“I hate Facebook!” I hear this statement a LOT. Actually, Facebook is the one platform that people seem to hate most vehemently.
To be honest, many people who say this actually hate the IDEA of Facebook – of what they THINK it is. Many who make this statement have never been ON Facebook, do not have an account nor any real experience using it.
Another group are people who HAVE Facebook accounts but have had horrible first hand experiences with stalking, identity loss and most common of all, loss of time. That is probably the number one reason why people hate Facebook – because it has sucked away huge quantities of their time! And I understand this. I see it all the time. I totally relate – it can be a huge, tempting time suck and many people fall prey. But I think that is a bit like blaming the box of cookies for making you fat. They are harmless til you eat them. Facebook is pretty harmless til you start surfing around aimlessly or posting photos you don’t really want publicly visible.
Another complaint I hear is that all it is is a bunch of dumb cat videos and people bragging about their kids. Still others lament the lack of privacy and the ‘act first, ask for forgiveness later’ attitude of the people at creating these policies.
These are all valid concerns – here are the different ways to deal with Facebook, depending on why you hate it.
If you hate Facebook but are not even on it, just don’t create an account. Stand on the sidelines and rail against the injustice. That one is easy!
If you have had a horrible experience, I do recommend CLOSING your account. It is quick and easy and while you cannot undo what has happened, it may give you some peace of mind moving forward. There are other, more private platforms that may be a better fit or, you may just want to keep your networking live for a while til you have a plan and a higher comfort level with digital networking.
If you hate Facebook because it is sucking away your time, my first suggestion is to practice logging out. Go in, visit, post, play, do what you want, then log out. Set an amount of time you will be there and then leave. It is kind of like a party that is ALWAYS going on. This can be a blessing (whenever you have time, you can drop in) or a curse (there are ALWAYS people on, ready to play, ready to distract you!)
It really is up to you how you use the platform. If you are new to it, give yourself a few hours, over a period of time, to check it out, to see who is on and to see how people are using it. Then determine your goals – decide how it can help YOU. Are you going to use it to get back in touch with old friends? To meet new people with similar interests? To keep in touch with your friends and family? To build your business? To play games or use it as a distraction during downtime. Then formulate a plan – depending on your goals, you may decide to visit once a week or once a day. You may choose to log in during your quiet time after you get work done. Give yourself a time limit and stick to it. 10 minutes a day or 3 hrs a week – whatever you feel works for you. Then LOG OUT. Don’t just keep it on, don’t keep an open tab. You may find that once you are no longer wasting time there, that you are actually finding it enjoyable!
I can help you effectively use Facebook to engage your community and grow your business.
