[rxhernandez]

I deleted my Facebook in 2010 and it stayed deleted until the end of 2016. Now I get invited to more events, my friends no longer feel like distant strangers when I see them for the first time in months and I know how all my family is doing. It really sucks seeing how much more of a life some people have through facebook but research is a lifestyle and I knew what I signed up for. Your miles may vary though as I have the discipline to not look at it every hour(not because I'm intrinsically any better than you but because I got used to running mental marathons for 6 years).

[quickthrower2]

This is worrying from the perspective of Facebook having so much power. It sounds like in your case, the enjoyment of your life i.e. "get invited to more events" and indeed one of the lower 'needs' is enhanced by joining Facebook (and reduced by leaving it).

If Facebook is the Junk Food of Socializing, it is like a McDonalds that has successfully lobbied for a ban on the sale of home cookware, whilst buying out all the other restaurant chains.

[EADGBE]

>it is like a McDonalds that has successfully lobbied for a ban on the sale of home cookware

They've successfully lobbied to ban my personal website?

[zeeveener]

Yeah that comparison isn't really relevant. I believe it would be more like:

McDonalds has successfully convinced people that it's not worth cooking food at home anymore.

[quickthrower2]

Darn imperfect analogies!

[ben_jones]

As someone toying with the idea of "getting back into" social media, how did you go about making your profile "normal"? I'm not the type to take tons of selfies, so do I just start out with a shitty profile picture? I feel like it'll look like a fake account, or me like a weird dude, compared to my friends who all have amazing profiles.

^^^ And this is the type of mentality that makes me not want to use social media :tm:.

[sandov]

I'm the complete opposite. I want to get back into facebook because I want other people to see all the cool stuff I'm doing and feed my ego, but I know that doing it would be inconsistent with my desire for a more free society, and I hate most people anyway.

[dsr_]

There's only one thing a profile pic needs to do: reliably signal that this is the specific person of that name that people are looking for.

A reasonably well-lit picture of your face will serve admirably. Serious or happy or amused are good expressions; try not to look angry or sad. There, you're done.

[astura]

It's not a big deal, just put as much as you're comfortable with, there's no such thing as "normal usage," everyone is different. I post updates only a few times a year and I don't post pictures. Nobody cares if you aren't using Facebook "enough."

[whatever_dude]

I never post anything and it's a normal enough profile. I just interact with friends once in while via messages or by seeing posts from them.

You don't need to go all out on joining some imaginary race to the best profile. No one cares.

[anigbrowl]

I hardly ever think about how many reactions I get relative to how many my friends get, because different people have different numbers of friends and friendship patterns. It's not a score and I don't know anyone who treats it that way other than people in their teens or involved in marketing.