3 Reasons I Hate Facebook
By Joshua on February 19 2008
Facebook is one of those sites that everyone seems to point to when demonstrating the transformative character of "Web 2.0″ and social networking. But I never quite understood why. I've used Facebook, but I came away hating it rather than loving its web 2.0 goodness. Here are three reasons why.
It tries to do too much
One of the biggest problems with Facebook is that it tries to do far too much. Want to schedule an event? You can do it on Facebook. Want to write a blog? You can do it on Facebook. Want to play a mobster game? You can do it on Facebook. Want to send a virtual gift? You can do it on Facebook. I can understand wanting to pack a lot of functionality into their service, but the number of possibilities is overwhelming.
Besides just being too much to handle, Facebook's interface doesn't gracefully scale to the number of activities available. Do anything more than the basics, and your profile is soon overcome with visual clutter.
It encourages cheap interaction
Facebook is billed as a social network. If by social, you mean something akin to a party where everyone exchanges pleasantries and laughs politely without ever really saying anything, then I suppose it is. The core functionality of Facebook is manipulating people's ability to feel connected even though they aren't.
Do all those status updates and movie quizzes and virtual gifts actually help develop real connections? I somehow doubt it. And I don't need any more info-noise in my life.
It actively discourages in-depth interaction
Facebook isn't just a good place for cheap interaction, though. It is designed (intentionally or not) to discourage in-depth interaction. For instance, with Notes (the Facebook equivalent of blog entries) comments are limited to just a few hundred characters. Just enough to let people drop nice little comments, but not enough to let people actually give any sort of in-depth response. Maybe some people want that limit, but I can't see making the effort to write something and then saying, "I'd really prefer that you not actually think about this."
What do you think about Facebook? Love it? Hate it? Why?
What our readers said
OMG. I cannot STAND Facebook! What a bloody time waster! I mean, really, Texas hold up and vampire bite ‘em games? The same damned video about dancing babies posted 12 times to my Superwall? NO! No no no!
I’m sorry. As a connection tool, hey, good, great. As a significant stupid distraction during my workday, I have to trash this one like a bull stomping on a piece of rug.
Well, at least I know that I’m not alone. :-)
To be frank, though, I don’t see how it can be an effective connection tool, given that its interface seems designed to prevent anything more than superficial connections.
When I first got to Facebook I loved it. It helped me get back in touch with many old friends I hadn’t talked to for many years (not to mention that at that time the whole place wasn’t yet crowded by all those monstruous super walls and such that slowly drain the life out of you…)
Well, now after about half a year or so, I realize that I don’t log in to Facebook more than twice a week or so, and even then I don’t spend more than five to ten minutes checking out my latest notifications and messages – and then it’s time to go out…
To bad, considering that at work I’m currently busy building apps for Facebook ;)
Well… Our apps of course are great!
But when it comes to networking and making friends online, I prefer blogging over anything else. After all, that’s how I have learned to know all of you guys. :)
@Jarkko: I guess you do have a point about getting in touch with old friends. That aspect of it I can appreciate. But I’d really much rather just connect through their blogs.
And I’ll cut you some slack for creating Facebook apps. Everyone’s got to make a living right? ;-)
And I thought I am alone.
@Joshua, I absolutely and truly agree with you. When I first started in Facebook, it was great, connecting with old friends, across the globe. But soon I found myself in such a mess and with cluttered page, I couldn’t even find the messages they left. So, I stopped adding every app I come across.
Now I use facebook purely for networking. I even keep time, so I am not likely to waste more then 10 mins.
And what’s with the Vampire bites??
This is an informing and interesting site; I’m so glad I came across it! You seem to have a very streamlined blog design with minimal side applications (gallery, chatterbox, etc.) which makes it easier to read.
That said, I do disagree with part of your assessment of Facebook. Yes, there is undoubtedly a glut of too many apps which requires one to have self restraint and hope for ‘friends’ who possess the same. Also, I strongly dislike the fact that Facebook terms everyone “friends” when many people simply do not fit that category and only have friend status for convenience purposes. “Contacts” would be more accurate term.
With appropriate use, however, Facebook can transcend the fast-food interaction status and become something deeper and more meaningful. Yes, this requires a shared realistic mindset on both ends; the user and the user’s friend(s), but so does most human interaction. A virtual gift is not a “real” gift, but it can be a genuine expression of sentiment when one cannot send a tangible gift.
That said, I do agree with you that it is a rare instance when a genuinely deep interaction will occur on Facebook, as in many methods of virtual (and real life, although I do think the bodily factor adds some depth) interaction. However, I do not think Facebook deserves such disregard. It can become a valuable means of communication and interaction.
@Farah: Fortunately, I was never in the “adding every application I came across category.” But even with more restraint than most of my contacts, it was just too much. And I never got the vampire bites either. :-)
@Katherine: Glad that you like the blog. While I suppose such a thing as deep interaction on Facebook is possible — I’ve attempted it once or twice myself — it seems unnecessarily difficult. How hard would it be to increase the character limits for Note responses? My conclusion is thus that except for occasional checking in on friends, Facebook just isn’t worth my time.
Yep.. it’s eating time.. but I cant leave it aside!!!
you have no privacy at all on it, everything you do is seen by your friends, i meaan i wouldnt want my conversations being read by everyone else
and the apps are nonsence, i mean yeahhhh lets send useless virtual gifts to people
and you cant even delete your account!
also its boring and ugly, and the chat thing is slow and useless
I stayed away from FaceBook for the longest time till the end of last year. I use it for networking and playing the poker game on it. Keeping in touch with others is nice but other than that I haven’t found a good reason for the site.
I have become a fan of Twitter since it lets me gets answers from others faster than email. I even get caught up with the news so I don’t even have to watch the news at night.
Thanks.
@jayphilips
It is Twitter every time for me (until it changes due to outlandish success and ruins itself). Hate Facebook. At the moment, Twitter is FB for grownups. Or Facebook Lite. Can keep in touch with friends but I use ift mostly for receiving news and comment on subjects close to my heart and job, following links to full blown blogs. Nothing beats it yet. It has revitalised my interest in my work by making it so much easier to stay on top of the zeitgeist in many areas – broader reach than newspapers and mags.
It is Twitter every time for me (until it changes due to outlandish success and ruins itself). Hate Facebook. At the moment, Twitter is FB for grownups. Or Facebook Lite. Can keep in touch with friends but I use ift mostly for receiving news and comment on subjects close to my heart and job, following links to full blown blogs or websites, news stories, videos, podcasts. Nothing beats it yet. It has revitalised my interest in my work by making it so much easier to stay on top of the zeitgeist in many areas – broader reach than newspapers and mags.
It is Twitter every time for me (until it changes due to outlandish success and ruins itself). Hate Facebook. At the moment, Twitter is FB for grownups. Or Facebook Lite. Can keep in touch with friends but I use ift mostly for receiving news and comment on subjects close to my heart and job, following links to full blown blogs or websites, news stories, videos, podcasts. Nothing beats it yet. It has revitalised my interest in my work by making it so much easier to stay on top of the zeitgeist in many areas – broader reach than newspapers and mags.
OMG sorry for the repeats, b* newbie!