Moette Nehama Schwartz shared a status:
After stuffing myself silly on Thanksgiving, I signed on to Facebook to chat with friends who were home from college. While quickly skimming my newsfeed, I could categorize all status updates into two topics: those about Thanksgiving, and those about the upcoming Black Friday shopping day extravaganza. Many of the postings about the holiday did not just wish me a happy Thanksgiving as sweet but impersonal as those updates are. Many had posted thoughts such as “I love turkey!” Or the opposite, “What am I supposed to eat tonight for dinner…I don’t like turkey.” Why is this posted on Facebook? I don’t care about your particular eating habits, and if I did, what am I supposed to do about your situation? Deliver food to your house?
Better were the status updates about Friday. “Black Friday tomorrow.” Yes, I am aware of this. What I don’t understand is why this is worthy of being broadcasted to all your friends on Facebook. If you are going shopping then at least mention that in your status. Maybe people will comment. Unfortunately, most are probably uninterested in this fascinating fact in your life.
To sum up, my newsfeed was lame.
Why does it seem like everybody thinks they are a celebrity because they can post a Facebook status? While the statuses about Thanksgiving are benign, in general, many people share way too much about their personal lives on the Internet. Many times, what is out in the public is not information the public cares to know, or needs to know, especially when personal details about relationships and family matters are made into a Facebook status.
The same thing goes for Twitter, maybe even more so, because you actually have followers. People feel compelled to tweet just to keep those who have subscribed entertained. Yet, some tweets, including what you had for dinner or that you are going to the gym, are hardly exciting. Other tweets are too personal including ones about going to the bathroom or medical related issues.
The simple solution to this problem is don’t subscribe. The same is true for Facebook. I could just not have an account. You can also actually delete people from your newsfeed. I think there is a larger issue at hand: people have no filters. They feel that they can share anything and everything online, especially when people “like” their status updates. The people posting are mistakenly led to believe that people care about the minute, trivial details of their lives, as if they were celebrities.
But there is a difference. Celebrities usually do not over-share, so what they tweet is actually exciting. Additionally — they celebrities are famous and fans really do want to know everything that they are doing. My over-sharing Facebook friends do not have this celebrity allure.
Nonetheless, Facebook statuses and tweets are harmless and I can choose to ignore them. The only other problem I see is that people sometimes forget that what they post on the Internet is there forever. Posting a status or tweeting about hating a job, a boss, or co-workers can hinder someone from future employment because who wants to hire the worker who always complains? While statuses like these are therapeutic, especially if people agree with you, statements like this are best left off Facebook and made private.
It seems that Facebook and Twitter are like free therapists. Posting or tweeting that you had a bad day will automatically generate all the responses of a therapist including asking what happened, offering advice, and of course, boosting your ego by telling you that you are great. Many emotional status updates are just a call for a sympathetic shoulder to listen to someone’s problems. Facebook and Twitter are always there if someone needs to cry, or I guess post/Tweet about crying, even if friends are busy at the moment. The best part is, when friends do log on to Facebook or Twitter, the update will still be there. There is no need to re-tell the story.
Friends can just add their thoughts and feelings. Without Facebook, the world would be a much sadder place because people would have to walk around with their sorrows instead of sharing their problems with their closest 500 Facebook friends. Facebook and Twitter, thank you being there for us in our most emotional, angry, and happy moments.
