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Beating the Facebook Algorithm
Like a billion other people, I’m on Facebook a lot. And I take note of the posts that get hundreds of likes. Wedding and anniversary photos are a no brainer, as are pictures of the kids. Not having access to any of that, I tried a different tack to tap into some of that Facebook love. Today, I posted a smiling photo of me and my best friend of 40 years. He’s the closest thing I have to soulmate, and it made me happy to advance the social media value of friendship. It’s trending well!!
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I quit Facebook after my boyfriend and I broke up last month. I don’t need an audience for my life right now (or ever), and I think that all social media sucks the vitality and joy from life by replacing it with something fleeting and shallow as photo-bait for likes. It was bad enough going through puberty under a microscope with scores of people scrutinizing your every move (aka middle school). Why subject ourselves to this again? I get that this time we can all be our own PR reps who can carefully curate our life’s external appearance to suit our needs at the time…but what is it for at the end of the day? I’m very glad you used it to pay homage to a friend, but the truth about people liking engagement and wedding photos is that we feel obligated to. A high school friend that I never speak to, and that I might see once a year got engaged recently. I ‘liked’ it only because not liking it would have been more conspicuous. I would have been her only high school friend not to like it, so I fulfilled my obligation and did, even though she has no part in my life. One like on your friend’s photo is more genuine than 500 likes on an engagement announcement, but why should we care anyway? I only check fb now for events I need to RSVP to. Comparing myself and my experiences to other people and feeling the need to announce everything that is happening to me is really diminishing my quality of life.
I hear you, Leyla, and I really understand your point of view. With that said, I like social media in particular because of how I can stay loosely connected with folks in my wider circle. But I respect anyone who signs off.
I deleted facebook for similar reasons. Also because the site was constantly showing me photos of people I didn’t know that my friends liked. It felt creepy. I find I don’t miss it. But it’s weird people who are on facebook assume I know things about their lives. And I have to remind them when I see them or speak to them that no I don’t know about that, because we have not talked about it! Maybe I’d go back with an altered name that would make me hard to find so I could just be friends with a small select group of people who I actually want to interact with (mainly those friends separated by geography). But then that sounds like work to manage it. 🙂
I have friends who have walked away from social media, and they’re very happy about it. Lots more time.
On the topic of friendship, has anyone read the book My Brilliant Friend by Emily Ferante? I just bought the book and was wondering if it lives up to the hype.
Read it. And yes, it lives up to the hype. ENJOY!
I love this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qln1je6t338
Omg!! This is amazing. I love it. Especially the bunny part because I have a bunny! Thanks for cheering me up.
So funny!!!!