I understand, really, why people avoid Facebook. It is addictive, and it does produce emotions
that might otherwise be untapped. Once I
fully understood that you could select what you view, I eliminated a lot that
displeased me. So what I have now is
pages and pages of animals and politics, all things near and dear to my
heart. However, this also takes an
emotional toll. A co-worker is
constantly threatening to unfriend me because of all the sad and needy animals
that I share. I do this to expand the
network of animal rescue groups; this has proven to be a successful technique
in decreasing euthanasia and increasing fund-raising.
I like reading news and political views as well, and with
Facebook I learn more that bolsters my own viewpoint. When I encounter misinformation I always
want to correct the poster, but I realize that is not possible in most
cases. Also, when I do so, there go the
emotions again.
I just read a Washington Post story in which an “average” man was
interviewed about his perception of our President. Every statement was proof that the “average”
man is completely uneducated on most of the things they rant about. This man spouted that the government was full
of members of the “Muslim Brotherhood” and held prayer meetings on the White House
lawn. He also noted that the President
was totally un-American and violated the constitution repeatedly. It frightens me how wide-spread these beliefs
are.
In response to another post, I researched statistics (World Health Organization) on life expectancy
and infant mortality in the USA versus other “civilized” countries. Did that impact the poster who believes we
have the best health care in the world?
Of course not. I vow to myself
to not fall into these argumentative traps—but as I said, emotions rule.
The difference in reading things on FB as opposed to news
stories is that it leads to the illusion that you can communicate with others. Rather than face to face communication, which
sometimes results in voices being raised and things being said that you don’t
really mean, you have the opportunity to compose rational thoughts and even
find data to justify your opinions. The
fallacy is that facts will impress someone who is already convinced and uses
Fox news as their primary source of information.
In sum, I will continue to post animal pictures and
stories. Right now, a large rescue group, Miracle Ranch,
housed in Ludowici, Georgia, is being threatened by the powers that be in Long County
to be shut down; gunshots are being fired on their property. That is a story worthy of sharing, and acting
on. I will continue to avoid long winded
conversations by people who have axes to grind.
I will delete/hide posts by liars and haters, and only respond when I
have something meaningful or positive to say.
Ignore Facebook, you say?
Sure, that’s an option. Maybe I
could wean myself off gradually— I don’t think my system could stand the shock of
going cold turkey. I won’t miss knowing
where everyone is all the time, or what everyone is eating. I also won’t miss those who allude to
arguments they are having with unnamed people.
I will miss the childhood pictures, the happy ending stories and of
course, above all, George Takei’s wit and wisdom.
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