Monday Musings – The Many Faces of Facebook
Mon, Dec 1, 2008
I admit it, I’m getting old. Out-of-touch, losing it, off-the-deep-end, OLD. That is why I never even thought about joining the craze that is Facebook. At least not until a friend of mine (who is only a few years younger than me, incidentally) sent me a request to view her profile. So I clicked on the link and prepared myself to see her cute little face and information about what she was up to. I was told that in order to access her page, I would have to join the social network. Since it was free, I figured, why not?
Joining was easy. In fact, anyone who has an email address can do it. So I signed up and checked out her profile. While I was there, I went ahead and put in my info and uploaded some pictures. Getting into the spirit of it, I sent out an invite to my family members to get them on board too.
That was about six months ago. For the first few months I mostly ignored Facebook and my profile sat there unused. Until one day when I received a “poke” from one of my high school buddies. So I poked her back. Then I got curious and started looking around. I began to find people who I went to high school with 20 years ago and other people whom I have known since I was a child. I even found old boyfriends! It’s the craziest thing – these people are all over the world, some as far away as Japan and Iraq, while others are just down the street.
Now I find myself checking it on a fairly regular basis. I still don’t update it every day like some do, but it’s fun to go and see who’s new to the scene. My parents are even on board and regularly write notes on my “wall.” And then last week, I got a request from my husband’s mother who is 86!
This completely supports what I’ve read about the demographics of Facebook changing. Originally it was started as a way for students to communicate with each other and you could only join if you had an “.edu” address. A few years ago, however, that changed and Facebook opened its doors to anyone. Recent data shows that adults who are considered “middle aged” or 35-44 (yikes – am I really middle-aged?) are one of the fastest growing groups. In fact, my stepson (who is 22) said that the last several friend requests that he has received have been from his friend’s parents.
My conclusion from all this is that the face of Facebook is definitely changing. It must be if it has us “middle-aged” folks using it (I’m still not over that one!). And while I don’t spend a ton of time on it, I do enjoy catching up with people and using it as it was intended – as a social network.
What about you, do you use Facebook? How much time do you spend on it?
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December 1st, 2008 at 9:21 am
I have an account. I don’t really know why. I have been in touch with a few people I lost contact with, but overall, the people I want to be in touch with I maintain contact with. Most of my “friends” are actually blog friends!
December 2nd, 2008 at 3:48 am
I like the idea of Facebook and am a member, but I don’t seem to find the time to spend on it. Just don’t seem to get around to it. It does seem to be taken over by the “older” generation, though. Interesting post.
December 2nd, 2008 at 7:18 am
I finally got a Facebook account a couple of months ago. I don’t use it very much, but it is nice to go in and see everyone’s pictures and see what they’re up to.
December 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 am
My sisters sucked me and my parents into the world of facebook a while back. I’ve enjoyed finding people from long ago, but mostly I just chat with family back and forth.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:07 am
Hi Kristina – I hear you… a lot of my newest friends are through the blog but I still use facebook now and again to say hello.
Alzo – I agree with you about the “older” generation on facebook, I think my parents use it more than I do which is great.
Kristy – It is fun going in and seeing people’s photos, I think that’s one of my favorite parts.
Liz – that’s cool that you’re whole family is doing it, sometimes I use their online chat tool to say hi to my Mom.
December 2nd, 2008 at 11:14 am
“And while I don’t spend a ton of time on it, I do enjoy catching up with people and using it as it was intended – as a social network.”
This is EXACTLY the way I use it. Twitter too, by the way.
December 5th, 2008 at 8:12 am
I started on Facebook as a way to keep up with my teenage son and his friends. Then, after my high school reunion this summer, my list of “friends” totally exploded as I reconnected with tons of lost contacts. My older sis also had her reunion and she experienced the same thing, and in fact many of our mutual friends have connected with each of us. We got our other sister on FB, and have just one more sis to add then we’ll all be there! I just set my husband up and he was giggling away at the computer all night last night! How cute.
I also use LinkedIn for professional/personal networking and have for 2+ years now. It’s an invaluable resource for me to stay connected with people I’ve worked with throughout my career. I’m a recruiter, so it’s essential to keep my rolodex (virtual in this case) up to date.
http://roundoaktablev2.blogspot.com
December 8th, 2008 at 10:38 am
Hi Kikibibi – that’s cute that your husband is enjoying it as much as you are. It’s fun to hear from people from long ago, isn’t it?