Why I Hate Facebook

Yes, I have a Facebook account. Yes, I check it regularly. Yes, I update my status. Yes, I spend way more time than I should on it. Which means that this rant isn't me looking down at all the Facebook users and telling them they're wrong. It's me looking at myself and the world and telling both of us that we need to rethink our priorities. So without further ado...Why I Hate Facebook...

-Facebook teaches us to be concerned with self. Everything is about how the world needs to know about what I am doing at every second. So what? Who cares? How is that going to edify my life? The world does not revolve around you or me, and we need to get used to that idea.

-Facebook has zero censoring. I absolutely abhor getting on Facebook and seeing a load of four-letter words that I could very well do without. If you are not going to use clean language, then get me off your friends list. Nothing personal, but I would rather not have my morning ruined by seeing the f-word all over my news feed, thanks.

-Facebook devalues language. The English language is a beautiful thing, and Facebook teaches users that it is cheap because it can be changed however people choose to do so. No more capitalization, punctuation, spelling, or even thought put into writing. Does anyone use proper grammar anymore? Maybe this part is just because I'm an English major, but seeing "i luv u :)" just doesn't have as much meaning to me as someone telling me why he or she believes I'm special or what made him think to tell me that.

-Facebook is so impersonal. What happened to chats over coffee? What happened to hours spent on the phone? Facebook is instant communication, but it is also cheap communication. I can see what my friend is doing right now, but I can't have a private, deep, spiritual conversation with her like I can when we are sitting face-to-face, or over the phone where I can hear the joy in her voice.

-Facebook eats up the time of so many of us. We each have 24 hours in each day, and we are free to use it as we see fit. Unfortunately, so many of us (myself included) rate Facebook near the top. Why can't we prioritize better? God, family, work/school, friends, recreation. Why do I so often confuse that order?

-In all fairness, Facebook has many good functions. I can keep in contact with friends I haven't seen for ten years. I can bounce my ideas off others. I can share a prayer request or an amazing quote. I can convince people to check out my blog. I can even discover how to find free shipping on Amazon...but still...

Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but I much prefer a long conversation about books, theology, God working in my (or someone else's) life, the anatomy of truth, C.S. Lewis, ethics, or philosophy more than I could ever enjoy getting all the Facebook status updates, friend requests, or online chats in the world.