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Welcome!

Welcome to the website of Doug Strahler, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Slippery Rock University. In addition, I consult on graphic design, web development and social media marketing projects.

About Doug

Facebook: What's on your mind? Unsubscribe!

9/19/2011

3 Comments

 
Over the past month, I have noticed numerous status updates dealing with troubles in life, including school, job, relationships or family. At the same time, some people's statuses have expressed their disgust with reading about individual's troubles in life.

Why do we post a status update on Facebook? Because we want someone, or our entire network of friends, to know. We want reactions. We want Likes. We want comments. So much of our lives are devoted to spending time on Facebook, 53 million minutes in May only. Now I ask the people that are tired of reading about how bad life is going for their Facebook friends, aren't you just feeding into what they want from you - a reaction? While you may not be directly posting to their Facebook status, you are reacting, but I digress.

Want that friend to know how you feel? Post to Facebook. Want to get a reaction from a boyfriend, girlfriend, or ex? Post to Facebook. Want to just get people on your side on a particular issue? Post to Facebook.

While the reasonable option is to unfriend or block the individual annoying you, people won't because we have created unfriending on Facebook to be a serious matter. Or you don't want to unfriend them because you want to continue to keep tabs on them or hope sooner or later they will just stop posting those types of statuses. 

So how can we deal with all of this now? With the recent release of Facebook's Subscribe button, it has created a new level of management for your Facebook friend's activities. You know have the ability to filter out who you want to hear from and how often. Facebook offers three settings:
  1. All Updates
  2. Most Updates
  3. Important Updates only

Now these settings allow you to control how much and what you see from your friends. While the Subscribe feature allows you to perform other functions like subscribing to a feed of someone you aren't friends with (obviously that depends on if they allow that information to be public), the first step related to this posting is the ability to control what you read about your friends. 

It wil be interesting to see how and if people start to use the Subscribe button, a hybrid of Twitter's Follow and Google+ circles.
3 Comments
Susan
11/5/2011 07:22:52 pm

I have never really been one to put my whole life out in the open, whether it be on facebook or in a face-to-face conversation. I have just always felt that certain things are private. I also feel its overkill when it comes to posting every moment of one's day. Recently someone close to me posted his feelings and emotions on his facebook page, utilizing it as though it it were a private journal, when friends and family showed concern he became angry at them and eventually erased his account due to it. I believe people need to understand the reality of what a social media is, and the reactions that others will have upon reading their posts, especially when they're out of context. However, when people do throw out their emotions online it can also be a good way to find out if someone is depressed and possibly showing signs of suicidal ideations.

I think it's a good idea to be able to filter the feeds coming in. I haven't set any up yet, but I believe I will.

Reply
Doug (Site Author)
11/5/2011 10:16:26 pm

Susan, I think you make a great point in regards to understanding the reality of social media. By posting it online, you want a reaction and want to share that thought. You may get the responses you wanted, but there are times they can be taken out of context. When your friend reacted they way he did, he got the attention but when it he didn't want to deal with it anymore, deleting his account was the answer. Thanks for your comment!

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consdider it link
10/14/2013 01:26:00 am

Now I ask the people that are tired of reading about how bad life is going for their Facebook friends, aren't you just feeding into what they want from you - a reaction? While you may not be directly posting to their Facebook status, you are reacting, but I digress.

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