When logging into Facebook these days, it has become a ritual that I have popcorn in one hand and a drink in the other, ready for action.
No, I’m not watching ridiculous films or videos. That was such an early-2000s trend. I’m simply updating my news feed, waiting for the next Facebook fight or comically stupid comment to come through. It seems that, unlike real life, people on Facebook have absolutely no filter.
I admit that my obsession with social media and watching others’ ignorance posted for the world to see is unhealthy, and frankly, who really cares? But others’ need for attention and verification by their 400-and-some “friends” is like watching a really, really bad reality TV show. Would people really say or do these things in real, non-virtual life?
Posts that would make my list of Facebook mentionables would include a rant by a 17-year-old complaining that she is an adult, despite state law. Thus, she does not need a parent to accompany her any longer. “I’m a grown-up!” she posted. Apparently, six of her 600 Facebook friends agree.
Another man began “friending” people with the same name, creating profile photos that emulated the others’.
A particular event that made the line-up was a 22-year-old’s two-word post — “Feelin arite” — followed by an on-Facebook fight encompassing a couple’s breakup. Ironically, he was online too much and didn’t pay enough attention to her.
Time to grab the popcorn.
Though it’s tough to tell when social-media users decided that their lives would be an open book, it’s pretty apparent that people have been saying and doing stupid things for a while. The world just didn’t have social media to help show it off. We can thank Zuckerberg for that.
Even if it’s another post about how amazing Arizona Tea is, or how much semesters suck, at least the funny cat memes keep coming. But the main question continues to pop up in every Facebook debacle: Who cares?
Lindsay Friedman is a staff writer for The Post. Email her at lf328610@ohiou.edu.
