Am I the Only Person Without Face Book?

For keeping up with friends and family on different continents it is invaluable. No - I do not post what I ate for breakfast and where I am going this afternoon, although a lot of young kids use it more like texting or email to let others know they will be at the park at 3 this afternoon. I think it is a tool and you use it how you see fit.

I'm not on facebook either. I have no desire to put in the time or deal with the drama that comes along with it.

I do not do "facebook." I have a fake account I set up over 10 years ago for coupons.

I did the internet in the 90s. It's a waste of time.

Like all technology FB is what you make of it. Personally I find it neither time consuming nor do I have "an audience", since my privacy settings are pretty restrictive, I have a limited number of friends and I don't post all that often. However with our family and friends scattered coast to coast and in Europe it's a really convenient way to stay in touch and share a little glimpse of our lives.
I don't really get people that are glued to it... but as I said it is what you make of it - and I can see that if you are close enough to family and friends that you can see them in person, you may not even really need it.

no......

facebook is the devil

I'm on PUDP...pick up the damn phone

ETA: I've never had an fb account and I never will. I have a master of science in electrical engineering and currently work full time for a major computer company. I know enough to not get sucked into fb. Adansmama...I'd trust your son's Leapster more than I would trust fb. Concerning the internet....I love it....I use it wisely....which is why I do not use fb.

I'm with Ina G. I have family all over and it's nice to be able to post a pic of the kids for them to see and let my friends see it too. I prob. put a pic on Facebook every 4 months.

Also, for the internet haters that posted - umm Mamapedia is on the internet LOL ;) This is not that much different than wasting time on Facebook. I don't have time to plan out activities and try and fit schedules together with friends, so it's nice to see what's going on with everyone quickly. Plus, my kids are still young and chatting on the phone is a pain as they are loud.

Nope, my grandma, mom and dad don't have it either, nor does my MIL. My FIL has it, and my husband's family who is scattered across the Mid-East, Europe, Canada, Oceania and the US all have it. That's how we all stay in contact with one another, since very few of us are able to take international trips to see each other in person.

FB is what you make of it. If you want to be on it all day, you can. If, like my sister, you just want to periodically check in and catch up with friends and family, you can log in every few days, weeks, months, whatever.

ETA: I use it several times a day. In the beginning it was just for staying in touch with family and friends (I live 400 miles away from my hometown), but now it is, in large part, a source of information. I get a lot of my news from various FB pages, like some of the PBS-derived pages (Frontline, Independent Lens, NPR, etc.) I also get updates from several different politicians and interest groups, so that is helpful too. I'm kinda an Infomaniac ;-)

I think you're looking at it the wrong way. I mean yes, you are totally right that some people use FB to have an audience and they post a million things a million times a day, but others don't. I am on it a few times a day, but mostly b/c it's on my phone and I'll randomly check it if I'm bored. I don't post stuff every day and yes it is nice to see pictures and messages from old friends that I don't normally talk to...but honestly, it's pretty easy to navigate. You only have to dedicate as much time to it as you want. If you don't want one, I'm certainly not trying to pressure you, but honestly, if you want it to be just fun/social/mindless, make it that and don't get all wrapped up in it like others do.

Actually, everyone in my family has an account in the household. My FIL doesn't but my MIL does, my 90-year-old grandfather doesn't, but his 90-year-old wife does, etc. I do have one friend who is still staying strong and holding out against Facebook...but except for the occasional Christmas card and email, I never hear from him, so that's kind of sad. FB would help me to feel better connected to him.

No one on my friend-list really uses it the way you describe, though (I wouldn't keep them around if they did, I think), and I personally find mamapedia to be a bigger time-consumer. My FB privacy settings and friend choices are pretty strict, so I haven't experienced any of the drama one of the other posters referenced, either.

I went to high school in two different states, college in two different countries, and have moved to a new city/state every 5 years since then. Facebook has helped me connect with old friends that I thought I had lost (my best friend from 8th grade who has lived in Poland since then recently found me!) as well as helping me maintain friendships with those I've left behind. I like being able to share videos of my kids with my mother, or see photos of my high-school friends' kids.

Having said that, though, I don't think you should get one just for the sake of having one. If you haven't had the occasion to really miss having it, why bother? It certainly DOES have an element of Big Corporate Brother that can be a little scary, and if your friends and family are all located nearby, I wouldn't think it would serve much purpose.

It's not time consuming for me. I check it about 2 times a day and read the little messages. Takes 3 minutes maybe. What I love about it is I get to see what all of my cousins, Aunts and Uncles are up to with their families on all sides. It's great for them to see a little bit about us too. It can be scaled to whatever you want. Some friends post everything and all kinds of personal info, and some don't. No drama either, unless you buy into any of the political or religious conversations. I avoid those, just as I would avoid them in person. I didn't join for a long time too. I thought it would be a silly waste of time, until I tried it. Seeing our family on the opposite coast and oversees is so worth the extra few minutes.

Hubby and I used to have separate Fb accounts. But we had all the same pictures and friends. So last year when he was working out of state we decided to switch to a shared account. We keep up with friends and family that we don't usually see. We put tons of pictures of our daughters on there. We don't really post statuses much. But we also "like" many pages to keep up on news and such. It will be quite helpful once we move to another state in 7 months. Like others have stated, it's all relative to how you choose to use it.

I have friends and family that are not on FB.

Have you actually had an account for a length of time? There are a lot of different ways people use FB! but I know very few of my friends or family who use it the way you describe. Most of us use it to keep in touch with each others.

I hide the people that I really only talk about themselves.. But I do that in my real life also..

Wait till your children are in school... That is where it will become more helpful to you. We kept up with our daughter, her classmates and their parents..

For our family, our grandmother can keep up with all of us.. We know more about what we are all up to more often than with phone calls and letters and emails..

Do you check emails each day? That is the way the older people in our family check FB.. They check in the AM and again at night..

i have an account...but i clean house every couple of months. also i have deleted people that have talked stupid. i try to keep the friend list to under 100. if i haven't talked to you in 30 years i doubt i have anything to say to you now-is my theory. i don't play games anymore but i do enjoy looking at pictures of friends and family.

No Mamabird! You do not fly solo in your FB status of nonexistent! I have been without since its inception and have no desire to have one. I have enough struggles with friends who just text, and to me FB takes away one more layer of facetime I would rather have in person. Now that's not saying FB isn't great for reconnecting with old friends, but I kinda don't want to be found, pressured, etc. And yes, it can be a huge timewaster. So to answer your question, it isn't for everyone, despite the blank looks we get for NOT having one.

Beside I like to waste my time on here :-)

nope, I know at least a dozen people without facebook. And like you, they have NO interest whatsoever to open an account.

My husband said to me the other day after I posted a family photo, "why should 200 of your "friends" that you haven't talked to or seen since high school or barely even know get to see pictures of me and my wife and kids?" Plus all the friends of everyone that "likes" your photo gets to see it because it shows up on their news feed. So, you really can't control who see's and doesn't see your stuff. You completely give up your privacy when you post stuff on facebook. Be HAPPY you don't have an account, I keep trying to quit. I really only keep it because I like all of the news updates, school updates, etc. that I get and all in one place.

I don't have it and hate it! I consider it a real negative for our kids in particular. Too much drama and posing.

Hello fellow Chicagoan,

I don't have FB either. I don't think of it as bad, but I'm not interested in keeping up with people over the computer. I still love the face to face conversations. I'm not looking for any old friends, everyone I know now is who should be in my life. When people ask me do I have FB and I say no, they stare at me as if I'm strange. Then they won't even ask for my phone number as a second option lol. It's our choice and I know a lot of people who aren't on FB and it's ok.

No Facebook, no Twitter for me. To each their own and whatever works for each person. I hear you about the oversharing of details no one honestly cares about. My husband uses Facebook and it is his biggest complaint. I spend all work day on a computer. Mamapedia is my one after hours computing indulgence.

Nope MamaBird! I too don't care for or have FB. I find it a huge waste of time and quite frankly why would you want people from your past that don't have a connection to you presently, to look you up? Some people are in your past for a reason. I also don't care for posting my life for all to see and have no desire to follow someone's life like that either. I'm old school.....pick up a phone, write a card or note, keep in touch with those that chose to stay in touch with me from HS. If they aren't in my life, there must be a reason right?

Nope, I don't do it either. I have an account, but it was WAY too time consuming to keep up with everything (AND the farm...yeesh...). I haven't logged on in a very long time...years.

No, you are not the only person w/o FB. I was in FB once. I do not love it or I do not despise it either. I just rather to keep contact with family and friends in other ways. I like my privacy and I do not have interest in showing my personal life to others who never were "so close" before or who never had the time to call me or visit me. I visit my friends and family, and they do the same, we have fun and we take pictures, we laugh and cry together....I see friends and family living far away using skype....why do I need FB for?

I have recently deactivated my account after the tragedy in CT b/c of all of the completely ignorant post made over and over by my 650 list of "friends". People using it to show pictures of what they are eating for dinner, their new car rims and pics of them at the gym was no longer worth my time:-) I do ;however, enjoy sharing pics of my girls for friends and family members out of state to see. I think if I get back on FB, I will have some serious housekeeping to do:)

Nope.
I have an account but I might as well have it deleted.

I have a fb page but don't really "do" facebook. I have not changed my profile pic or posted any others since I first signed up more than 3 years ago. I have never posted a "status update" and don't really read others' posts. I have never "liked" anything on fb. My husband's family does have a private group page for family and it is a quick and easy way to communicate with everyone when we are making plans or sharing big news. My moms meetup group also has a private group page where we can ask for advice, share news, etc, and only the group can see and reply. I have only sought out a few people to "friend" and don't accept friend requests from people I barely know or don't like. I have enjoyed catching up with a few old friends, but my time and use of fb is very limited. You don't have to go crazy with it just because you have a page, just be sure to watch your privacy settings if that is a concern for you.

I have one, but I don't know why. I do like the idea of keeping up with friends, but find it hard sometimes when you post something that you weren't or didn't invite everyone to. Not everyone has to know they weren't invited.

You are not alone. I don't have an account either. However, I might have one soon. My 13-year-old just got an account (we made him wait until he was 13) and he is the type who will need some supervision. My 16-year-old has had an account for a couple of years, but he doesn't use it often, he's more responsible than the younger one and it's been sufficient to have my husband and MIL keep a distant eye on him. The younger one will need closer monitoring I suspect.

My 24-year-old daughter doesn't have FB.... She finds it drama-filled and a waste of time. I, however, have FB and really enjoy it. My family and friends are spread all over the world, and I find it a really great way to keep in touch with everybody. I enjoy looking at pictures and sending a message now and then. I really like seeing pictures of my cousins' children that I may never see otherwise. Lots easier, to me, than separate e-mails to and from everybody. (I actually find Mamapedia to be way more time consuming and drama-filled.)

No, you're certainly not the only one without Facebook. My sister doesn't even have the internet and has no plans of getting it!!!

I've been on it a couple years now and sometimes I can take it or leave it. I only got on so I could stay "close" to my nieces and nephews who now live two hours away. They'll post pictures of their kids, vacations, etc., and then tag me and when I've looked at everything I just un-tag myself. It's been great and a lot of fun!!

I'm not into it like some people - I only have 12 "friends" (10 of which are family) and that's the way I like it. I would NEVER "friend" anyone I work with and I definitely have never accepted any friend requests from anyone I don't know just to get my numbers up. I check my "privacy" settings quite often to make sure the only people that can see me are my "friends"; I would never go public.

I admit I also play Farmville sometimes. It's just a fun way to zone out when I need a break!! And I do "like" one local news station and one in my hometown just so I keep up on what's going on.

Good question!

I use facebook for my daycare as a way to show pictures and videos to the parents and to post things that we did that day or cute things that happened. It is only for current daycare parents, a closed personna. I have had a few parents that did not have an account and sometimes I can convince them to make it and only friend the daycare, sometimes I can't. It's the best way for me to share those types of things.

I work off of FB. So I have many accounts. From Personal to work.

I wish I could go back to the time before it was here.

I would not give up the ability to be connected to many people I would not be able to talk to that often. That has been an amazing tool.....I have alot of family out of State and country.....There are no charges for communication between my Cousin in France and myself in Washington........You can not beat that:)