Bye, bye Facebook...

[Greetings]

And to add to my point above, I think tf is dying as a result of Facebook becoming popular.

Observing the same with my trials forum. It's mostly dead now and it's almost certainly the result of Facebook groups taking over. Actually I totally understand this, it's just way more convenient to have everything in one place (FB).

[hI-OOPS-CAPS]

The thing I like about Facebook is you can use it to log into so many other things. Small rubbish things that shouldn't even need an account

[anzo]

http://news.sky.com/story/1183945/facebook-user-glued-to-phone-walks-off-pier

[PatJsy]

http://news.sky.com/story/1183945/facebook-user-glued-to-phone-walks-off-pier

Do you reckon she posted a status whilst in the water? "Just fell off a pier and am about to drown LOL FML YOLO"

On a serious note - how dumb can you be?!

[anzo]

On a serious note - how dumb can you be?!

Australian, clearly.

[PatJsy]

Australian, clearly.

Not quite, Taiwanese tourist in Australia

[anzo]

Not quite, Taiwanese tourist in Australia

Gutted.

[1a2bcio8]

I deleted Facebook the other day although I just logged back in to change that to a deactivation so I can use it over the Summer. It's definitely helping me be more productive at studying and actually I've started being more social in my shared house, with friends, etc. I don't imagine this is a problem that other people necessarily have but I don't think Facebook was all that healthy for me.

It's blatantly very useful for bike related stuff - community, videos, etc. Similarly it's an awesome means for following current affairs due to the ease by which people can share articles, etc.

Facebook does fit into a situation I see becoming more prevalent in our technological age that I don't think is all that healthy for anyone though. People seem to require much more technological stimulation at an increasing rate. I went round my friends' house some time last year and they had two televisions on (different sports), they were all using either their phones or laptops to look on the internet and they kept using the xbox in the television adverts. People often seem to constantly check their phones, listen to mp3 players, etc. This is something people seem to need more and more of and I would suggest that it relates to the probability of the reward they give and the inescapable reduction of that reward over time so that you need heightened stimulation (either greater intensity in a given moment or lots more moments).

There have been studies about people's feelings about having these devices removed from their lives and the idea tends to create significant anxiety. We are moving in a direction where we are becoming increasingly unable to just "be" with our environment in its more basic or natural sense. This is despite the fact that the majority of our evolution hasn't required technology to get by. Basically, technology is seemingly becoming an addiction for a lot of us. If we spend our lives pursuing it as a means for feeling okay yet it diminishes in its effects this seems like a recipe for disaster (the sort of thing that might promote the chance of a midlife crisis). We always need to retain an awareness of our evolved ability to find reward in the fact that we actually exist. Technology is awesome but it seems to be getting increasingly misused and causing us to forget that ability. I think Facebook plays its role in that sense.

Edited December 22, 2013 by Ben Rowlands

[PatJsy]

I deleted Facebook the other day (...)

This is probably the best reply I've had so far here, good to hear there's others realising it's not necessary for anything. I definitely agree with how people are becoming addicted to technology enabling them to connect with all their friends at any point during the day and it's getting to the point where you're physically with a group of friends but are interacting with other people online instead...

Also agree with being more social and productive, I've found the same thing within hours of getting off it. You get this whole time period each day where normally you'd be on your pc but now need something else to do. At first I called it boredom but now I see it's an opportunity to get more out of each day. I found that checking my facebook a few times a day was the main reason I fired up my laptop in the first place. Now I'll check my e-mails and a few BMX sites once or twice a day and it takes no longer than 5-10 minutes. When I get really bored I watch stuff on youtube or chat sh*t on here but even then I don't spend anywhere near as much time on the internet.

Oh, unrelated but I'll do my best to come to Bristol for a weekend when I'm back on the mainland next month. I'll be in touch with Rob anyway but it'd be cool to meet up and ride if you're free Ben!

[Dave Anscombe]

Good bye facebook +1

[dann2707]

You get this whole time period each day where normally you'd be on your pc but now need something else to do.

But this is so subjective!

I don't primarily load up the computer to sit on facebook hitting f5 every minute, I'll have it open on another tab whilst i'm doing something like now, eating dinner.

As said, it's all about you and how you use it. If you're shit with time then you'll be shit with time when it comes to anything in life. If you've got an addicting personality then the same applies.

Facebook didn't say when you signed up you have to spend an hour of every day on it.

[TriаlsRider]

social networks are gay

[dann2707]

Depends if you're liked or not...

[trialsiain]

Haha yea you need a few friends for it to work

[Otacon]

Facebooks great. I have people on there who i used to ride with, people i play with on xbox live, people i used to go school with and other people who arnt with 30 minutes away that i can go and say hello to whenever i please. Its nice because one day if someone pops into my head i used to hang around with, I can just jump on there profile and see what there doing with there life and if i want to just drop them a message just to see how there doing. You must have a really short fuse or are very easily irritated if someone posts something you dont like, or god forbid happens to like a page or promote a game, is it any real need to delete them ? Just scroll past it, it takes 1 second. I think if it affects you that much, then theres more of an issue with you as a person that facebook. I post pointless shit all the time and so do 50-8-% of the people on my friends on Facebook, but id never delete them for it. Its madness.

Its all about self control, everyones got it, just find it. Then Facebook is fine.

[trialsiain]

When you have friends that put pictures up of them holding a bottle of vodka and the caption saying Yolo , there just asking to be deleted.ain't gonna scroll past that shit

[dann2707]

When you have friends that put pictures up of them holding a bottle of vodka and the caption saying Yolo , there just asking to be deleted.ain't gonna scroll past that shit

Are you still under your bed? haha

[PatJsy]

I post pointless shit all the time and so do 50-8-% of the people on my friends on Facebook, but id never delete them for it. Its madness.

I never bothered deleting people, I'd just unfollow everyone except a few close friends. For me it was a case of going on it and just browsing through it for 10-15 minutes a couple times a day which in total was a pretty significant waste of time each day. I'll have to check when I started this thread but I'm pretty sure it's close to 2 weeks ago now and I couldn't see why I'd want to go back to it.

Even if you think it's good to have it I'd encourage you to get off it for a week and see how you feel. I can almost guarantee you'll become much more productive and you're not going to miss it. Same goes for watching TV, playing xbox or whatever really. I know you get bored without these things and they're there for your entertainment but I think it's fair to say people are becoming too reliant on them. The minute you get bored you grab your ipad, ps3 or what not and don't bother thinking of other things you could do instead...

[Max Quinn]

Basically, life is about moderation. All this is like saying 'Trials Forum's shit if you look at all the topics you don't like and read EVERY post in EVERY section'.

I wish I could be less reliant on Facebook sometimes, but to be honest it's pretty integral to my life, not personally, but in terms of work, promoting things and making links. I work freelance and regularly get jobs through friends/friends of friends/friends of friends of friends (etc) through Facebook. And running a website about music, being friends on there with a lot of the musicians and generally having an ear to the scene helps me get the first scoop on things, better interviews etc. And for promoting my own music/clothing etc it's pretty essential to be on there. And then for actually making links within music, collaborating an stuff, again it's very helpful. Unfortunately the days of people waxing lyrical in record shops and making musical links through that are dwindling.

Yes, it takes up a lot of my time, but the fact is that all that stuff would take up a lot more of my time otherwise, it's a very powerful tool and the least time consuming way to do all that. It's without a doubt opened up doors for me.

And sure, I could just do all that and nothing personal, but it doesn't really work if you just go on there and promote things or whatever non stop, for social media to work in that sense you have to be a personal, likeable presence on it. For instance, if someone likes an irrelevant personal status I make (to be honest I also enjoy getting shit off my chest and out of my brain sometimes) then due to Facebook algorithms they're more likely to see the next status I write.

Like I say, I wish sometimes it didn't have to be like that, but in the industry's I work in it's keep up or get left behind.

What does piss me off though is how more and more social networks keep popping up and people expect you to actually use them ALL. I use Facebook, Twitter a tiny bit, have a LinkedIn account and that's it, I don't have a smart phone and spend enough time looking at a computer as it is so that's how it's gonna stay.

Edited December 28, 2013 by Max Quinn

[Blake]

I never bothered deleting people, I'd just unfollow everyone except a few close friends. For me it was a case of going on it and just browsing through it for 10-15 minutes a couple times a day which in total was a pretty significant waste of time each day. I'll have to check when I started this thread but I'm pretty sure it's close to 2 weeks ago now and I couldn't see why I'd want to go back to it.

Even if you think it's good to have it I'd encourage you to get off it for a week and see how you feel. I can almost guarantee you'll become much more productive and you're not going to miss it. Same goes for watching TV, playing xbox or whatever really. I know you get bored without these things and they're there for your entertainment but I think it's fair to say people are becoming too reliant on them. The minute you get bored you grab your ipad, ps3 or what not and don't bother thinking of other things you could do instead...

It's nice to not be productive sometimes. I don't want to spend every second of my day focusing 100% on making something or saving the world.

Sometimes I just wanna zone out, clear my brain a little bit and kill some time. Don't get all high and mighty that you're living your life like an amish person because a lot of us choose not to.