I am going to start off by saying that the main reason I’m posting this is to let you guys know that I’ve created a FB page for this little ol’ blog. However, I wasn’t going to just put a post with some shameless self promotion. You deserve better than that. But a little bit of self promotion never killed anyone, right? You guys should definitely check out the page for more of my random thoughts and funny photos! It’s just going to be more nonsense from me but if you like this blog, then you’ll like the page.
Now onto a little bit about Facebook. I joined FB back in 2005. (Cue the “I’m so old” speech.) Back when I joined, a valid college email was required. Now, everyone and their mother is on FB. In fact, it’s mostly just mothers on FB. Teenagers are no where to be found. We recently had high school interns at my job. Since I handle my company’s social media, we started talking about FB. One of the interns, a 17-year-old Junior, mentioned that she might have FB but she can’t really remember. She’s sure it’s still up somewhere but she can’t even remember the login information. I cringed. Facebook to them is what Myspace was to us! (Fun Fact: I actually think my Myspace account is still living somewhere on the internet.)
While we all still have our Facebook accounts and will probably never get rid of them (it’s just too easy to plan events with FB), it’s definitely not the same as it used to be.
Friend Requests
Before: Every friend request would get approved. I’m looking for a goal of 5,000 friends so everyone will know just how “popular” I am.
Now: I don’t care if we have 20 mutual friends, if I don’t know you from real life, request denied!
Personal Information
Before: Gotta make sure that my correct name and email address are in there. How else will long lost friends from elementary school find me?
Now: Ha, you want my email address and telephone number FB? In your dreams! And since you require some sort of name, how about I use my stripper name? (Everyone has a stripper name, right?!)
Tagged Photos
Before: Oh snap, gotta put up those new photos of me from my birthday celebration this weekend! Look at how many shots I took!
Now: I think this photo of a baby llama would make an excellent profile picture. It kind of resembles me. Went to a bachelorette party this weekend. All those photos must be burned. Any idiot that tries to upload them to FB is getting stabbed.
Drama
Before: I am angry with my friend. I think I’ll post some passive-aggressive status about shady friends. If anyone asks me about this, I’ll respond with, “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Now: I’m hoping that we’ve all matured a bit and actually confront people in real life if a problem arises.
Your Wall
Before every other post looked like this: “Day drinking!” “Partyin’ it up in the club!” “Finals, Finals, Finals!”
Now every post looks like this: Babies. Babies. Babies. Wedding. Babies. Engagement. Babies. Babies. Wedding. Babies. (Throw a few more babies in there for accuracy.)
Poking
Before: Someone just poked me. I have no idea why that is or what that means. I’m just going to ignore it.
Now: Someone just poked me. I have no idea why that is or what that means. I’m just going to ignore it.*
Stalking
Before: Ah, just became friends with someone I find attractive. I will spend the next five hours going through every single picture he has.
Now: Ah, just became friends with someone I find attractive. I will spend the next five hours going through every single picture he has.*
*I guess some things never change.
Am I Thirty Yet 
EXCELLENT POST
Thank you! 🙂
🙂
You were spot on! (except maybe for the drama) And I’m such a nerd I inundate my friends with all kinds of educational stuff – it’s substitution for baby pics I guess. It’s amazing how fast things change. My high school students got me started on facebook 5 years ago (and I’m lucky that they’ve grown up enough to still have it and stay in touch), but I’m losing my mom touch and can’t keep my finger on how my own children are “communicating”. Guess I better go back to teaching middle school so I can catch up on “what’s cool”. btw: I’m your newest fb follower.
Things really do change so fast! It’s nuts. Thanks for the follow. I love your blog by the way! 🙂
awww, thanks! Ditto!
I’m new to Word Press, but I came across your blog and well, I can relate to a lot of it as I am 28 years old. I enjoy the way you write. This post is great, love your views on Facebook, and I’m totally with you. I swear the only reason I’m on there is to receive invites to events that I don’t even want to go to half the time. 🙂
Haha! You hit the proverbial Facebook nail on the head, girl! And the game requests?! Don’t even get me started. It’s crazy how fast things have changed, how much things have changed, within the almost ten years since FB has been around. Ca-razy!
I didn’t touch on the game requests cause it would be a little hypocritical of me since I play Candy Crush. But I do make sure to only send requests to people I know play also.
So true. I barely go on there a couple of times a week and post maybe once a month, just to show people how much older and crankier I am.
I had deactivated my facebook account for 2 years..I rejoined it 2 days back. This post so relates to everything I am feeling right now.
Totally relate to everything you’ve written here. Part of me hopes that FB will go the same way as myspace, but it is useful to stay in touch with old friends, although I could be better at that. Mainly I use FB to promote my site and work in a half hearted way.
I’m bonding with you on so many levels right now! I handle my company’s social media, as well, and had the same exact conversation with our 17-year-old HS junior intern about Facebook. She’s all about Instagram, and doesn’t “get” Facebook. As much as I miss the days of needing a .edu email address to sign up, I would be so upset without my Facebook right now.
OMG this is actually me. 😀 Although to be fair, most of my teenage nieces and nephews DO have facebook, and I’ve now had to go through and block all old drunken photos because some are friends with me and I’m supposed to be a responsible Auntie! *sigh*
-Rebecca
Idealism never goes out of fashion
http://mn2nz.wordpress.com
Haha, luckily my nephews are wayyy too young to be on social media.
I joined fb to spy on my 3 brats. They’ve moved on and I’m still there talking to people I haven’t seen in years.
I still have a myspace somewhere too, it is full of happy looking photos of me with my ex, since I have been with my Husband for 7 years you can imagine how long it has been since I logged onto it LOL.
I think the drama thing is still pretty much the same to be honest – I still see blah blah blah backstabber blah – say it to my face etc., but the wall feed was SPOT ON!!!!!
BOYCOTT FB! I mean, this post is funny, but I’m seriously wondering when/if FB will seriously wane in popularity like MySpace did. Or is it going to become/remain one of the ways we communicate with people everyday, like the telephone?
I don’t think FB is ever going to truly go away. It’s much better run than Myspace. But they are going to have a problem if they can’t attract these teens eventually.
You’re probably right. What I’m kind of thinking now is more about kids than teens. I mean, I have so many friends/siblings/acquaintances who are now having kids, or have been for the past couple of years. I’m 25, btw, to give you an idea. All of these new parents I know are part of the first FB “generation” if you will, and still use it now that they have kids. I’m wondering if they’re going to teach the kids FB just like when I was a kid I was taught how to write/mail letters, call grandma on the phone, etc. So regardless of teens, I’m wondering if people who are just little kids now will grow up considering FB as just another means of communications that everybody uses. Does that make sense?
Probably really wordy, I’m sorry. I just seriously wonder because if you’d have asked me a couple of years ago, I definitely wouldn’t have thought FB would be around today.
I think it’s going to be really interesting to see what FB will become when little kids eventually get older. Right now FB is more a place for people to reconnect with friends but that’s not what it will be for these kids. I think of my sister. When she joined FB, she was single. Now she’s married and has two kids. Her page is now covered with photos of my two nephews. When they get older, FB will be a place where their mother, aunts, grandparents, etc. are and there will basically be a photographic timeline of their life from when they were first born.
Eh, poking was just a way to let you flirt with people you had a crush on in college. Poking led to…well, you know.
Someone once told me you never poke someone you wouldn’t want to sleep with. So…yeah.
Ha, so basically don’t poke anyone you wouldn’t want to poke in real life.
Don’t forget the growing number of friends you don’t recognize anymore because they didn’t put their original last name in parenthesis when they got married. I remember “Katie Smith” from college, but this “Katie Macintosh” that keeps showing up on my feed keeps throwing me off…until I see the wedding photos, and then I kick myself for not being a better creeper.
I can totally relate to the ‘Your Wall’ section. Babies everywhere.
Soooo many baby pics on Facebook now! It makes me feel so old
Thanks for making me lol. (For real!)
😄😄😄😄😄😄😄
I remember when MySpace was all the rage… Not cool, man. I’m only halfway to thirty! Halfway. To. Thirty.
Aww crap.
Great post! Very funny! =]
Thank you! Halfway to thirty isn’t so bad. You’re still in your mid-twenties. I’m two years to thirty and every time I think about it, I want to cry!
Facebook is overrated and hopefully will become obsolete soon. I have debated in deleting my account several times but just can’t do it. I do enjoy seeing post from people I haven’t seen in awhile but sometimes it’s a game of “look what I can do”- Stewie from
mad TV reference. Lol.
Haha, it definitely is a game of “look what I can do.” I don’t think I can ever fully delete my account. It’s just too easy to stay in touch with people but I rarely ever go on anymore.
this had me rolling over in laughter. I absolutely remember the old FB days. Things were SO different – except for the few things that you mentioned were the same. HA! love love love it!