Annoying our Facebook Friends



What is Facebook for?  It seems different for each of my friends. Basically it's either for lurking or sharing the things we do.  As in...
  • People with kids post pictures and stories about them.
  • Animal lovers share favorite animal videos.
  • Friends on vacation share what they're doing and seeing.
  • Talented friends who do photography share that.
  • Those who enjoy youtube videos share some of their favorites.
  • People who like their own faces take lots of selfies.
  • Doing a remodel? Share the photos.
  • Enjoy eating out? Share pictures of your food.
  • Cooks share favorite recipes.
  • Crafters share their finished works.
I enjoy all of that. Please keep sharing with me. 

But while photographers, hikers, parents, cooks and music lovers are welcome to share glimpses into their lives, there is one group whose avocation is unwelcome.   If you don't like what this group (including me) shares, you need only hide our posts or unfriend us. Because after all, we are incorrigible. Like the grandparent who knows her grandkids are the cutest and the photographer who snaps a great shot, we like to share too.

Every few months, I read that Facebook is not for sharing what I mostly share. It's not for...politics. If the world's developments are your passion, if reading the news is your avocation, if researching what's happening with the environment, in Washington, the Ukraine or Gaza is your shtick, don't share.

Sadly for my FB friends, I still do. In a democracy, particularly in one where so few seem interested in the larger world or are barraged with the nonsense that passes for news these days, I am interested in sharing some of what I find. And I'm interested in what you think about it, especially if you disagree with me. 

Let's be civil and respectful to each other. But by all means, in any exchanges between people, the larger world has a place. 

If we don't talk about politics and only want to think about it around election time, is that healthy? When my smart, knowledgeable friends who disagree with me challenge my assumptions, I dig deeper and I learn more. I need them and I hope they gain too.

I don't condone the posts that insult the other side or spread misinformation (like the picture during the government shutdown of a plane covering up Mt. Rushmore). But even those, once posted, can be challenged by the doubters in your friends group. 

Today's rant and enough.


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