Social media - I just can’t... - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: frozenfrogz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 05:34:52 pm
content: I am 35.I was born and raised with a lot of technical things surrounding me (my dad is a network admin for a public museum and some other public service departments / trained TV technician, studied electronics).I was introduced to BTX prior to the internet and discovered the digital world through the console.My first own computer was an Apple II and I went through all the good things like having to write a boot disk with some clever driver management to free up enough lower memory to be rewarded with a DOS game actually loading.All that is maybe why I love using "simple" PHP bulletin boards like this.Now, the following problem occurs again and again: I just can not deal with all the "new school" social media. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, you name it. Trying to get a hang of those always leaves me frustrated. I would love to just not use them and don’† care, but sadly my job (I am a product designer) seems to involve using those platforms from hell!As you might notice, I am leaving Youtube out of the listing, mainly because I think it works very differently (type of actual content) than those mentioned above.I am more or less forced to use Facebook to keep track of what others around me are doing (job related). A lot of jobs from companies for designing furniture, tableware, lamps for architecture and general lighting, etc. are actually coming through Instagram - at least for the businesses of friends and colleagues that are also product designers and heavily use a lot of social media channels.It is not that I have fear of not having enough work / earning money / ... but I realize, that I just can not deal with that kind of communication. It might sound crazy, but I am feeling old and stupid. I do not want to use mobile apps on my phone to "get the full experience". It’s frustrating.Am I alone in this? Sometimes it feels like I am missing out on something, but I just can’t!Kind regards,Frederik

author: SeanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 05:56:48 pm
content: You are not alone, just regard it as a strictly business tool, and never use it after hours. As well only use it if possible on a single computer, and on all others block all the subsidiaries that otherwise track your every usage and location to sell to advertisers.

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 06:02:21 pm
content: I do not use any of that shit, and in fact i am proud of it, as it keeps me free from herd mentality. I was laughing every time i looked at the TV in the hallway on my way to the bathroom where red faced Zuk on one side and bunch of morons in their chairs on the other side made big deal out of Facebook data. To me they can go facckk each other and it does not affect my life in any way. I leave that to Kardashian fans.

author: Fsck
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 06:15:05 pm
content: I just got back on facebook. I was told by a friend that networking is key to future success.

author: abraxa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 06:32:27 pm
content: Reading your post, I wondered if it's the content or the user interface that rubs you the wrong way. For me personally, it's definitely the user interface. They seemingly love to create "discoverable" user interfaces where you don't even know a function exists until you trigger it by sheer accident or someone shows you. Icons that give you no indication of what they do when you touch them. Confusion about whether a button shows the current state or the state the app will have after you touch it. No "undo" or "revert" function (the "apply" button in desktop applications is apparently also a thing of the past now). No indication of what apps can actually do and how to accomplish a given task.Discoverability goes down the drain quickly if you can perform destructive or unintended actions while trying to discover the interface of the application. But no, this is apparently the norm now.I get it, though. Intentionally designing your hip app this way encourages social interaction with your peers because you're trying to figure out together how to operate it and share discoveries among them.Yeah, sorry for that little rant but frozenfrogz kinda hit a nerve there

author: The Soulman
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 07:16:35 pm
content: I have the same age as the op, and I don't use "social" media at all, cant stand the crummy interface and why even bother wit it.To me it is completely nonsense, and mankind has proven to survive very well without it.Don't get me started on "smart"-phones, ergonomics anyone?About apps, you don't control them, they control you.

author: Karel
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 07:19:49 pm
content: Quote from: frozenfrogz on May 27, 2018, 05:34:52 pmAbsolutely not. I don't use any social media apart from Telegram.My smartphone is activated with a fake email-address which I never use.I cannot and will not check my email on my smartphone.If I want interaction with other people, I visit or invite them, or I go to a bar.

author: joeqsmith
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 07:29:57 pm
content: Quote from: frozenfrogz on May 27, 2018, 05:34:52 pmI have no desire to own a cell phone.

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 07:32:16 pm
content: I'm the same. I do have a Facebook account but hardly ever use it.I find touchscreens a pain to use and would rather use a desktop PC than those buggy crapps.I'm a similar age to the original poster. I wonder if it's a generational thing? Perhaps if I was born in the year 2000, I'd love social media and the shitty user interface?I wonder if many people who were in the mid 30s plus, said similar things about the Internet, when that first became mainstream in the mid 90s?I suspect people generally become less apt at dealing with new things, as they get older and some are better at it than others.

author: rdl
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 08:57:01 pm
content: I'm retired now, never had a facebook account and have only visited the site a few times. Just never saw any need for it, and that Zuckerberg guy gives me an icky feeling. Twitter is okay I guess. I don't really use it though. My phone is a dumb phone, cost me $15, works fine.

author: GreyWoolfe
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 08:58:21 pm
content: Quote from: joeqsmith on May 27, 2018, 07:29:57 pmI get you on this. I have a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge and use it for nothing more than calls, some texting and playing solitaire. I spend way too much time on my company phone as that is how I work. Us remote techs have our phones and laptops. SWMBO, on the other hand, does a completely immersive experience with hers. What's funny is not that many years ago, she wanted nothing to do with smartphones. "I just need something simple to make calls and text". Yeah, right. She does 10 times the stuff I do and then some.Frozen, I am 61 myself. I didn't grow up with technology. I played with Erector sets, Tonka trucks and played stick ball, foot ball, whatever ball depending on the season. Now I work from home and have a company van. I don't let technology get the best of me but it sure beats having a real job. I do limited facebooking with those people that are scattered around the country that are important to me and that's it. NO Instagram, shapchat, twitter or any other crap.You aren't missing out on anything. I know I am not. I actually get more enjoyment out of <gasp> reading an actual paper book than anything else except spending quality time with SWMBO. I enjoy technology but I refuse to let it run my life or define me.

author: abraxa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 09:06:30 pm
content: Quote from: Hero999 on May 27, 2018, 07:32:16 pmI don't think that's what it is. To me, it's that we have established characters and enough self-esteem/-confidence to understand that social networks are little more than neatly wrapped Skinner boxes, designed to condition people to become addicted to attention and recognition - or at least fulfill the desire for it, if a person has been craving it already.In my country, a lot of people of my mother's generation embrace social media with wide open arms because it lets them feel like their social circles are expanding. They, of all people, should be sceptical - and yet, the advantages and peer pressure make them join. At least though, they're not all about ego and image as the current young generation seems to be.Also, keep in mind that young people have always been adopting trends that the older generation didn't want or like - simply to make it a point that they're different. I'd be surprised if it was any different here. Older people (including me) hate the user interfaces but young people apparently embrace them. It certainly is one way to keep the old folks out of their in circles.

author: JohnnyMalaria
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 09:14:06 pm
content: Oh, you have know idea how good your post made me feelYou're 17 years my junior and have the same hatred I do!There's a couple I use mainly for visibility for my career: ResearchGate and LinkedIn. Both have given me excellent leads to necessary work. Sadly, LinkedIn is taking on a Facebook feel.I had a Facebook account - rarely used it. I deleted in just a couple of days before the shit hit the fan recently.Like many, I just cannot stand the interface even on the desktop. I hate that crap on a phone. How on earth people conduct all their business computing needs on a phone baffles me. Often, they have never used an application such as Excel on a PC. When they see what itcan do, they freak.Imagine designing circuits and PCB layouts!

author: PA4TIM
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 09:56:40 pm
content: I'm from 1963, The thing I most do with my smartphone is trying to find where I put the bloody thing.I only use it for mail if I am out-house.But the thing I like about it (Nokia Lumina 925 I think) is the camera. That is really handy for my work (Component level repair) I make pictures from everything, like the position of connectors, which screws go where etc. They are sharp and it needs very little light.Before this I had a Nokia E93, that was a very nice phone with a keyboard.No facebook, instagram , skype etc. Only linkedin but not active, I do not like it either. My favorite communication is mail or a forum like this. My favorite source of information is Youtube.

author: JohnnyMalaria
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 10:05:16 pm
content: Quote from: PA4TIM on May 27, 2018, 09:56:40 pmI've got the 928 which is the Verizon badged version. I love that phone. Had it since 2012. I love WP8.1. I dread the day I have to choose between the duopoly of gaudy circus phones[Tried WP10. Yuck.]Most of the other people I know with WP phones always apologize when they take it out

author: frozenfrogz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 27, 2018, 10:21:28 pm
content: Thanks y’all!I felt like slowly going insane, because everyone* except me seemed to be a social media connoisseur, embracing it.*just my impression, never really started that conversation IRL, but maybe I should...As abraxa mentioned, maybe it is the UI and I can also very much relate to the argument that the shallow mode of conversation might be responsible for the mental turn-off.Thank you for letting me in on your perspectives.Btw. GreyWoolfe: Although there was a lot of technology around, it was limited access by my parents and I have had a lot of fun playing with my friends with LEGO, Meccano, Kosmos experimental kits (chemistry, physics,...) and building things from wood and stuff I dragged home from the curb. When staying at a friends house, there were some excessive C64 sessions and later on null modem marathons playing Command and Conquer, War Craft I + II, Duke Nukem etc. though.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 01:04:53 am
content: 1955 represent!By deliberate choice, I'm a Contrarian. If I see a majority following some new fashion, I'll usually take an opposite path. Mainly for the peace and quiet, and less-seen places that brings me to. Speaking allegorically, I find there's a lot less trash on the ground in places far from the crowd. (Literally true, in the bush.)My dumb cell phone, that I almost never carry with me, was free from the telco. Because my previous one was 2G, and apparently when the phone company wanted to shut down the 2G network they were legally required to provide free 3G phones to remaining 2G customers. Ha ha.'Social media' to me seems like a way of making people forget how to actually be sociable in the real world.Twitter is designed to make people think in tiny fragments, and unable to express themselves in any deep way.Facebook's founder is a psychopath, who's on record stating all facebook users are 'dumb f*cks.'So called 'free net services' are never free - the product they sell for profit is their users.Habitually using GPS mapping and positioning as your navigation method, is the best way to forget how to actually navigate.And in general, I see the 'cellphone addicted generations' walking around with their faces attached to the little bauble in their hands, completely oblivious to the world around them.No thanks.

author: treesap
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 01:14:02 am
content: I'll provide a somewhat dissenting take here. I own accounts on all of the major platforms, and while I very rarely post on them, I have a couple of uses for them that I appreciate. My biggest use is employment. As a software engineer, I've gotten, literally, all of my jobs through LinkedIn (a professional-oriented social network.) I find that in my industry, it is almost the de-facto way of finding potential employees. I get contacts from interested corporate recruiters at least every week or two. I've also utilized its ability to show me contacts at companies that people I know can introduce me to. That has also been helpful in my career.As far as more traditional social networks (like Facebook), I have family members and some friends, who no longer live in the area, who share pictures there, and it is nice to be able to see what they are up to without seeing them in person. About once a week, I'll log in and check on a few distant relatives/friends.Also, while this isn't really the same thing as browsing and posting content, I do find the calling feature of Facebook messenger to provide a good alternative to ordinary phone calls, even amongst people whose phone numbers I possess! The voice quality is just far, far superior to that achievable over ordinary phone networks. (It also makes it possible to contact people when their phone numbers have changed.)While I cannot imagine posting every single event of my day for other people's affirmation, and am not a very regular user, I must admit that they do have their place, at least in my industry and amongst my circle of acquaintances.

author: Brumby
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 01:37:44 am
content: Social media may have its place, but I'm not a fan.I have seen a number of occasions where things are taken far too seriously and bullying is all too easy. It is a two edged sword that all too frequently draws blood ... IMHO. The only way it could work properly is if everybody were to take responsibility for their actions - and that's a pipe dream.As for the interfaces, I can only speak from a casual interaction with Facebook - and I find it horrendous. I don't spend a lot of time on it, so I don't get to exercise the options an learn what's what. The only thing I have done is screw the security down as hard as I can - but even then, I'm not comfortable.One major thing that irks me is the sheer volume of crap that gets shoved in my face. I have very few things I have liked or follow, yet there is so much crap that gets served up, I could literally spend hours wading through it all .... and it's ongoing. I can see how people can be caught up in this 24x7 - but it is just insane.Something else that so many don't realise is the exposure of their lives to the world. From showing every course of a meal they are having to advertising the fact that a whole household is on holiday and their home will be unattended for two weeks. Burglars want the address? Just look up the name in the phone directory and you can confirm the house by the detailed photos available - which may also show you the layout.I find the whole social media thing an interesting concept - but the implementation and usage trend is just obscene.

author: InductorbackEMF
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 07:22:09 am
content: You are not alone,i like to think it will somehow "die" off but it wont.I have never seen the point of using social media when i could talk to friends in real life.Age is not the factoring point here i am 16 and only even got a phone until i was 15.I would guess it is how you are bought up ect.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 07:28:49 am
content: Quote from: Fsck on May 27, 2018, 06:15:05 pmThat's what everyone keeps telling each other and becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.Also realise that many people aren't using these platforms because they really want to. That sounds odd, but most social media are self admittedly designed to constantly trigger our dopamine system. Social media carefully craft themselves to be an addiction, a habit that isn't very pleasurable any more but has worn in and is hard to shake. People aren't gratified by it, but simply feel empty without constantly checking their apps and getting messages and likes.It seems more and more people are feeling that social media aren't providing added value any more, but feel like a burden instead. Research is showing that people who indulge in social media often feel less happy than people that partake in a more moderate fashion. People are trying different things to shake the habit, though like is the case with smoking it's probably the generation that has grown up with it that will be least likely to lose the habit.

author: hans
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 07:38:55 am
content: I finally ditched Facebook last month after the privacy scandals, and especially the ridiculous face of our friend Mark Z. I could put many curse words here, but now you're reading this sentence which means I won't. Let's just say I don't mind to see Facebook going down to the drain.Nonetheless, I'm also quite useless with social media. I think social media profiles are about building a picture of self justification. Rarely are there people that actually share ups and downs on Facebook or Instagram. I think the closest one that gets there is maybe Twitter - but usually the "messages of 140 characters long" (they are longer IKR) are meant to be so insignificant that you can't tell your life story, even if you wrap it in a poem.So in the end I feel that social media is rather useless - it's maybe only good for something if you're right in that dopamine loop.I think LinkedIn has been going down the same rabbit hole as well.Unfortunatelythat site has an actual value for networking and job offers, so I'm afraid I need to keep it.I read a funny comparison last month on a Dutch IT site; someone compared how many peoplequit smokingcompared to quit facebook. By that analogy, Facebook is several orders of magnitude more addictive than smoking.

author: Harb
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 07:47:25 am
content: I am 55, and I am happy to use Social Media, in fact I can honestly say I would miss out on a lot in life with out it........I communicate , Catch up with people , purchase and sell , keep up with what the remote part of the family is up to etc etc.....I would say you miss a lot of stuff without it , its just the modern way of doing things.....like it or not, you are cutting yourself off without it........even this forum is basically Social Media and so it this thread !!You shouldn't fear it, you should embrace it and make it work for you........the old ways are just........old.And you can't tell what you are missing until you establish yourself on it.......I have better comms and access to information than I ever have.Its all about management.........its just like any other comms tool.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 08:11:52 am
content: Quote from: Harb on May 28, 2018, 07:47:25 amIt's not like any other communications tool in the sense that it's all designed to keep you around and to provide as much data you can to the system. It's made to look attractive and uses refined manipulation to keep you around while the real goals and costs are mostly obscured from you. I could rehash the "you are the product" but I think we've all grown tired of that one, however true it may be.

author: Halcyon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 08:27:40 am
content: frozenfrogz, good on you!I keep telling people, on social media, you are theproduct, not the customer. They use your information (with your consent which you don't read but agree to anyway) to make a butt-load of money.If you can exploit social media to make a living for you, then go for it! It actually has some pretty good features, but other than that, it's near useless (in my opinion).I'm around your age and don't use social media, never have. Yet, I'm not a hermit. I have brilliant friends who call or SMS me whenever there are things on. They call just to check-in and see what's happening. Just this weekend we went sailing in Sydney Harbour (attached is a lovely panorama taken on my phone).Personally, I think avoiding social media has made mecloserto my friends and professional contacts. When I pick up the phone and call someone at work, there is no awkward pause while they think about who the hell is on the other end of the phone, they ask me how my weekend was.

author: Fred27
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 08:41:04 am
content: I've got a confession and a bit of an apology for you. Some friends and I started all this by creating the first ever social network back in early 2000 - the long gone UK based everyonesconnected.com. You're possibly not going to believe me, but it's true.I can't be bothered with stuff like Facebook either. Initially they were the competition (well Friendster, MySpace first). Now I just think there's more to lose than gain from it all.

author: TerraHertz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 12:47:48 pm
content: Quote from: Fred27 on May 28, 2018, 08:41:04 amHere we see yet another solid proof that time travel does not and never will exist. You are still alive.

author: tpowell1830
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 01:48:28 pm
content: Quote from: TerraHertz on May 28, 2018, 12:47:48 pmAnd yet, we are all time-travelers, only in one direction forward in normal time.I refuse to get a facebook or other social media account other than forums like this. The quality of users is much higher (for the most part) here. Also forums tend to be specific areas of interest.Just my 2 cents...

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 04:10:21 pm
content: I used to use Facebook but I abandoned it years ago when all my friends started having kids and suddenly my feed was clogged with kid pictures and discussions that are not of interest to me. Also they kept changing the UI around and filtering the posts such that it became less and less useful to me. These days I view it as just a waste of time.

author: steve30
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 05:34:09 pm
content: What's the difference between this "Social Media" we have now and the "Social Networking" that we had 10 years ago? Are they the same thing just with different names?

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 05:54:14 pm
content: I don't do Facebook, Twitter, Myspace or any of the other social media sites because I consider them a waste of time. As for phones, I have a dumb phone that makes and receives calls and sends and receives text messages because that's all I want it to do.It's similar to the UNIX way of doing things, one tool to do one job. This is why I have a phone, an iPod, a camera and a GPS. If one of them breaks then I don't lose the functionality of the others whilst it's being repaired or replaced. I also avoid the problem of Facebook and Google tracking my every move.

author: capt bullshot
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 06:13:58 pm
content: You're not alone (reply to first post, didn't read the rest yet).I've tried a bit on these mobile devices, and found them pretty inefficient to use. Anyway, I don't even know for what exact reason I should use one of these devices, so I don't use one, and I don't feel I'm missing something.GF has a smartphone and I can hear her cursing a lot about the thing, mostly user experience related. Sometimes I have a look at it: Most web pages (no matter if optimized for mobile or not) are confusing or distracting or spitting ads into your face. Apps appear to be somewhat more useable, but the user interface is often laggy and doesn't provide useful feedback on your actions. I've tried to read books on a Tolino, but was very disappointed by having to move my fingers in strange ways just to turn the page, and you don't get instant feedback if your movement was right or just caused something else that you don't want to happen. I want real (clicking) buttons to turn the page.So these things really do not provide anything that would attract me, and I'm fine with not using one. In the history of computing (yes, I've seen all the ZX81 and C64 stuff in "real time"), there were many improvements in user interface, but also several steps back: one of them beeing todays mobile devices, another the 16:9 screen format and mirror displays - I don't use my computer screen to watch movies, 16:9 and pitch black is fine for the TV, but no good on a computer.To stay on the original topic: What is all that facegramlinkedxing stuff? Never seen (OK, that's a lie, GF uses Whatsapp, so I've seen that at least), never missed anything of that. Had a linkedin account that I deleted when M$ took over linkedin (did they really, never bothered about it?), but that was pretty useless anyway, so nothing lost, but gained instead: No more annoying mails from them.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 28, 2018, 10:15:50 pm
content: I have a standalone GPS, camera, laptop, e-reader, music player, etc which each offer advantages over a smatphone however, the smartphone is always on me so I don't have to think about which gadgets I should bring along. If I know I'm going somewhere that might not have adequate cell service then I'll bring the standalone gadgets but otherwise convenience wins out. I actually almost never talk on the phone, I use my smartphone primarily for text messaging, email and the camera. I had a flip phone for years but these days there's no real advantage, the service is actually cheaper on the smartphone and nearly all the basic feature phones and plans are aimed at senior citizens.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2018, 06:55:34 am
content: Quote from: steve30 on May 28, 2018, 05:34:09 pmI think social networking was focussed on your social group and its interactions, while social media assume the role of more traditional media and extend outside of your own social group.

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2018, 06:59:35 am
content: Quote from: German_EE on May 28, 2018, 05:54:14 pmNo, you don't. That's one of the problems of the data giants. They track people whether they use their services or not. Mark Zuckerberg refused to answer questions about non Facebook members being tracked twice when questioned by the EU parliament. If yo have a wifi network, Google knows about it. If you visit a website with a Facebook pixel which is most of the websites around, Facebook knows about it. You need to go through excruciating lengths to avoid ending up in the nets of the big players and it's exceedingly likely you will anyway.

author: A Hellene
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2018, 01:18:47 pm
content: Some FACTS regarding Facebook:"Users are ‘dumb fucks’ for trusting data to Facebook."--Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEOCIA's (including every other spying agency's) wet dream:Verbatim:"After years of secretly monitoring the public, we were astounded so many people would willingly publicize where they live, their religious and political views, an alphabetized list of all their friends, personal emails addresses, phone numbers, hundreds of photos of themselves, and even status updates about what they were doing moment to moment.It is truly a dream come true for the CIA."--Christopher Stratinsky, Deputy CIA DirectorNow, regarding that most carefully coined phrase, which advocates total submission, the infamous'I have nothing to hide, so I don't care if they are spying on me,'all I will have to say is that it shares the same exactly mentality of the following one:'I enjoy making love, so I do not care if they are raping me'...Even though theseSocial Abominationsare truly beneficial for theCorporate World(whatever this entity couldreallybe), they also are extremely hostile for human beings since the former ones advocate detachment from reality --especially to the younger ones that have not yet developed character solidity, personal defenses and critical thinking. We can see everywhere that, when this damned thing rings or beeps the planet freezes for the majority of those poor and clueless victims (of any physical age) of this 'technology that brings you together and makes you friends by the thousands'...-George

author: vinicius.jlantunes
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2018, 02:37:29 pm
content: I find it amusing (while easily predictable) that the responses to this post are increasing in terms of "intensity of despise" (for lack of a better term).(NOTE:no judgement, just find it amusing and am having a giggle)First level: yeah buddy, I too don't like social networksSecond level: yeah buddy, I too don't like it and will tell you more, smart phones also annoy meThird level: yeah buddy, to be honest even "dumb" phones are a thing from hell!(potential next level, not yet achieved)Fourth level: yeah buddy - I only use smoke signals and only for calling ambulances or some real emergency!

author: Bud
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 29, 2018, 03:34:07 pm
content: Yes how i could miss it - calling ambulance via facebook.

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 06:34:55 pm
content: I'm not on FBAnd never will be .Prefer to decide when/what to share my self.Actually quite annoying that even or "State Radio/TV" announces ...... "Read more" on FB./Bingo

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 06:52:19 pm
content: One other thing, have you seen what all of the social networks are doing to people? I take regular train journeys and the people around me are all staring into their little black slabs instead of talking to each other. Tonight I watched a family of four get out of their car, parents and two young girls, within seconds of exiting the vehicle the mobile phones were out of the pockets and the girls were walking along without looking where they were going.We're turning into a race of zombies, all linked together using electronic tethers

author: JohnnyMalaria
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 07:41:50 pm
content: Quote from: German_EE on May 30, 2018, 06:52:19 pmIt hasn't changed that much:

author: Mr. Scram
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 09:20:05 pm
content: Quote from: German_EE on May 30, 2018, 06:52:19 pmThat honestly wasn't any different before. People minded their own business or were busy staring at their new fangled book or newspaper. Pretending we engaged in random conversations with total strangers is a somewhat ridiculous romantic fantasy.

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 10:11:01 pm
content: I don't use social media at all. I only participate in problem-solving discussions.Or, should I say, Ishouldonly participate in problem-solving discussions, because every single time I participate in anything moresocialthanproblem-solving, like the recent discussion on tool warranties here, no matter how I try, the net result always ends up negative. Some information, yes, but mostly just depressing garbage.All I know is that it is not productive or interesting for me to participate in social media, so I avoid it as best I can.

author: JohnnyMalaria
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 10:21:04 pm
content: Quote from: Nominal Animal on May 30, 2018, 10:11:01 pmSo that's antisocial media!

author: Nominal Animal
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 30, 2018, 10:38:31 pm
content: Quote from: JohnnyMalaria on May 30, 2018, 10:21:04 pmNah, it's justmebeing antisocial that way. (Funnily enough, I find social interaction in real life much, much easier, and way more interesting, too.)I can definitely still contribute a lot of positive stuff, I just cannot do it in the "social media" context. Indeed, the reason why I use a pseudonym, is simply to make it easier for myself to dissociate my person (personality? social self?) from my work product; I actually developed this approach as a coping mechanism almost a decade ago.If the common workplace becomes an extension of the social media type of interaction, I will not be able to contribute or participate. (It has been suggested to me, that a personal assistant or secretary to handle that side of things, might make it much easier for me to market my skills and produce results, too.)I wonder if some others avoid social media for a similar reason? I am aware of quite a few professionals, who have basically stopped reading news, because so much of it is pure social manipulation and opinion shaping, with so little factual information, that it is becoming more of a burden than a resource.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2018, 12:19:41 am
content: Quote from: Mr. Scram on May 30, 2018, 09:20:05 pmHonestly I like it better this way anyway. If someone is absorbed in their phone I don't have to try to engage them in mindless smalltalk to avoid sitting there in awkward silence. I occasionally get out my phone and find something to do on it just so the a stranger sitting next to me won't try to drag me into a conversation if I'm not in the mood.