving my house. Yes, it hurts.

 

[Amthorn]

Seeing everyone move on with their lives, going to another state, going on adventures, making new friends, getting engaged, married, moving in with their bf/gf, and here I am still living in the same shithole having no life, still feeling like a child because of no life experience and barely leaving my house. Yes, it hurts.

Honestly, there is something to be said for lacking "life experience". With all the painful things I've been through as an adult, I often wish I had just stayed home and played video games more.

To the topic, I myself only have family and a few friends on fb. I used to really get bothered by seeing how well many of them were doing, but these days things like that don't bother me so much. No matter how good things might seem for them, they will have their ups and downs, tragedies and triumphs, just like all of us.

 

[Serenia]

It used to make me feel lonelier. A while ago I got rid of a lot of fake people and people who are just nosy. Now it is filled with people who I care for. So if they post some good news I am genuinely pleased for. But some people only post the good, some people post a balance, which I do. I don't show my life as all smiles, because that isn't a true reflection.

I was talking to a girl I went to school with this week, we often bump into each other and have a quick chat. Anyway I commented on a lovely family photo she posted of her and hubby and two kids. She said oh yeah, but that day was a nightmare. She went on to say how her and husband had an argument of housework and who should do what as they both work full time. She said that kids had not slept and were in a grotty mood. She had also just received some worrying medical news. She told me she feels the need to show the world all the time that everything is ok. It shows that some photos really are a snapshot moment.

I don't invest a lot of emotion in facebook, so now I doesn't make me feel lonely. I love it to share pics a good and bad moments with family and my proper friends. I love it for the funny pics, videos and quotes and it helps keep track of some of my interests an heros.

 

[Water]

Oh God I hate FB like anything. I was on it, years ago. There came a point when I became sick to my stomach, just by logging in. I decided, "That's it!" Out I went (account deleted). Never to return again. Ever!
Actually except for email, I hate all social networking sites.

 

[Raingirl]

Seeing everyone move on with their lives, going to another state, going on adventures, making new friends, getting engaged, married, moving in with their bf/gf, and here I am still living in the same shithole having no life, still feeling like a child because of no life experience and barely leaving my house. Yes, it hurts.

Honestly, there is something to be said for lacking "life experience". With all the painful things I've been through as an adult, I often wish I had just stayed home and played video games more.

But what would've become of you if you just stayed home and played videosgames? think about it.

At least going out in the real world helps you grow a thick skin and mature, among other things.

 

[Katerina]

I recently rejoined facebook after deleting my account there years ago. Which was not an easy process to go though, and though I'm back on it I'm not it's biggest fan although I don't hate it as much as I did the past.

I rejoined in order to try and get my artwork out there in order to drum up some business. That hasn't happened yet (I haven't done much advertising). But I have relatives in other countries on there and it's certainly useful for keeping in touch with them. I've also been chatting a bit to a previous school friend, so at the moment I would say it's been a slightly positive experience. I don't particularly pay attention to likes and I compare myself a lot less with my peers than I did do in the past which I think helps. The opposite was the case before which helped drive me away from it. I'm more on it for what I can get out of the experience and if I felt that it wasn't a good experience I would leave it again.

 

[Frodothelost]

Facebook give nothing. but that's a good place for online marketing or sellling things.

 

[shadetree]

Facebook is a made up scorecard to a game that doesnt exist, people do play by play on the highlight reel of their lives. Nobody puts the bad stuff theyre going through. The reason facebook has so many people on it is because everybody wants to feel included and zuckerberg has monetized that. It works on the priinciple sort of like video games. In a video game you get levels and bonus points when you do certain things and in facebook its almost like the "likes" are that. It gives people a constant sense of accomplishment and it plays its hand as a place to stay connected with people. But in truth its anything but that.

Theres no connection on facebook, theres no real friendships built there well maybe a few but theyre the exception and not the rule. The whole thing is a system built on "convenience". Best way id describe facebook and all social media is a grand illusion.

Heres some real truth about social media:

This video is what facebook really is

[video=youtube]

---

Also another one about what technology is really doing to us as a whole.

[video=youtube]


I turned my facebook off about 3 years ago and havent looked back since, it was the right decision for me. I cant say its right for everybody but honestly i think social media does more harm than good. Sure it gives you an easy way to stay in touch with people but what happened to just calling them up on the phone or actually going to see them? As far as all these other "friends" youll meet on there. Take a break off there for a few months, if you actually hear back from them then youre really lucky. If not then youre not alone in that respect.

Facebook makes you feel lonely because you put expectations into it. You expect that the people there care about you when in truth most people just use social media as a form of entertainment and are too caught up in their own "busy" lives to give a thought to anybody else. Sad but true.

Turn it off and walk away find something else to do with the time you waste on there. Just my two cents.

 

[TheWalkingDead]

Interesting thread, I have a FB profile haven't posted for about 6 months now. I hated it by the end, not only what people were posting by what I was posting, look at me, aren't I clever, look at this, LOOK AT ME AND ACKNOWLEDGE ME with pixels...

I could say a lot, but one of the saddest things about it is that I had a real life friend, and we did share some contact on Facebook when we both started using Facebook - but since I have taken myself off Facebook, her Facebook friends have gradually become far more important to her and our real life friendship is in the last throes of dying, which I find very sad indeed. If I do take a peek she is posting constantly on there for the attention of these Facebook friends, many of whom she might have met once but are now more important to her than someone she used to meet up with often and someone who not that long ago really helped her through a difficult period and gave her a lot of time when other friends had left her high and dry.

I didn't want anything in return for that, but I didn't expect the nothing I've ended up with thanks largely to Facebook! If you're not on it, you start to cease to exist in the minds of others, it seems!

 

[Rahvin]

I had a facebook back when I was maybe 14, deleted it at age 15. I had plenty of people to talk to on there, but I found it stupid and a waste of time with how much bullshit and drama there was with people in that age group. I haven't touched the place in 3 years now, and even if I did go back, it'd be to keep my friends and family updated with happenings in my life during my travels. Currently though, I find it a big time waster.

That being said, I totally understand using it to stay in touch with people you can't otherwise see, or as a catalyst for your business/band/whatever, and I don't care if others use it (you can do whatever you want, i don't look down on those who use it at all) but for me personally, it's wasteful.

EDIT: I totally didn't answer the original question at all. Good job, brain.
I found that it made me feel more lonely, yes. Mostly because my friends were out having a good time hanging out or whatever, and I was stuck at home, unable to join them for various reasons.

There, that's much better~

 

[TheWalkingDead]

If there's one thing I used to hate was when a couple living together would post open conversations at status updates, while they were both in the same room on different devices.

It was like a pair of 5 year olds saying look at us, we have a steady relationship, did you hear that, we live together and interact with each other, isn't that cool, have you noticed we're in a relationship and live together? No, we will keep reminding you then!

 

[PenDragon]

Facebook itself is not bad, it's the association with it which is destructive. Expectations is bad thing when you have 10,000 friends. It's human nature to be part of something big, something bigger than their petty lives and FB provide them that, to be part of of something. It's a social gathering part to some extent but as it has been said everywhere extremity is always forbidden. I have the seen the effect of it. But, it depends on you how you use it. It could be better place to stay with touch with people thousand miles apart or could be your grave yard, Staying there all the time forgetting the real life and one day one might actually forget to speak If you're texting all the time. FB could be boon or bane for you If you don't understand how to handle it.

And I personally believe, at FB some are blank face liars or could be wrong observation but it give people some sort of relief from life getting bored. It's more like an entertainment place if one want it to be. Anyway, I don't use it.

And as with every virtual attachment one will feel lonely once you log off from there. To have real people in your lives is way different than having tons of virtual friends, but then again Some virtual friends surpasses the real life friends If you could find one.

 

[Amthorn]

I think social networking in general has positives and negatives, depending on how you use it. It can connect people who haven't seen each other in years, spread awareness about social issues, introduce new ideas you might never have encountered on your own. It can also make people more isolated, envious, angry, and obsessive. It really just depends on your approach and how you deal with life in general, I think.