Is it worth it to have Facebook Friends, or is it a joke?

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   Diane Woodsonposted 11 years ago

   Is it worth it to have Facebook Friends, or is it a joke?
   
   Do you think most Facebook friends are honest about themselves to you as you write them for longer stretches of time?
   
   

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   Jared Milesposted 11 years ago

   I think the Internet provides a sense of security that may or may not be realistic. For that reason, many people on Facebook can portray a character that they wish others to view them as, and successfully live a second life through Facebook.
   
   In answer to your question Diane, I think a person's honesty on Facebook is directly related to the personal quality of your friends. If you have honest friends, they will likely be honest to you over the Internet regardless of the distance between you and them.
   
   Conversely, if you have dishonest friends or people you don't know as well, it is likely they may embellish the truth or tell lies. But this is human nature, everyone lies, it's not something to worry too much about.
   
   If you care about people, or they care about you, then the online relationship between you will likely be a truthful one.

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   dashingscorpioposted 11 years ago

   It really depends on what (you) want (your) Facebook page to be about. Some people strictly use Facebook to update family and (real) friends about events that are going on in their life. This is especially ideal for those who live long distances away from their loved ones. It allows them to share photos, create group pages, and stay in contact.
   The original concept was to connect people to people they actually know or knew at some point in your life. Now people use Facebook to promote themselves/businesses, search for dating opportunities, or gossip. Quite a few people "collect" friends for the sake of having a large number to boast on their page.
   When it is all said and done (you) determine how you want to use (your) Facebook account.

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      Diane Woodsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Yes I am glad You brought this point out dashing.,,, I love using fb I do it for friends and family it sure saves phone minutes on my new phone too.

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   tlmcgaa70posted 11 years ago

   to be honest, i am more concerned with my own honesty than about whether or not others are being honest with  me. i know enough that everyone has something they dont want the public to know...about themselves, their family, their religion, their lifestyle...many things. i take my facebook friends at face value...ie...i accept the person they want me to see. most of them i will never meet in person, and i dont have business dealings with them, so it doesnt matter to me if they only want me to know a small part of them. i also know there are two sides to every story, and sometimes the side they tell you isnt accurate. so i sympathize with them but dont get involved in their troubles, except maybe to encourage them to always do the right thing. personally i have never been one to have two or more faces. what you see is what you get, it is me. i do not know how to pretend to be someone i am not, so i am always honest about myself, even when it hurts to be. but i do not hold others to me personal standards, they are for myself. and my conscience is clean.

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      Diane Woodsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Way cool that u are this way. I think why bother using up time if not being honest and open, people get me all worried about them only to find they have either not told the truth or just not worried about me in the same way I do them. good comment

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   Rayne123posted 11 years ago

   I do not have fb  anymore, however when I did I only added good friends and family.
   
   I did add a few others and some I was very leary of. I mean if you cant be honest (and I dont mean give out personal info of course) then why bother having friends on fb or anywhere else for that matter. Just do not have fb.
   
   I dont trust the guy that started this either, Mark somebody. He is a greedy liar and pretends to give to charity for brownie points and more fb followers he has the more he makes.
   
   with that said, I believe one should just add who they want and be honest with themselves and the rest will take care of itself.

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      Diane Woodsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Not giving the whole thing up unless it gets worse, have a few family and 2 friends who I like to talk to, good advice though thanks for commenting..

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      tlmcgaa70posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      i dont understand those folks that feel they must let the world know every detail of their day. i have a close family friend that practically posts her daily routine, and every time i see it alarm bells go off in my head...

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6. 69

   WalterPoonposted 11 years ago

   Facebook's definition of "friend" is someone you connect to, and is not necessarily the same meaning as "friend" in real life. Dashingscorpio gave quite a comprehensive answer. As for me, I go to Facebook mainly to share opinions with like-minded people on Malaysian politics. I don't know most of them in real life and as far as we are concerned, we don't even bother to find out who each of us are, other than the opinions we share in the comments.

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      Diane Woodsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      great answer Poon!!

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   Kevin Peterposted 11 years ago

   How come making friends on facebook become a joke? I think making friends on facebook is much more worth as we get a chance to know people who are far away from us and those who follow different customs and traditions. It's actually very interesting to come closer to such people.
   Not only can we make new friends, but we get a chance to come closer to our old friends. I find Facebook a good place to make and keep friendship.

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      WalterPoonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Kevin, it's kind of funny... I don't seem to be able to find friends in Facebook, other than Malaysians. How do I get to find friends from America and Europe?

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      Lady Guinevereposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Walter sna anyone else.  I am on FB and my url is: https://www.facebook.com/debra.allen.944

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      WalterPoonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Lady Guinevere, I have sent a friend request to you in Facebook. My name there is Poon Poi Ming. Do you know how to change name in Facebook? I would like to change all to WalterPoon.

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      Diane Woodsonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I was not having a happy day with the Facebook experience when I asked this, I just wanted to know how you guys felt about it, am much better now on this area of the internet! Thanks Walter, just found a friend from Africa on my group today!!

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      WalterPoonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Diane Woodson, I understand how you felt because I was through that. We can choose who to interact with. I have blocked a few persons in Facebook & other forums whom I do not like. I guess social networking is much like driving. Accidents do happ

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8. 63

   Lisa HWposted 11 years ago

   The people that I know in my offline life who have Facebook pretty much do what I do, which is use it only for people they know in their offline life.  I don't know...   I guess I just don't hang out in offline circles where people are looking for online friends.
   
   I did once look up someone I'd known years ago, only to discover that this individual posts provocative picture after provocative picture (not of herself).  This individual has - like - 4000 Facebook friends!!!    LOL  I guess she's got  "a whole separate deal" going on online.   LOL
   
   I, on the other hand, don't even really know how I'd go about making Facebook friends even if I were in the market for finding this type of friend.  My Facebook page has an embarrassing nine friends on it.   Two are two-thirds of my own children.  One is fifty-percent of my siblings.  One is an ex-husband.  Two are my daughter's cats (not much interaction with them, for the most part), and the rest are long-lost cousins (always nice to see them check in here and there     ).
   
   Naturally, a lot of relatives and acquaintances show up on "mutual friends", but I don't send friend requests because - essentially - I'm kind of shy about it.  I figure, since I'm not already in touch with these people there's the strong likelihood they would only accept my friend request because there was no harm in it - not because they're particularly interested in staying in touch with me on a regular basis.  I'd be happy if they sent me a friend request, but I'm guessing they think the same way that I do; which means none of us are likely to ever become Facebook friends.   
   
   Since this is how I, and all those people I know (or sort of know, in some cases) operate on Facebook, I can't help but assume that people like that middle-aged mother with the provocative pictures (and apparently, an alternate reality) aren't particular "in the Facebook friends business" out of an inclination to want to relate with sincerity (or else relate in the way that I expect to relate if I call someone "a friend").   
   
   I don't put what's personal on Facebook, but whatever I post on there (or anywhere else online) is real.  I can't really say that I feel like I'm in the majority of people who put stuff online, though; although I certainly know that there are some folks who actually are real and do want to make friends online.
   
   In answer to your question, I suspect SOME may share more if they start to trust you more "as real" - certainly not all. 

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9. 79

   Diana Leeposted 11 years ago

   I love meeting new friends on Facebook and most are sincere. Many friends I've talked to I eventually got to meet in person. People have different reasons for visiting Facebook. My husband plays games.  I don't play any of their games.  I like joining the many group pages and enjoy the fan groups especially. Anything or anyone you have a passion for will have a Facebook page.  Facebook is a great way to share your hubs.  Some of the friendly comments will inspire you as well as the lack of them discourage you or make you work harder to get better at it.

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      WalterPoonposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Diana Lee, what is the name of your group for sharing hubs? I would like to join!

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