Facebook is like the news channel of this generation. If I am going to find out something that is happening around the world, I will find it first on Facebook. It’s the same when it comes to knowing what is going on in other people’s lives. If it wasn’t for Facebook I wouldn’t know what any of my “friends” were up to.
Social media as always, has it’s pros and cons. It has limited our verbal communication but has also allowed people to express themselves in ways they couldn’t before. Social media has made us lazy, but has also given us a diligent avenue for marketing our niche. When I log into Facebook, I don’t have much time to spend scrolling through nonsense, so here are the real reasons I use Facebook.
1. Family
As I have grown up, moved out of state, and stopped being able to see my parents and sisters on a daily basis, I love that I am able to log in and see how their day went. Having grandparents that live in a different state, it is nice to be able to share with them pictures and videos of moments in my life. One day when I have a family of my own, it will be nice to share updates for them to see. It is also nice to see what my extended family is up to around the world. Growing up we used to get together every holiday but now that we all have our families, those get togethers are rare. When the family reunions come around once a year, it’s nice that we can feel closer from seeing the things that have went on since the last time we have gotten together.
2. Friends
Not just the “friends” that I hardly know and have five mutual friends with, but the friends that I get together with every few months. The good friends that I may talk to here and there but don’t get to see very often since “adulting” hit us. We all know how busy life gets, and it’s nice to keep updated with big things that happen in my friends lives. Also, for the old friends that have come and gone, it is nice to see how they are doing and the paths they are taking throughout life. It’s nice to see pictures of my “study hall buddy from senior year’s” wedding. It’s nice to reconnect with my best friend from preschool that I have an old picture with, and watch his kids grow up in pictures.
3. Laughs
I have to say that I'm guilty of scrolling through Facebook and reading every single meme that I pass. There are certain people that I follow just because I know they share the funniest posts. Facebook is fun. I love when people post statuses of something hilarious that happened to them that day as I am “lol-ing” behind my phone screen. I love when you can sense someone’s sarcasm or learn their sense of humor because of the way they write or because of the things they share. Laughing is my favorite thing to do, and Facebook gives me quite a few of those whenever I log in.
I use Facebook to stay connected with others and it’s a lot easier to set up an event and invite anyone that I want to. I have friends that don’t have Facebook and I wish they did. I know that I have their phone number but I want to be the 87th “like” when they post their birthday selfie and join in on how great they look.
I don’t use Facebook for political arguments, reading other people bash each other in the comments section, or seeing a four year relationship status change to “single”. People use Facebook for a lot of negative reasons and as I scroll past as if I never saw it, I do love that it lets us express ourselves and our individual opinions. I use Facebook every day. Sometimes I can only login for five minutes and other days I lay in my bed and scroll, scroll, scroll, till I’ve already refreshed three times and keep coming upon the same stories. I love sharing my life with others that care about it. I love having others know what is going on, so when I run into them in the grocery store, we talk about the great things that we have seen happen online.
I use Facebook for advice, support, sharing, expressing, and staying updated on other’s lives. I use it to bring positivity to my day or to comment on someone’s post and bring positivity to theirs. Block the people who use Facebook to bring other’s down and have nothing better to do with their time. I swear some people can’t wait to log on and find the nastiest things to say about something or someone. If you have time to bash someone, you have time to pray for them instead. Also, stay away from Facebook after the election, we all know there will be way too many opinions flying around. What do you use Facebook for?
