Facebook: Nothing But Trouble?

[phuketjock]

A couple of months ago I made the silly mistake of joining linkedin as I thought a friend had

invited me, within minutes I was inundated with e-mails from linkedin and I immediately tried

, in vain, to get my name removed from their site. I continued to, and still get, e-mails from them

and various people trying to sell rubbish to me via linkedin, I have not been able to stop it but

thank my e-mail for having a junk file.

I have a mobile phone, a computer with Skype and with these things I can communicate by phone

, e-mail and face to face with anyone in the world in real time. I can send and receive messages

photos, movies and converse. If I require something I cannot find in Thailand I can find, order and pay

for it in minutes on the internet.

Apart from bother me with more unwanted useless nonsense what can faceache do for me that the

above facilities cannot???

I would also be interested as posted by a previous poster, Chigog I think, how facebook can prevent

identity theft, I would have thought it was an excellent tool for identity thieves.

I find LinkedIn quite useful, as my colleagues tend to change jobs and locations quite quickly... one step ahead, and so forth; I can't be bothered posting the musical links but I'm sure your imagination can fill in more details than I could ever provide... Anyway, LinkedIn is a fairly quick way to contact people whose emails may change, whose phone numbers may change etc.

If someone changes their e-mail/phone number and doesn't tell you that would be a pretty clear

indication they don't want you to contact them no???

DOn't think so. It could mean they had gone to ground and were on the run from the long arm of the law.

or that their contract had ended and they'd moved on to a new country, a new address, a new phone system, a new company, a new email address - perhaps two or three times since we last met.

Or it could be an indication of the inadequacies of my directory management

SC

Or simply an indication of your inadequacy??

[keestha]

Through Facebook, I reconnected with quite a few people I used to be friends with, mostly people who grew up in the same small town where I grew up. The interactions can be entertaining and sometimes interesting.

Problem is that it easily becomes too time consuming, because some people seem to be posting the whole day, I tend to hide their updates. Also some people seem to be addicted to gathering friends. I am running a hotel, and it frequently happens that people who make a booking send me a friendship request right after I replied their first e-mail.

At least this thread gave me the idea to put a "like" button on my website.

But....I think there is a problem about young people never learning to interact socially the normal way. Even when they are sitting together, supposedly socializing, their eyes and their fingers never leave the little screen.

[keestha]

One more thing - when I google my own name, out on top comes the Facebook account of somebody else who has exactly the same name. My Facebook account is also on my real name. 2 Posters with exactly the same screenname is impossible on Thaivisa.com.

[eek]

Being a bit of a social hermit, Facebook keeps me in the loop..so to speak. I don't enjoy talking on the phone, I dnt like being on Skype or messenger, and like doing a lot of things on my own. Thankfully my family and friends are used to and accepting of this, but with Facebook I can see what they are up to and make a quick comment and stay "<connected". Then, when we do meet up we know what each other has been up to..and don't feel to distant. It works for me.

Edit: its also food for event invitations that I otherwise wouldn't know of, friends bdays etc.

Edited April 7, 2013 by eek

[Thai Gibbon]

I recieved an email today telling me my dad had joined Linked IN.

Which is not possible as he's not into social networking and is online about once a month.

[wooloomooloo]

I recieved an email today telling me my dad had joined Linked IN.

Which is not possible as he's not into social networking and is online about once a month.

Some malicious porn site has probably sold his name and email to Linked In. I get it all the time.

[greytown]

I set up a FB page with a fake name & an email address that was given to no-one I know.

It has no photos of people or anything that can be connected to me.

The list of 'people you could know' FB sends out to encourage linking regularly contains 8 - 10 people that I do know.

If I haven't used any even remotely identifiable details, and details that no-one I know could know, how does FB generate a list containing so many people that I do know from a DB of supposedly multi-millions of people?

The email being used has no people listed in the contacts, and does not connect to any of my regular email accounts.

All I can put it down to is some variant of spyware used by FB.

Anyone got any ideas?

Facebook can likely identify you from your computer's IP address and from there can gather a lot of info about you. Probably via your Google usage or any other online activity you partake in on that machine...

[NeverSure]

Some people are really showing their age on this post.

Discovered.

Is it the pictures of my great, great grandchildren, or the ones of my 18 year old girlfriend?

[theblether]

I recieved an email today telling me my dad had joined Linked IN.

Which is not possible as he's not into social networking and is online about once a month.

Some malicious porn site has probably sold his name and email to Linked In. I get it all the time.

I recieved an email today telling me my dad had joined Linked IN.

Which is not possible as he's not into social networking and is online about once a month.

Some malicious porn site has probably sold his name and email to Linked In. I get it all the time.

You do realize the mental image you have now put into Thai Gibbon's head?

[StreetCowboy]

I recieved an email today telling me my dad had joined Linked IN.

Which is not possible as he's not into social networking and is online about once a month.

I doubt that the message came from LinkedIn.

[maxme]

Will people still use it now when they are thinking of charging for the PMs?

[Chicog]

Will people still use it now when they are thinking of charging for the PMs?

Yes - if they're only thinking about it.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[petedk]

It's got worse since these FB apps have appeared on smart or iphones. It can't be avoided and people with net access on their phone can't resist. My sister is a pain with this, she's looking at her phone every 5 minutes for someones update so she can 'like' it or type 'lol' next it. I detest it.

How can folks say ''then why are you on thaivisa if you hate social media networks'' ..There's a huge difference. I can log out of thaivisa then leave the house and I'm free from it.

People are walking the streets on facebook. Eating at cafes or restaurants near my table, on facebook. Next to me at a bus stop on facebook.

Luckily still...nobody is on the London Underground on facebook sitting or standing next to me. I hope they keep it that way. Unlike certain underground metro systems where there are phone signals, like Japan or Thailand.

Riding the tube or sitting at home alone is the only peace I get these days.

Or sitting on a plane to some place.........

You are lucky your sister only looks at her FB every five minutes. I know many who look at it every five seconds. Maybe exagerating a little but it feels like it. They cannot put the phone away at all.

I have three Facebook accounts. One for family and close friends.

One for work where I have added a lot of groups and which I find very useful as I can upload important files for others to download. I can contact people faster as it seems they are always "on" whereas they don't check email so often. (Line is also very good for that)

The third account is for various non-important acquaintances, colleagues and such.

All accounts have good privacy settings and are not linked in any way.

[jocko]

Why do anyone need a facebook-account?? To share your pathetic lives with the rest of the world!

What purpose does it serve?

nothing wrong with FB, if you use it properly,

I have been taking to past friends I havent seen in 25 years, and wouldnt have known how to get hold of them...so from that perspective its good, but documenting every facet of your life every day...yes a bit pathatic, but the worst one is people posting photos of what they are eating at that specfic minute...I mean who gives a F what ya eating, but then again this is not just restricted to FB, have seen this on TV as well...children I can understand doing it, but middle/old aged men... ....very stange to me

The fact that you haven't spoken to them in 25 years and did not know how to get a hold of them, just shows you were not that close as friends in the first place.

It sounds like Facebook created the urge to all of a sudden talk to people that you did not have the urge to talk to in 25 years.

In my opinion, the only good thing about Facebook is that it allows people without a social life to finally have one.

And there are a lot of lonely people out there !!

Oh dear...would appear there are a lot of bitter little people out there as well

I am not sure how you equate this to a lack of social life, I have a full social life in Thailand and have had one in every one of the 10 so countries I have lived and working in the last 25 years or so, as have a lot of my friends over the same time period, people move on with their lives, but that doesn mean, some one is any less of a friend, a measure of friend is not being joined at the hip at all times

One of the measures of a true friendship IMHO is that irrespective of the time you last spoke to someone, when you do talk to someone, you can pick up from where you left off all those years ago.

Facebook certainly "faciltated" this for me in certain cases, I had a very good friend from years before who I had lost touch with and hadnt seen in 16 years, I had gone off and done what I do, and he had done the same...

made a re-connection on facebook and made arrangements to meet up over one christmas, which involved thousands of miles of travel for both of us, which we both did and after meeting up in a bar on the beach, after a few beers, the whole 16 years disappeared, yes the faces were older, the hair greyer, but back to were we were 16 years before, it was a good laugh

Facebook is good, provided you use it properly..

My daughter and only grandchildren live in Australia and I am here and the UK

Thank you Facebook

But I am amazed what people put on there they leave themselves open to fraud .

[keestha]

I recieved an email today telling me my dad had joined Linked IN.

Which is not possible as he's not into social networking and is online about once a month.

I doubt that the message came from LinkedIn.

Seconded. I am getting a lot of junk mail pretending to come from LinkedIn or Facebook, but in reality it does not. Till now these mails did never get past the (Hotmail) junk mail filter though. Edited April 8, 2013 by keestha

[BlackPuddingBertha]

"Facebook: Nothing But Trouble?"

Surely this is a typo in the title?

It should read "Facebook: Nothing But Dross".

[eek]

^ wouldnt that boil down to the kind of friends you have?

I actually get some pretty interesting, debatable, or even just really very funny items worth reading that come up.

[villagefarang]

Original content is major requirement for me to be interested. I don’t respond to links or shares. If you can’t be bothered to produce something of your own, then don’t expect me to waste my time responding.

[theblether]

A wee bit harsh vf, some of the shares can call your attention to important subjects.

The family connection thing is important too, I recently received an important historical document related to my family via facebook, I'll not disclose what it was as some people familiar with the issue may take umbrage, and after all, it is family business.

How did I come into it? via a cousin in Canada who's being doing some research on our family history. In years gone by there certainly was a degree of out of sight, out of mind when it comes to family matters, but these days that's no longer the case. As soon as the document was verified, it was sent to me.

Beetlejuice earlier said re fb, " Get a life ".......that's ridiculously demeaning, fb improves my life as it has brought my family closer, and friends too......and don't forget I make plenty of money from it so it's a big LIKE from me.

[jayceenik]

I find Facebook useful as a bulletin board where I can post the daily current affairs media links I find interesting and then can read the comments from my numerous 'friends'.

As for personal info, I've put my real name and as much perso info as I'd share with a couple new mates I'd be chatting with in a Sydney or LA bar. Yes, I worked once in Africa, and in Canada, and in PNG. Yes, I have a BSc and some other qualifications.

And I really don't get annoyed, or threatened, that theoretically the whole fb planet can know that I like jazz and live in LOS, for instance, and that fb thus tags me with ads about jazz clubs in BKK or hotels in Phuket.

Unfortunately the majority of my fb friends are dem activists in the US and I seem to miss out on the local LOS fb lovelies that some guys enjoy facebook flirting with ...

(Present Pattaya TGF is on fb and 'friend' with me)

Edited April 8, 2013 by jayceenik

[phuketjock]

Why do anyone need a facebook-account?? To share your pathetic lives with the rest of the world!

What purpose does it serve?

nothing wrong with FB, if you use it properly,

I have been taking to past friends I havent seen in 25 years, and wouldnt have known how to get hold of them...so from that perspective its good, but documenting every facet of your life every day...yes a bit pathatic, but the worst one is people posting photos of what they are eating at that specfic minute...I mean who gives a F what ya eating, but then again this is not just restricted to FB, have seen this on TV as well...children I can understand doing it, but middle/old aged men... ....very stange to me

The fact that you haven't spoken to them in 25 years and did not know how to get a hold of them, just shows you were not that close as friends in the first place.

It sounds like Facebook created the urge to all of a sudden talk to people that you did not have the urge to talk to in 25 years.

In my opinion, the only good thing about Facebook is that it allows people without a social life to finally have one.

And there are a lot of lonely people out there !!

Oh dear...would appear there are a lot of bitter little people out there as well

I am not sure how you equate this to a lack of social life, I have a full social life in Thailand and have had one in every one of the 10 so countries I have lived and working in the last 25 years or so, as have a lot of my friends over the same time period, people move on with their lives, but that doesn mean, some one is any less of a friend, a measure of friend is not being joined at the hip at all times

One of the measures of a true friendship IMHO is that irrespective of the time you last spoke to someone, when you do talk to someone, you can pick up from where you left off all those years ago.

Facebook certainly "faciltated" this for me in certain cases, I had a very good friend from years before who I had lost touch with and hadnt seen in 16 years, I had gone off and done what I do, and he had done the same...

made a re-connection on facebook and made arrangements to meet up over one christmas, which involved thousands of miles of travel for both of us, which we both did and after meeting up in a bar on the beach, after a few beers, the whole 16 years disappeared, yes the faces were older, the hair greyer, but back to were we were 16 years before, it was a good laugh

Facebook is good, provided you use it properly..

My daughter and only grandchildren live in Australia and I am here and the UK

Thank you Facebook

But I am amazed what people put on there they leave themselves open to fraud .

Have you never heard of Skype??

I don't know about you but I find it a much richer experience talking to loved ones face to face,

for free and whenever you want and as long as you want.

[jayceenik]

Skype is great but one can post personal photo albums (unlimited pics !!) on his/her fb page for family and friends to see at their leisure.

[jocko]

Why do anyone need a facebook-account?? To share your pathetic lives with the rest of the world!

What purpose does it serve?

nothing wrong with FB, if you use it properly,

I have been taking to past friends I havent seen in 25 years, and wouldnt have known how to get hold of them...so from that perspective its good, but documenting every facet of your life every day...yes a bit pathatic, but the worst one is people posting photos of what they are eating at that specfic minute...I mean who gives a F what ya eating, but then again this is not just restricted to FB, have seen this on TV as well...children I can understand doing it, but middle/old aged men... ....very stange to me

The fact that you haven't spoken to them in 25 years and did not know how to get a hold of them, just shows you were not that close as friends in the first place.

It sounds like Facebook created the urge to all of a sudden talk to people that you did not have the urge to talk to in 25 years.

In my opinion, the only good thing about Facebook is that it allows people without a social life to finally have one.

And there are a lot of lonely people out there !!

Oh dear...would appear there are a lot of bitter little people out there as well

I am not sure how you equate this to a lack of social life, I have a full social life in Thailand and have had one in every one of the 10 so countries I have lived and working in the last 25 years or so, as have a lot of my friends over the same time period, people move on with their lives, but that doesn mean, some one is any less of a friend, a measure of friend is not being joined at the hip at all times

One of the measures of a true friendship IMHO is that irrespective of the time you last spoke to someone, when you do talk to someone, you can pick up from where you left off all those years ago.

Facebook certainly "faciltated" this for me in certain cases, I had a very good friend from years before who I had lost touch with and hadnt seen in 16 years, I had gone off and done what I do, and he had done the same...

made a re-connection on facebook and made arrangements to meet up over one christmas, which involved thousands of miles of travel for both of us, which we both did and after meeting up in a bar on the beach, after a few beers, the whole 16 years disappeared, yes the faces were older, the hair greyer, but back to were we were 16 years before, it was a good laugh

Facebook is good, provided you use it properly..

My daughter and only grandchildren live in Australia and I am here and the UK

Thank you Facebook

But I am amazed what people put on there they leave themselves open to fraud .

Have you never heard of Skype??

I don't know about you but I find it a much richer experience talking to loved ones face to face,

for free and whenever you want and as long as you want.

Off course I use Skype as well but my daughter puts on stuff on Facebook daily regards the kids so I can follow that as well.

[diddums]

My brother requested a friend thingy last year.

Scary really....some relis you don't wanna make contact with anymore.

He died 25 years ago.

[Beetlejuice]

Life long friends,

A wee bit harsh vf, some of the shares can call your attention to important subjects.

The family connection thing is important too, I recently received an important historical document related to my family via facebook, I'll not disclose what it was as some people familiar with the issue may take umbrage, and after all, it is family business.

How did I come into it? via a cousin in Canada who's being doing some research on our family history. In years gone by there certainly was a degree of out of sight, out of mind when it comes to family matters, but these days that's no longer the case. As soon as the document was verified, it was sent to me.

Beetlejuice earlier said re fb, " Get a life ".......that's ridiculously demeaning, fb improves my life as it has brought my family closer, and friends too......and don't forget I make plenty of money from it so it's a big LIKE from me.

I am in regular contact with family members and friends. We communicate via emails and Skype on a personal one to one level. We even have our own private forum on Google Groups. Any documents or photos can be attached with the emails or sent directly by Skype. The amazing part of being on Skype is that with webcam, it is almost like being in the same room with them. This is especially useful for communicating with people over far distances.

Believe this or not, persons that I know locally or within a reasonable traveling distance, I actually go and meet from time to time.

Why would anyone want to share messages with all and sundry over a social network?

Last year a friend who was going through a bad patch in his marriage was actually having domestic arguments with his wife on facebook. Pathetic.

Sad people with mundane lives, addicted to social networking. In fact these people are loners crying out to be acknowledged and to escape the non-entity category..

As I said, there are many people who would never be able to delete their facebook accounts. If this pertains to any of you? Than you should acknowledge that you have a problem.

[Ajaan]

Friend of mine has direct family living in Philippines and he and his wife send pics etc of their kids to them and friends so understandable.

I figure if I want to be your friend, I have your number already. No facebook for me.

Blah, blah, blah. When I read stuff like this, I like to imagine I'm living 100 years or so ago, and I wonder which people would be saying "this gosh-darned telephone thingy, nope, no sir, not for me...don't see no need fer it, no way, no how. Don't need to complicate my life with these new-fangled gizmos. I know where my neighbors live, if I wanna talk to 'em I'll walk on over there. Yessirree." I imagine it would be the same people who are today saying things like the quote above.

[theblether]

Life long friends,

A wee bit harsh vf, some of the shares can call your attention to important subjects.

The family connection thing is important too, I recently received an important historical document related to my family via facebook, I'll not disclose what it was as some people familiar with the issue may take umbrage, and after all, it is family business.

How did I come into it? via a cousin in Canada who's being doing some research on our family history. In years gone by there certainly was a degree of out of sight, out of mind when it comes to family matters, but these days that's no longer the case. As soon as the document was verified, it was sent to me.

Beetlejuice earlier said re fb, " Get a life ".......that's ridiculously demeaning, fb improves my life as it has brought my family closer, and friends too......and don't forget I make plenty of money from it so it's a big LIKE from me.

I am in regular contact with family members and friends. We communicate via emails and Skype on a personal one to one level. We even have our own private forum on Google Groups. Any documents or photos can be attached with the emails or sent directly by Skype. The amazing part of being on Skype is that with webcam, it is almost like being in the same room with them. This is especially useful for communicating with people over far distances.

Believe this or not, persons that I know locally or within a reasonable traveling distance, I actually go and meet from time to time.

Why would anyone want to share messages with all and sundry over a social network?

Last year a friend who was going through a bad patch in his marriage was actually having domestic arguments with his wife on facebook. Pathetic.

Sad people with mundane lives, addicted to social networking. In fact these people are loners crying out to be acknowledged and to escape the non-entity category..

As I said, there are many people who would never be able to delete their facebook accounts. If this pertains to any of you? Than you should acknowledge that you have a problem.

So bitter Bettlejuice, so bitter.

[StreetCowboy]

Life long friends,

A wee bit harsh vf, some of the shares can call your attention to important subjects.

The family connection thing is important too, I recently received an important historical document related to my family via facebook, I'll not disclose what it was as some people familiar with the issue may take umbrage, and after all, it is family business.

How did I come into it? via a cousin in Canada who's being doing some research on our family history. In years gone by there certainly was a degree of out of sight, out of mind when it comes to family matters, but these days that's no longer the case. As soon as the document was verified, it was sent to me.

Beetlejuice earlier said re fb, " Get a life ".......that's ridiculously demeaning, fb improves my life as it has brought my family closer, and friends too......and don't forget I make plenty of money from it so it's a big LIKE from me.

I am in regular contact with family members and friends. We communicate via emails and Skype on a personal one to one level. We even have our own private forum on Google Groups. Any documents or photos can be attached with the emails or sent directly by Skype. The amazing part of being on Skype is that with webcam, it is almost like being in the same room with them. This is especially useful for communicating with people over far distances.

Believe this or not, persons that I know locally or within a reasonable traveling distance, I actually go and meet from time to time.

Why would anyone want to share messages with all and sundry over a social network?

Last year a friend who was going through a bad patch in his marriage was actually having domestic arguments with his wife on facebook. Pathetic.

Sad people with mundane lives, addicted to social networking. In fact these people are loners crying out to be acknowledged and to escape the non-entity category..

As I said, there are many people who would never be able to delete their facebook accounts. If this pertains to any of you? Than you should acknowledge that you have a problem.

It's great, isn't it? Now there's 1.08 billion or whatever people you can feel superior to. Including me.

Personally, I'm not a great fan of Facebook. It just reminds me how much more interesting everyone else's life is than my own sad, pathetic life, which isn't worth posting about. I did get a bit of vicarious pleasure out of a friend's description of a walk along the San Diego sea front, though, and another acquaintance has posted some great pictures of England in the springtime. My best friend from when I was five years old, his son's playing for the local rugby club now. I've never seen his son, Not really stuff that's worthy of an email, but interesting, nonetheless.

Back in the old days, I'd have got this sort of trivial drivel walking down the village High Street, or sat in the pub. But there's none of the people I grew up with go to the same pub as me now, not now we're all scattered in different countries. I don't know the family of the grocer, and I doubt I'll know the family of the grocer that I go to in five years' time. But i very much doubt it will be the same grocer.

I try to keep my Facebook and LinkedIn circles separate, to some extent. Facebook for friends and acquaintances that I socialise with, LinkedIn solely for people I work with; though obviously there's some overlap.

SC

Edited April 9, 2013 by StreetCowboy

[isawasnake]

"Facebook" is just the world's most efficient information tracking facade. Also, I have heard of more work and relationship problems arising from facebook, than anything I can imagine. I just don't get it, and am happy not to.

[jayceenik]

Friend of mine has direct family living in Philippines and he and his wife send pics etc of their kids to them and friends so understandable.

I figure if I want to be your friend, I have your number already. No facebook for me.

Blah, blah, blah. When I read stuff like this, I like to imagine I'm living 100 years or so ago, and I wonder which people would be saying "this gosh-darned telephone thingy, nope, no sir, not for me...don't see no need fer it, no way, no how. Don't need to complicate my life with these new-fangled gizmos. I know where my neighbors live, if I wanna talk to 'em I'll walk on over there. Yessirree." I imagine it would be the same people who are today saying things like the quote above.

I actually know an old acquaintance like that in my home country. Worse, really.

He is 67 now and has always refused to have anything to do with the Internet which he considers to be an annoying and worthless invention though he worked in a Cultural Centre until 65 and they had forced him to, at least, take care of some emails - something he hated and, as he once told me, couldn't do right anyway.

Since I installed Skype a few years back I used to call him on his fixed line every other month or so to keep in touch (I pay to Skype for the international calls) but it's now over because the last time I called him he told me he is afraid his phone company would eventually bill him for my calls ... He never understood that I can talk international with him using Skype on my computer without incurring a monster bill for me and certainly costless for him to receive on his fixed line ...

Luddites !!! LOL