The camera and I are not friends. Stand me in front of a lens and I turn into a gurning gargoyle.
I’m the one at weddings trying to hide at the back of the family group. It doesn’t help that I’m short so photographers try to push me to the front where I think I’m smiling confidently but end up looking like a zombie extra in Night Of The Living Dead.
Even so, I was surprised to read that you can lose friends on Facebook by posting too many selfies. I found this hard to believe. It might be the quickest way for me personally to become Norma No Mates, but not my family and friends.
I genuinely like to see their pictures and sometimes save ones of young relatives. Admittedly, I’m saving some for when they get older and I can use them for the maximum embarrassment factor... but that’s another story.
Looking through later is just like looking through a family album – and in this digital age, physical photograph albums are becoming increasingly rare.
I like to see what friends who have moved abroad are up to – how their children are growing up and pictures of their new surroundings.
Anyhow, this article said people don’t relate to friends who constantly share photos and it may even damage relationships.
None of this sounds very likely to me but then the vast majority of my Facebook “friends” I know personally. Some people have, literally, thousands of “friends” and can’t possibly know them all. I can see that if someone with whom you are barely on nodding acquaintance starts to post hundreds of pictures of the family cat, you could get a bit fed up.
Not me, of course, the pictures of my cat are scintillatingly interesting. She even has own Facebook account www.facebook.com/toffeekeenorleach, website at www.notsosweettoffee.com and Instagram account www.instagram.com/notsosweettoffee. Obsessed? Me?
The report went on to say: “It is worth remembering the information we post to our “friends” on Facebook, actually gets viewed by lots of different categories of people, partners, friends, family, colleagues and acquaintances and each group seems to take a different view of the information shared.”
Which I think is a convoluted way of saying that if you put up a spoof photograph Boris Johnson riding backwards on a rhino, then your Keir Starmer supporters could take offence. (Swap Trump for Johnson and Biden for Starmer, and my friends from abroad will see what I'm talking about).
The report warns: “Be cautious when sharing and think how it will be perceived by all the others who may see it. Although sharing is a great way to better relationships it can also damage them.”
To which I would say, if you can’t be yourself with your Facebook friends, what’s the point of being on it?
I only use my "fake" FB account to scout my younger family members and the more group pictures the better. I do get bored with a ton of selfies though.
ReplyDeleteI have unfriended a Facebook friend because she was always re-posting those memories things FB shows us. They get so confusing, not knowing if it's happening now or in the past. we're still friends, I just don't want to comb through all her posts everyday.
ReplyDeleteI would not un friend someone for too many selfies. I have never taken a selfie, I don't like being in photos.
ReplyDeleteThe whole reason I haven't deleted FB is because my SIL posts pics of my niece and nephews. Otherwise, I pretty much ignore it. But sharing of pics is the whole purpose, isn't it. (The political stuff just pisses people off.)
ReplyDeleteI don't have a facebook account or any other media than my unimportant blog, I'm just not that interested in seeing thousands of photos of "What I did today" and zillions of selfies.
ReplyDeleteI've stopped going on social media beyond some very cool blogs. ;)
ReplyDeleteHello from wales x
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