I did it! Facebook deactivation. (1 Viewer)

I finally did it! This time for good.

Is there possibly a better way on the planet to come to the realization that most people one might know or have "friended", you really don't like that much? Is there a better place to arrive at the conclusion that the average person is lonely, boring, bored, addicted to drama, and or a complete shit magnet? I ask myself..."how the hell did this happen to Humanity"? How did I ever get involved in the Facebook bullshit? Am I the only one who feels this way? Am I really related to these people? :-)

I wonder how Bukowski would have felt about Facebook? One particular quote comes to mind!

"Boring damned people. All over the Earth. Propagating more boring damned people. What a horror show. The Earth swarmed with them."

Thoughts?
 
All of this shit is no more than what you make of it. Facebook is flawed in its execution, but not its original underlying aim.

This "influx of the stupid" happens over and over again on the Internet, and I suppose it will continue to happen forever. I used to be a big usenet user, and I remember well the panic and gnashing of teeth on there when AOL announced that they would be providing usenet access to their users. You would have thought it was the end of times and the Internet was about to self-destruct in a tremendous silicon fire.

But in retrospect, early AOL users were like god damn Internet pioneers, compared to today, where everyone is wired up.

For anyone who believes Bukowski would have hated the Internet or Facebook, I'll just remind you that he was never averse to using new technology when it benefited him. He got an electric typewriter shortly after they were widely available, a word processor, a computer...and he spoke glowingly of how incredible the computer was.

So "Bukowski would have hated Facebook" - I'm not so sure.

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(Having said all that, I left Facebook as well, for the greener pastures of Google+. Where all the smart people are at.)
 
I am currently on hiatus from Facebook. The re-connecting with cousins and high school classmates has been really great but all the other stuff - which you accurately described, jwicks - needs to go away for a while.

Facebook is every intimate, beloved, social, casual, and what's-your-name-again? acquaintance in your life typing at you all at once. Take cover. At least once in a while....

And good reminders, there mjp. For an old man, Bukowski was NOT really a luddite at all. He loved the new tools and I just wish he could have lived to try SCRIVENER*

*no commercial endorsement should be inferred here. Sexual innuendu however, is encouraged.
 
and he spoke glowingly of how incredible the computer was.
Bukowski in The Captain Is Out To Lunch And The Sailors have Taken Over The Ship:
"..I'm for convenience, if I can write twice as much and the quality remains the same, then I prefer the computer. Writing is when I fly, writing is when I start fires... "
There's also a funny passage further on I think about having to get it repaired due to the cat either peeing or spraying on it..
 
Good points and I definately agree on the fact that Bukowski embraced convenience and technology. I'm sure that most great authors would have embraced being able to quickly record and edit their thoughts with word processing and computers. Now...having social networking apps on a cell phone and seeing what your cousin or someone had for lunch or...whatever, every time you pick it up is a different story. I just envision a Bukowski poem titled "Social Networking Whores" (or something like that) and the fun he could have had with the topic.

I know, I know, these are all choices so I'm just bitching and ranting. :-) After all, here I am am typing in a forum in the early A.M. while I sip my first cup of coffee. The differnce is that in reading various posts here, I feel like there is a level of intelligence that I just don't see within, at least, my FB circle of "friends" or whatever they are (were).

Good weekend all.
 
"Boring damned people. All over the Earth. Propagating more boring damned people. What a horror show. The Earth swarmed with them."

Where is this one from?

Facebook is every intimate, beloved, social, casual, and what's-your-name-again? acquaintance in your life typing at you all at once. Take cover. At least once in a while....

This is the part that is hardest for me, the lack of differentiation. All the stuff is just out there. Everyone can see what you posted on everyone else's wall. But I look at it as good practice getting used to the fact that privacy rights are a farce - no conversation is confidential, the intimate is public.

I use it, too, to take the edge off the lonely isolation, try to put something authentic out in the world to make it better, and *gasp* networking.
 
I don't have a facebook account. I had one for about two weeks but I just found it boring. I'm not trying to say I'm 'above' or better than the people on there or anything. It just didn't interest me. What I found slightly strange was the number of people who I knew from school but were just acquaintances who wanted to be my friend. At first I thought I was popular and then the realisation hit me that it was just a big competition to get as many 'friends' as possible. Also, seeing as I have not seen or heard from you in about 20 years, what makes you think that I'd be interested in seeing photos of your dog / cat / baby?
I wish I'd come up with the concept though.
Edit: Factoid for the day - the word 'unfriend' appears in King Lear.
 
LMAO! gosh i wonder what the poem "curtain" i linked was all about....hhhmmm, mercy me....maybe its time to take a year off internet communication all together....
 
I wished for a counter community called hatebook and started it just for the fun of it. But legal problems made my baby die early.

And Pinocchio has a very long nose.
 

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