Another Facebook question -- for frequent users

[Anonymous]

I'm a reasonably active user of Facebook. I log in a few times a week and I really enjoy looking at people's pictures and finding out who had a baby, got a new job, moved, or has something to say about sports/music/tv/books/etc. Every few months or so I will post up a few great pics of my kids or pics from an event that other FB friends attended. I update my status when I've got something interesting to share, which sadly isn't usually more than a couple of times a year.

The vast majority of my "friends" seem to participate about the same amount as I do, or a bit more or less. There are a few people, though, who just constantly post updates and photos of every mundane thing that happens in their lives. I generally block them from my news feed and forget about it, but it makes me wonder what the motivation is behind some of the things people post on Facebook, and whether they realize or care how they are being perceived.

Specifically, if you do or have done any of these things I would be curious to know what was the thought process behind it. Do you consider whether people will find it interesting or do you not care? I really am curious. I tend to be over-critical of other people and I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing here.

--Update your status more than once a week or so
--Posted (multiple) status updates about how in love you are with your spouse
--Posted 20 different nearly identical pics of your kid, all taken within seconds of each other
--Posted a status update (not limited to mommy friends) involving potty training, poop, pee, vomit, diapers, etc.
--Posted a song quote as your status update (if you are out of high school)
--Posted while on vacation with your family or spouse
--Posted things that have no purpose but to show that you want people to think you have a lot of money (e.g. pics of your new beach house or "stuck at the BMW dealership AGAIN!")

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a reasonably active user of Facebook. I log in a few times a week and I really enjoy looking at people's pictures and finding out who had a baby, got a new job, moved, or has something to say about sports/music/tv/books/etc. Every few months or so I will post up a few great pics of my kids or pics from an event that other FB friends attended. I update my status when I've got something interesting to share, which sadly isn't usually more than a couple of times a year.

The vast majority of my "friends" seem to participate about the same amount as I do, or a bit more or less. There are a few people, though, who just constantly post updates and photos of every mundane thing that happens in their lives. I generally block them from my news feed and forget about it, but it makes me wonder what the motivation is behind some of the things people post on Facebook, and whether they realize or care how they are being perceived.

Specifically, if you do or have done any of these things I would be curious to know what was the thought process behind it. Do you consider whether people will find it interesting or do you not care? I really am curious. I tend to be over-critical of other people and I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing here.

--Update your status more than once a week or so
--Posted (multiple) status updates about how in love you are with your spouse
--Posted 20 different nearly identical pics of your kid, all taken within seconds of each other
--Posted a status update (not limited to mommy friends) involving potty training, poop, pee, vomit, diapers, etc.
--Posted a song quote as your status update (if you are out of high school)
--Posted while on vacation with your family or spouse
--Posted things that have no purpose but to show that you want people to think you have a lot of money (e.g. pics of your new beach house or "stuck at the BMW dealership AGAIN!")

I do the first thing on your list but none of the others. I post status updates a couple of times a week. I do it if I have a comment on something that I know more than a few of my Facebook friends will be interested in, sometimes something about my kids (would have never posted about potty training) but more often about books or movies. I assume that if people aren't interested or find it annoying, they will hide me. No problemo. I figure if I would enjoy reading the same info on someone else's status, some people will appreciate it on mine.

(I never post song lyrics but I have a few friends that do and I love it! Usually makes me think of a song I hadn't thought about in awhile or turns me onto a new artist or lets me know that a friend and I have similar tastes.)

[Anonymous]

I don't really do any of the other stuff, but I do probably update my status once a day, on average. In my circle, it's not unusual to post about how you're spending the day ("Daughter and I are at Clemyjontri park" along with a picture of her), or something about a sporting event ("Go Ravens") or a recap of an athletic activity, like "I finished my 6-mile run, yay" or "we won our soccer game!" most of my friends post, on average, about once a day. Some post more.

I'll be honest, I think the people who constantly post song titles or quotes without any other explanation of why they're posting it, are lame. I know one girl that I'm just about to hide because she posts a zillion times a day and 99% of the posts are stupid and serve no purpose.

I think people who have smart phones may post more because they may be checking Facebook more often, from wherever they are. I know that's made it easier for me to post.

[Anonymous]

They sound like they need more substantive things to do and actually be engaged in life.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They sound like they need more substantive things to do and actually be engaged in life.

...says a poster on a MESSAGE BOARD.

DCUM loves to make fun of Facebook users, which I find pretty rich. I actually know and like the people on my Facebook page, whereas DCUM posters don't know each other at all. Which is more related to real life?

[Anonymous]

Hee hee - the psychology of Facebook. I'm a lot like you - I actually just joined FB this summer, and also check in a couple of times a day (it's fairly novel still, I'll probably decrease soon) and only update my status every month or two. Have a few pics of my kid and sometimes comment on other's stuff.

I know what you mean though - I have a friend from high school who just posted that her next door neighbor's house sold for close to a million a couple years ago - so yes, didn't take me more than about a second to deduce she married well and that her house probably costs that too! Duh! Why post that??? I mean really??? I found it really poor taste.

I have a couple of friends who blog, are constantly updating FB, twitter, but it's not to show off. They have a modest lifestyle and I think they are just "plugged in" and love to opine and write. The fact is people can tune it out if they want. Like you said, you can reset your news feed or whatever.

With iphone and all, I don't think it's necessarily a big deal when people post from vacation. I mean, most posts take about 30 seconds and you can do it from anywhere, so that doesn't stand out for me as much.

[Anonymous]

I don't do any of that stuff except the multiple photo one. I am into photography, as is my dad, and it's a trait I inherited from him. To me, the point of photos is not to show my daughter in a particular outfit or in a particular location, but rather to show the expression on her face, or even just a really cool shot from an artistic perspective. That kind of stuff can produce very different photos within a few minutes of each other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
--Posted a status update (not limited to mommy friends) involving potty training, poop, pee, vomit, diapers, etc.

Ugh, I'm with you on these. I think it helps that I wasn't on facebook until my kids' bodily functions were a little more in control, so I was never tempted to publicize news of these events. I get the need to commiserate with friends, but I think calling or emailing your best friend and complaining ("I can't believe baby pooped all over the car seat!") is a more dignified approach than sharing the news with your 200 facebook friends.

[Anonymous]

I definitely post-- both status updates and photos-- while on vacation with my family. It's the most update-worthy thing I do all year! And I'm on vacation, so when else do I have the time? I post interesting articles that I know would be of interest to many of my friends maybe once a week.

The rest of the items on your list (especially multiple posts about how in love you are) are pretty objectionable to me, as well. I would add, people who post blurry, poorly lit photos of anything. It's digital, people. Take more shots, and only post the good ONE.

I'm about to block one woman who never posts except to say that she had a bad day at work (at least twice a week) or to post pictures of her dog and cat sleeping together (almost daily), or to plead for money for the breed rescue group she volunteers with (at least weekly-- often more).

[Anonymous]

Have posted while on vacation because like PP it's among the most interesting postings I could make. Have also encouraged my husband to post (because he's the one with the smartphone, for pics) from vacation because my kid is really cute and vacation is scenic.

Make sense, OP? Also, some people are just more public than others.

[Anonymous]

I am guilty of posting tons of pics of my baby on facebook - I do it so my family and friends can see her "growing" and because I like to look at them from time to time myself. If someone does not want to look at the pics, they are free to do so... I don't expect a comment or a "enjoy this" on my albums.

I like to use facebook as my album of pics... I should use snapfish, but I keep postponing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have posted while on vacation because like PP it's among the most interesting postings I could make. Have also encouraged my husband to post (because he's the one with the smartphone, for pics) from vacation because my kid is really cute and vacation is scenic.

Make sense, OP? Also, some people are just more public than others.

Um, or narcissistic. Yikes.

[Anonymous]

I think its fine for you to post as often as you do and consider that the right amount. However, you should realize that not everyone agrees that that is the ideal frequency to post, and you shouldn't consider them wrong for having a different opinion. I agree that posting every 5 minutes or song titles, etc. is a bit much, but maybe its the only way they can keep in touch with friends that they used to be able to talk to on the phone several times a day, but now can't because of kids and stuff. I check FB a couple times a day because its easy to do on my phone. I don't update my status that often, but usually a couple times a week. Some people do it more, and some less. If you don't want to see it, then block people's status. But I really wouldn't judge others for posting too often just because you don't think they're using FB the right way.

[Anonymous]

My pet peeve is when people post what they are having for dinner. Don't really care what you are eating, or that you have the time to prepare such a meal.

I also blocked a woman who always posted how much she hated work. I get it - it's work, it sucks, and most of the world has to do it...get over it.

[Anonymous]

I think a lot of the dynamic of FB depends on how many friends you have and how active you and those friends are. If you only have a dozen friends, and they aren't very active, it inhibits the social networking purpose of FB. I'm not saying that people should gather up as many friends as possible, but I do think it's more fun when you have a couple hundred friends or so, as it enhances the idea of being connected because there are more people responding to posts. I probably only update my status once a week or so, and I have some photo albums I keep up to date, depending on the event or season. But I do comment on other people's statuses or comments pretty frequently. I don't really get the song quotes either.