What's the deal with Facebook status updates?

[Anonymous]

Ok, so I am in my 40s and a little slow to adopt to technology and mainstream culture. I just joined Facebook a few months ago. I have about 150 so called friends and I have got to tell you that I am AMAZED at what people spend their time writing about...."I just ran five miles today!" "I am eating steak for dinner." "I am reading my child a bedtime story." "My kids got straight As on their report card."

I mean, who the hell cares? At first I thought FB would be a great way to catch up with old friends from school....but it seems it is just a platform for people to publicly exhibit their narcissism and revel in their own witticisms and boring observations of life.

Just wondering....if you make similar postings on FB, why do you do it? Why do you feel a need to share your workouts with other people, brag about your kids' grades, or inform everyone what you are eating? Seriously, why?

[Anonymous]

I completely agree. It is sometimes nice to read updates from close friends, but I am surprised at the narcissism on there.I think it's a playground for self-absorption and self-promotion.

[Anonymous]

You do learn a lot about your "friends" on Facebook. I am stunned by how needy some people are for constant validation. I have one "friend"who posts artwork constantly for no purpose that I can tell except to get people to tell her how great she is.

[Anonymous]

it sounds like FB is not for you.

[Anonymous]

OP, sounds like *friends* are not for you!

[Anonymous]

What do you post as status updates? Or you just never post any? If no one posts status updates, how does facebook keep people connected?

[Anonymous]

I agree with 18:50 and 19:36! I used to love to talk on the phone with my friends about nothing at all, but now I can't do that and don't have the interest anymore anyway. But I do enjoy going on FB and seeing what everyone is doing. Some people really have the knack for posting seemingly mundane things that are interesting to read and fun to share -- and what else is there in life but the mundane things we do in a day? I don't post as much as some people but I hope no one wonders why I post just because I don't have anything particularly amazing to say.

The only postsers that bother me are the ones who post all day long or who use 20 exclamation marks; really bothers me if they use them after an "LOL." Not sure why that is considered acceptable on facebook. Are these people laughing hysterically because they are high or what?

[Anonymous]

I love reading status updates. Even the ones that seem mundane are interesting.

[Anonymous]

Do you have ANY friends whose updates meet your criteria? You can choose to just see those. If you hover over an update, a little x appears in the corner; click it and it will let you hide updates from that person. Ditto games and applications. I hid the person who posted almost daily about what bar he was in. And the one who only ever said how tired she was and how she had a bad day at work.

But I still have lots of friends who make me laugh, or post interesting articles. For those alone, nevermind the wonderful photos and the big news updates, FB is worth it to me.

[Anonymous]

OP, I LOVE reading my friends' updates. I think I must have more interesting friends than it sounds like you do though.

If they post what's for dinner tonight, it's usually because they found a great recipe and they wanted to share it. It wouldn't just be "eating steak tonight" though.

If they post that they are happy their kid got great grades, it's usually because their child has special needs or has had an exceptionally hard year in an old school and this is the first time their child has gotten anything positive on his report card, and I'm HAPPY to know about it.

If your friends are just posting meaningless information, just click "HIDE" on their status updates and you won't get their info anymore.

And be a little more discerning about your "friends". If they bore you, why be friends with them?

[Anonymous]

OP, if you don't care about your friend's kids, their efforts to live a healthy life or their silly things seems like they're not really your friends and like a PP already said, FB is not for you...

For your own sanity, please just quit using it.

You're in your 40's so why not join a knitting club or a bingo group to entertain yourself and keep your mind sharp to avoid early onset of senile illnesses?

[Anonymous]

That reminds me, I need to login and tell everyone that I went to the gym so now I can have some oreos and ice cream. Secretly I hope people are judging

[Anonymous]

np here. Am I reading this correctly? By my count, three people so far have said that you aren't really friends with someone if you don't care about their 3rd grader's grades or that they enjoy their new slow cooker recipe.

Uh, bullshit. I'm with you OP.

[Anonymous]

I think more people use FB for interesting means, like fascinating links and for PR purposes. At least in my feed, it's all about new restaurants, travel, links to current events. I can go to FB and get a breakdown of things that I WOULD like to know right now and I just weed out and hide the drivel.

If you would like some more interesting stuff in your feed, friend Nycci Nellis, Prince of Petworth, Capitol Cooking and other DC bloggers for the latest and greatest!

[Anonymous]

Oh, I hear you, OP. I don't actually mind the banal posts. It's the "I need to be validated" posts that I can't handle. I had one friend who did this so constantly that I hid her feeds so they didn't annoy me as much. She's not as terrible in person, but her facebook persona is simply terrible. Post after post about how if you don't breastfeed you were probably misinformed or misled by a doctor or nurse, how much she accomplishes in the day, etc. It's not that I even mind someone occasionally posting something they feel proud of. It's just a constant barrage - I mean, like 20 or more posts a day - on how great she thinks she is. Or how awesome a parent / businessperson / athlete etc she is. She also runs her facebook page like some kind of makeshift dear abby, but gives the worst advice (all unsolicited) I have ever read. The funny part is that she has all these projects she says she is starting but she never mentions finishing them. I deleted her from my friends list when I realized I was actively rooting against her. I didn't like the weird feelings this person was bringing out in me. I mean, someone that needy deserves sympathy and understanding, not scorn. I felt like a shit, but I couldn't muster up anything but derision, so I cut the facebook ties. OP, I suggest you do the same!