Why Is Facebook So Boring These Days
A multitude of fascinating discussions, many of which questioned the narrative of the day or held views that were often considered as controversial, were widespread at one time. These days, it seems that many of us are really scared to voice views that may spark a smidgeon of controversy for fear of retaliation or being ostracized. It’s unfortunate, but true.
The so-called morally-charged proponents of ‘accepted’ Facebook behavior have determined that posting anything other than inert and benign family photos and travelogues, or the numerous data-harvesting polls and other uninformative posts, such as how many words can you think of that begin with the letter F and end with the letter K, or how many squares can you spot in t
And what about all the’stories’ that self-destruct, generated from the idea of Snapchat’s creator? Is it true that no one reads them? And what about TikTok videos? Given that I typically read articles on the train or in an area where sound isn’t allowed, I’m curious who these videos are aimed towards. Anyone who watches a video on their smartphone while on public transit without headphones will undoubtedly catch my notice. I am not very tolerant of people who, for selfish reasons, insist on others listening to their nonsense. In all honesty, most are not; nevertheless, many are unwilling to take a stance and instead choose to remain quiet with a mustn’t complain attitude.
So, how does my Facebook feed seem these days?
For starters, there are much less pictures of family, friends, and travel than before, which, ironically, was one of the primary reasons why Facebook was founded in the first place. Perhaps, similar to the death of more contentious feeds relating to politics and religion, more of us are growing cautious of sharing instances from our personal lives as well.
As a result, what kind of post is still the most popular on Facebook these days?
1) Polls, riddles, quizze
those vexing postings like “Name a film that…” or, more more vexingly, “complete the sequence of numbers from theoretically impossible equations” or “find the odd one out” comparisons. Worse still, many postings get tens of thousands of comments. Who gives a crap in the name of all that is holy? OK. So I discovered 18 squares and, regrettably, had the audacity to reply. Why? Is that what it takes to be a smart arse? So, this is my long-term plan. Any post that is directly or indirectly linked to another post that produces hundreds of comments will be disregarded. There may be times when even I am unable to resist, but I will make every effort. And this is the most vexing aspect. I uploaded a few of tests that I thought would be amusing and received less than five responses, all of which were from close relatives. So why is it that a figure with a name like Snoop Dee Hoop is so popular? Can Jack, who wears a goofy baseball hat and has five nose rings, create tens of thousands of comments on a simple image, even something extremely obscene as a photo of his own anus? Oh, there’s a whole desert of nonsense out there, literally, assuming the previous example is taken verbatim.
2) Tales.
I used to wonder, “What the hell are these?” but it turns out it’s simply a Snapchat clone that has now apparently reached the elder generation. All of a sudden, I’m inundated with alerts about’stories’ that seemingly have a lifespan of, what, a day, an hour? And for what purpose and why? When did they become so popular? Did the elder generation just tire of Snapchat-style self-destructing posts? Seriously, Snapchat has been around for a long time, and I can see our younger post-millennials laughing out loud. Hey, the elderly are suddenly telling’stories’! Better come up with something fresh! I discovered that I could modify my Facebook notification settings to remove stories, which I did without delay.
- Beautiful images
Now, I don’t have much of an issue with them. Sure, I’ve seen some amazing photography in my time, but I’m much more interested in looking at photos shot by people in my Facebook feed. For many years, LinkedIn has been plagued by this kind of post, the most memorable of which was a photograph of a snowy landscape in Switzerland. The shot was lovely, with the Christmas lights and horse-drawn sleighs and all, but it wasn’t spectacular by any stretch of the imagination; nevertheless, one image drew hundreds of comments. Also, keep in mind that this is a professional-oriented social networking platform. With about thirty thousand contacts on LinkedIn, I decided to put this idea to the test a couple of years ago by uploading a very average picture I shot of a dirty lake in Australia. To my surprise, it drew much more attention than an educational essay I published about the unique risks of owning a commercial powder-discharge nail gun, namely the risk of getting shot. So there you have it.
- Politicians’ posts.
Why the heck am I receiving postings from other politicians until I subscribe to a certain politician? And, no, I’m not going to add comments to these blogs so that they may harvest my data and gain popularity by counting people who leave comments, whether positive or negative. Fortunately, we can prevent them from appearing on our newsfeed.
5) Celebrities and famous people who publish mediocre content.
Please allow me to be clear. I have no problem with my pals posting what they had for dinner or showing off what great piece of furniture they bought over the weekend. After all, I know who they are and they know who I am. However! When I choose to follow a famous person, such as a brilliant novelist, thinker, or scientist, I am disappointed when he or she begins sharing pictures of his or her supper or how beautiful his or her pet dog or cat looks lying in a cardboard box. There will, predictably, be a large number of admirers who will react with remarks like, ‘Yummy!’, ‘Aw! ‘How adorable!’ and more cringeworthy words. The sadness is that fascinating people like Ricky Gervais and Gad Saad, both of whom I still follow, have succumbed to this ailment. But I think I’m in the minority here since there are plenty of followers that like this kind of content, but I’m ready to unfollow them at any time.
6) And the bloody advertisements!
These seem to be difficult to prevent since as soon as you click the box that indicates you want to see less of these, another two or three grow out of nowhere like the Hydra’s head. No! I don’t want a natural-wood organically infused aroma-scented mist and vapour electronically controlled atomiser crest of flower patterns of roses and lilies with inlaid placid-blue and warm-red pastel-like LED low-energy lights to supplant the soul with pleasure and full relaxation. Now get out of here!
The religious superior beings who run Facebook may be doing themselves a disservice by deterring people who want to submit ‘challenging’ content by threatening to silence and de-platform them with the ever-present Sword of Damocles.
Conclusion
Alternative social media platforms to compete Facebook do not seem to pose a threat to Facebook’s supremacy as of yet; but, if Facebook’s tendency towards mediocrity continues, there will come a day, and only the wisest among us know when, when another platform will rise in dominance to replace it.
