Excessive Facebook Status Postings

I was surfing the net trying to get some inspiration for my next hub and I came across a question; “Is updating your FaceBook status every five to ten days excessive?” I had to re-read this question a couple of times. Did they mean minutes instead of days? I have FB friends that update their status every five to ten minutes. Five to ten days, would provide some relief to my crowded news feed.

Do people really care what their FB friend is making for dinner? Sadly, no. Upon further research I found that there are numerous FB groups that have been created to discuss this subject. I realized that I am not alone.

In addition to the excessive updates about every activity they participate in throughout the day, some FB users are tired of the Farmville and Mafia Wars updates. Also the locator option that smart phone FB users are checking-in with are clogging up news feeds at an alarming rate. Do you really want people to know that this is your fifth trip to Starbucks to feed your caffeine addiction?

Am I guilty of clogging news feeds? I guess I am. I like to check my horoscope and publish it to my wall which ends up in my FB friends’ newsfeeds. However, some of my fellow Aquarians that are FB friends are grateful. I’m not into status updates, unless they are news worthy. But I have been suckered into those “I love my kid, spouse, dog” reposts. I know this has to stop.

As of today I will become a better Facebook friend. I will:

·         Only post news worthy statuses. If my son does well on the SATs or I win the lottery, that will be posted; however the I love my kid, spouse and dog will no longer be posted. They know I love them. Also if I am in a bad mood or have a cold my FB friends will not be burdened

·         My statuses will be original. No more Status Shuffle or any other similar program

·         Quotes will be attributed to the source and kept to a minimum

·         I will refrain from posting my horoscope on a daily basis, but if it predicts something wonderful, I’ll post.

·         Think before I share. Do all my FB friends really need to know this? It will be a good rule of thumb

Facebook is a wonderful way to keep in touch with people that you know, past and present. However, we need to be respectful of our friends as we would be in an in-person social setting. We would never whine and complain at our friend’s party, so why do we do it on their walls? Happy Facebooking!