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Scourge of Zuck
Currently I am currently running an experiment on my Facebook newsfeed. I have decided to block most of the meme Pages, partisan news pages, and pretty much any page that you are likely to see a picture and share it with everybody.
Which means, when this is complete, all I will see is posts that my friends actually posted, links my friends share, and Facebook ads - although I'm fixing that too to just the ones I'm more interested in.
Which reminds me again how meager the feed of original content on social media is, especially original content from people I actually care about, or at least am even friends with on Facebook, currently somewhere around a hundred and forty people.
There used to be a lot more people using the notes feature on Facebook, but I'm just not really comfortable with posting all this stuff on Facebook. Perhaps a bit crazy, because sometimes I wish people would listen to me and what do I have to say... but I really don't want to get into a political argument about why none of the names on the ballot are getting my vote for president.
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Although I respond to some people's FB posts...I don't post that much.
What Friends
"The people of Odyssey have taught me a valuable lesson. Nothing lasts forever." - J. Whitaker, "Recollections"
"I miss having a bunch of pals.
Aaron and Andy and Joe S and Joe T and Richie and Ryan and Shane
Carolyn and Cassie and busy Lizzy and Sonia and Rachel" - May 01, 2007
I wanted to believe the one song, "friends are friends forever..."
but I can't.
I had some friends once. Went from folks at church who sat across from us at Sunday School, to invited to a Super Bowl party, to phase 10 card games, watching movies..I was a groomsman at their wedding.
You can guess what happened. We both changed churches, both moved. We're friends on Facebook, but barely.
As mentioned before, I generally don't keep in touch with coworkers when jobs change. And I may talk with them, but not about the big stuff. Never the big stuff.
I may have 140 friends on Facebook... But it's really 4 close friends, a lot of family - some of whom are as close as these close friends, and a lot of people who I barely talk to anymore.
I'm seeing a pattern where I say less and less, assume no one wants to hear what I say, and I shut up even more.
Don't text messages go both ways?
A songwriter once wrote "friends are friends forever..." But I can no longer believe that. Time heals everything, but sometimes like continental drift, it pulls people away. Even the close friends, even ones under the same roof.
Don't believe me? The church I was baptized in. The school I got my associate's from. The school I got my bachelor's from. The four clubs I was a part of. The men of dorm B-216. Either employment at Abernathy building. The pothole in K-120 known as Severance. The church I got married in. The greatest blogging website ever.
Dust in the wind. I knew hundreds of people from those places...
Daughter of Stella. Daughter of Barbara. Father of Julian. Father of Asher.
(I just wrote a long comment, and (like an idiot) clicked the wrong button. Comment lost. Oy.)
ReplyDeleteWell, what I wrote was how much I can relate to everything you wrote here. It makes me really sad. The loss of friendship is really painful, because it is much harder to make friends now - especially in our line of work. No lie: when we entered the mission field, we lost everyone in our social circle. All the folks we called friends. I miss game nights. I miss going out after church on Sunday night. I miss grabbing coffee and pie with a girlfriend. I don't know how we got here. I think people just don't like us. I say we, because I know Doug feels the same way. Even family members. Blood - and marriage licenses - aren't always ties that bind. I really do miss the old days. Yet, I know I can't live in the past. I'm so thankful my daughter likes me. I know she feels isolated from friends, too, though. What's wrong with our society? Is it technology's fault? Yet, technology is a blessing. In fact, without technology I might not have any friends at all. I went to Xanga this week, to my old page, looking for some old posts. It was such a special community. Many are still there. I wondered about going back, if it might be the same. Doubtful. I knew Facebook would kill blogs. I was so leery of it. Then, one by one, they started dropping off. I sound like a very old lady.
Well, it's just stinky. I don't understand it. I sure can relate, though.
I'm glad you share your posts on Twitter.