Facebook Rant!

WARNING: A very long rambly post about Facebook. It is something i've recently become mad about and this is my way of letting off steam, i'm not usually a hateful person.

Now i don't know about you, but i've started to get REALLY fed up with Facebook recently..
I've been on Facebook since i was about 12, and i simply got it because everyone else had it. At first i didn't really know how to use it. I posted pointless status', rubbish photos, and wrote in a cringey way. Now i could list a hell of a lot of things that has been annoying me about Facebook recently.

As a teenager, most adults or teachers i come across can automatically assume that i use Facebook. Why?! Because i'm a teenager? Well yes i do have Facebook. So if i haven't managed to do my homework on time or i happen to be on my laptop when my parents walk in, they think it's ok to assume i'm spending all my time on Facebook. Well it's not. Facebook was a thing where i would click on if i got bored, and just leave that tab open and not do anything with it. I would very rarely post status'. Not because i didn't have anything to say, but i simply cannot post anything on Facebook without it being blown out of proportion. I can't post any opinion on there, because someone else is guaranteed to come along, comment and put me down. It says write what's on your mind doesn't it? Well that is impossible.

I use twitter now if i want to write anything about what i'm feeling or thinking. You don't get judged there. You can write what you like, and you won't walk into school the next day with half the school hating you.

As a teenager, i have alot of people from school as friends on Facebook. Now. This is where i can write a list as long as my arm about what annoys me about people from school and Facebook.


1. It's all about how many 'friends' you have on there. If you have below 500, then you are considered 'unpopular'. Who in real life goes around with 500 friends? Who has time to make 500 friends? I know i certainly don't. I find it hard enough to make friends in real life as it is, but now i'm expected to talk to 500 fake friends online? For the record, i have (had) around 560 friends on Facebook. And i put my hands up and can say i don't know/talk to quite a few of them.. i frequently get requests from people in younger years, or perhaps go to another school in my area and we have mutual friends. I know it's safe to add them when there's 300 mutual friends. A few weeks ago i sat down to go through my friends list and delete anyone who i don't talk to or i don't really know. I got to half way down the A's and i just gave up. It would take me wayyy too long to go through all 560 friends. So i just left it. Each time i refreshed my news feed there would be some random kid i don't know posting stuff i really don't want to read.


2. It doesn't matter what you post, all that matters is the amount of likes you get. Now i see people on Facebook that get 30, 40, 50 or more likes on each picture. The most i've got is 15, and even that's taken 6 months to build up. I don't post something just to get 20 likes. I post something because i want to. If i want to post how my day has been, then i'll do it. I don't care who likes it or not, i'm simply telling everyone on Facebook how my day has been. Simple. But when i see someone who has 1500 friends, and they post something similar to me and get 30 likes on it, that annoys me, Not because i wanted 30 likes, but because people know who wants lots of likes, so they like everything they post. Often, someone may only like someones post if they are trying to suck up to them. I only ever like i post if i generally think it's funny or interesting. So that's why i don't really post anything on Facebook, because people think it's all about the likes. It's really not. I could go on and on about this subject, but i don't want to give specific examples, because i am not a hateful person.


3. It's not social anymore. Facebook is a SOCIAL network. Where you can talk to friends, keep in touch and so on. I feel that the point of Facebook has really disappeared. It's so hyped up that people use it in any way they want. People use it for cyber-bullying, to show off, to get popular, and most of all to put a fake personality on to get people to like you. At the beginning i felt like Facebook was a great place to talk to friends, to post silly pictures together and to know what your friends are up to. Without the effort of calling them and wasting credit, or using energy to walk to their house to hang out. Now this may just be my opinion, but Facebook has not made people more sociable, it's made them less. I hardly ever speak to my friends on the phone because they'd rather be on Facebook talking. I have noticed that my friends write differently to how they speak. One of my friends never shuts up at school, she's always talking. But when i get home and on Facebook, she replies with one word answers. It's pretty much impossible to have a normal conversation as you would if you were talking on the phone or face to face. It's completely different. Also people generally stay at home and talk on Facebook rather than go out and meet up with friends. This has quite an impact on young peoples social lives, and i have noticed it in my own and my friends. I've recently been down about not having the friends i thought i would have at 15, the ones you see in movies who are always talking on the phone about boys etc and always meeting up in town or sleeping over and talking till dawn. True friends i made when i was in primary school have changed. And it's such a shame to me that i've lost good friends, and with today's Facebook society, it's difficult to re-make them. I'm not trying to feel sorry for myself, i simply wish people wouldn't use Facebook to replace all other means of communication.


4. People who allow their Facebook to define who they are. Basically popular kids who only have their Facebook likes to show how popular they really are. There has been a number of times where i have looked at a person's profile, then see them in school with a completely different personality. I look at someone with 1000 friends and 50 likes on every status and photo, but walking round school not talking to anyone and just seeming plain boring. I have more personality than them, and i don't have Facebook worshippers. It just makes me wonder. People set up a fake personality on Facebook to get people to like them, because in real life they have a personality of a goldfish. I stay true to who i am on Facebook, usually the stuff i put on there relates to me and how i am in real life.


5. Birthdays. It was my birthday recently, and when you're on Facebook and your birthday comes around, all your friends get notified and it basically reminds them that it's your birthday today, don't forget. Now, when this happens every tom dick and harry posts on your wall wishing you a happy birthday. Which is fine, it's a nice thought and all. But people who have never said two words to you before, people who supposedly don't like you think that you're going to magically love them for saying happy birthday when a computer told them to. Thanks, it means sooo much. In fact, friends have started using a Facebook post as a sufficient replacement of a card or a gift, or even a phone call wishing happy birthday. It's called making an effort.

I know i could rant on for hours about how annoyed i am right now about Facebook and fellow students, but i'm not going to. Life is too short to waste worrying about a silly website. I don't mean to sound so negative, but doing a blog post is actually quite a good way to let off steam.
I'd love to know if there's any other teenagers out there who feel the same, or even adults. I'm sure i could carry this ramble on with someone who has the same views!
Also, if you do some of the stuff i have mentioned, i'm not hating on you. it's just how i feel about certain people on my personal account that has annoyed me. Facebook is addictive, maybe not in the same way as a drug, but it can leave some lasting effects on young people. I have a steady head on my shoulders, and i'm taking myself away from the problem before it gets too much. If you have any personal problems regarding Facebook, other social networking sites or even in school, i'll be happy to listen and give the best advice i can. Feel free to send me an email lauradance14@hotmail.co.uk and i'll help the best i can!
Ps, i've recently deleted about 300 people off my Facebook, and am now much more comfortable with it and having people who are friendly on there.
Thank you
Laura x

Countryside Stroll on Easter Sunday

Today i went for a lovely spring riverside walk with my dog, as Mum had gone to the bootsale so it was my duty to walk him. I love the riverside, there's not too many people walking around (which i find awkward, i like peace) and it's a peaceful place to stroll around and clear your head.

Unfortunately, spring hasn't quite come around in the nature world yet, and the trees are still bare and there are no pretty flowers to snap. My dog especially loves this route as there is shallow water he can splash around in (he can't swim, he's a complete wimp!).

Soon after we set out, i found i am a very unfit person. I really should get down the gym. the sun poked it's head out a couple of times during the walk, and i tried to snap it as soon as possible. Everything looks so much more prettier when the suns shining off it. However, it was grey skies for most of the time. Hopefully i will go on another country walk when spring has blossomed and the sun is shining!

I discovered that i really cannot wait to move out of town, i'm a country girl at heart. I want to get a big house in the countryside, live there peacefully with any future husband, and definitely get a dog, or two. A springer spaniel or a labrador would do me fine:)

Enjoy some of the photo's i took :)

(Can i just point out, i have a mirror screen on my phone which makes it impossible to see what i'm doing. I could just about see the camera button, please don't judge, i am not a professional photographer):)