Appears that there’s generational gaps even in the age of the net.
Odd how it works. Anyway, thought I’d share the post (on slashdot.org, oddly), along with my little retort. I was at work at the time, so I couldn’t log in because I was going through a work proxy which disallowed lots of things.
Why I wish I used Facebook (Score:3)
As someone who never had a MySpace or FaceBook account, I’ll be the first to say that I should have.
Back in college when MySpace was huge, I was constantly pestered by friends for my “MySpace”, so that they could friend me. My canned response was, “I don’t use MySpace, but if you want to find me you can just type my name into Google and my professional website is the first result.” Well, guess who didn’t get invited to the cool parties because the invite went out over MySpace? It still happens today with friends who use Facebook to send out invitations. You can tell people to use your e-mail, text you, or call you, but it’s just not something that people think to do anymore. Facebook has become the preferred means of communication. I’ve even had a relationship fail out of the gate because the girl preferred Facebook flirting and I refused to indulge her. Just last week I got a call on my office phone from some friends from long ago who’d been looking for me. Since I wasn’t on Facebook, it literally didn’t occur to them that they could try entering my name in Google and find my contact information at the first result. Instead, by some circuitous route they managed to find a phone number I didn’t even know–my office phone–since I just use my cell phone!
So, here’s the moral of the story. To the masses, Facebook is the new phone book, post office and phone. If your address and number is unlisted, you may as well be living in a shack in the vast wilderness, because unless they’re exceptionally close to you then your friends aren’t going to find you, aren’t going to contact you, and might even find it easier not to be your friend at all.
Somehow, I still decline to use Facebook. I’d rather go through my list of contacts on a rotating basis and send them a text to let them know that I still care. It is kind of funny to meet friends of my girlfriend and have them say, “Oh, you’re that guy that’s not on Facebook!”
So, maybe not being on Facebook makes me more memorable after all.
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by Anonymous Coward writes: on Tuesday June 21, @04:33PM (#36519186)As someone who never had an internet account, I’ll be the first to say that I should have.
Back in college when the internet was huge, I was constantly pestered by friends for my email, so that they could add me to their contacts. My canned response was, “I don’t have email, but if you want to find me you can just look for my name in the phone book.” Well, guess who didn’t get invited to the cool parties because the invite went out over email? It still happens today with friends who use email to send out invitations. You can tell people to use your phone, postal mail you, but it’s just not something that people think to do anymore. Email has becomes the preferred means of communication. I’ve even had a relationship fail out of the gate because the girl preferred email flirting and I refused to indulge her. Just last week I got a knock on my door from some friends from long ago who’d been looking for me. Since I wasn’t on the internet, it literally didn’t occur to them that they could try opening a phone book and looking for my name.Instead, by some circuitous route they managed to find my address by looking on the internet.
So, here’s the moral of the story. To the masses, the internet is the new phone book, post office, and phone. If your address and number is unlisted, you may as well be living in a shack in the vast wilderness, because unless they’re exceptionally close to you then your friends aren’t going to find you, aren’t going to contact you, and might even find it easier not to be your friend at all.
Somehow, I still declined to use the Internet. I’d rather go through my list of contacts on a rotating basis and send them a letter to let them know that I still care. It is kind of funny to meet friends of my girlfriend and have them say, “Oh, you’re that guy that’s not on the Internet!”
So, maybe not being on the Internet makes me more memorable after all.
The Sociopathic Mind of a Certified Eclectic 