Okay, now that we can all see that the recession is in full swing and isn’t going away any time soon, why are we are all spending so much of our valuable time messing with Facebook? Do you realistically expect your Facebook friends to help you figure out how you can stop foreclosure on your house? Do you think you can reach out to them and have them respond by sending you money to help make you payments?
That’s what I thought. So, are you also learning that ‘Facebook friends’ is the new oxymoron?
Instead of helping people deal with the economic reality that is lurking just around the corner, with the implementation of Facebook time wasters like FarmVille, only thing you can expect from your so called Facebook friends is a request to milk a virtual cow. No great advice, no friend in need, just more ways to waste your time dealing with people who are perpetuating the myth of Facebook — the concept that the whole world is full of friendly folks who just want to be your new Facebook pal.
At what point do you start to ask yourself if your addiction to Facebook’s friendly tactics are actually an elaborate scheme to defraud you of your most valuable resource — your time and attention? If you feel like you are being sucked into the Facebook black hole, you’re not alone. The spell that Facebook has cast over American minds plays into the spirit of cooperation and neighborliness, but under the friendly smoke and mirrors lie the dark and dangerous tools of corporate manipulation. And people are starting snap out of it and fight their way out of the quagmire that Facebook has become.
As frequent users of Facebook soon discover, your data is not only mined, it is broadcast far and wide, and consequently leads a legion of advertisers and salesman right to your cyber door. All those cute little facts and profile questions you are asked when you join the ranks of Facebook followers are not just about making you new friends, they are cleverly designed to show your weak points and target your vulnerable spots.
I am making a plea to my fellow Facebook zombies to please WAKE UP! Realize that you are participating in a monumental advertising experiment that is desperately trying to determine how to harvest your need to feel wanted. There is no other way to put it, you are being fooled.
I am calling for a movement, and encouraging my fellow Americans to give themselves a 30 day reprieve from all your little Facebook friends. Delete the link and find something productive to do with your online time.
Or take it one step further, just walk away from the computer and get out into your community and get to know your real neighbors, find people who can actually be of benefit to you instead a bunch of phony friends who give you nothing in return but more invitations to participate in their meaningless head games. Once you have overcome the temptation and are finally Facebook free, I can just about guarantee your life will take on a whole new level of productivity.