Regular readers of my blogs, assuming there are such a thing as regular readers; will be aware of my love-hate relationship with the World Wide Web. Some of you may even be aware of my disappointment, apropos my failure to extricate myself from Facebook.
I resent our forced dependence upon the electronic environment, made all the more necessary post-COVID. Throughout the pandemic we have out of necessity embraced a new way of communication. Gone have the face to face appointments with doctors, to be replaced with webcam meetings and medications are now ordered on-line, not always smoothly. Even before COVID we were often required to email companies, apply for jobs on-line and if using the telephone, we must press buttons. Gone had the personal touch then and now post-COVID, this is more apparent.
It has frequently been observed that I am Internet aware and that I am quite capable of using the computer for my day to day needs. This is flattering, because I do not think of myself as being Internet aware. I am indeed capable of maintaining blogs and photography portfolios. Yet I frequently find some web based activities, such as ordering medications and making appointments on-line, something of a challenge. I know enough to 'get by' and to use the Internet for my necessary needs. I am left wondering how others less 'aware' than I, manage today.
It has also been observed that my approach to Facebook, is distinctly different to that of others and that I regard the platform as a tool. Facebook is superficial in its general content and is therefore, used for my own selfish needs. My approach to Facebook is that it satisfies certain basic requirements. I can communicate with family and friends by private message. I can also network with professionals. I can promote my websites (links below) and finally, I can share miscellaneous links and photographs as the need arises. I am far less reliant on Facebook and other forms of (un)social media than many are today.
Although I have failed to remove Facebook from my life entirely, finally recognising that it is or rather can be, a useful tool. Facebook is an adjunct to my life needs, rather than a replacement for them. I have succeeded in reducing my activities and reliance in some areas. Although my group activity is minimised, I do find the notification of local events from 'Like Pages' to be of benefit. I do observe however; that without the use of Fluff Buster and Ad-Block, Facebook would be near unusable. I recommend them both (links below).
I am equally successful in maintaining a manageable friend list, hovering at around the five-hundred mark. I am not a friend collector and unless there is active communication, networking or some other benefit, I see little point in contact. The idea of a friend list measured in the thousands strikes me as unnecessary and quite peculiar.
I am not altogether familiar with what is fashionable regards Facebook etiquette today, being a rather old fashioned gentleman myself. Which means that 'text-speak' and other colloquialisms are relatively unknown to me. For which I am grateful but Internet behaviours still leave me puzzled.
If I receive a friend request from someone unknown, I send a polite 'who are you?' message. If I do not get a reply, I delete the request. I will not add people for the sake of collecting. Sometimes my message is left unread but I still delete the friend request. If a person is not checking their messages, then they are unlikely to engage and sometimes, these requests come from 'bots.' There are other times when one gets a friend request or a message that is best described as spam. These are usually of the begging for financial aid nature and are best ignored, as any other form of spam.
I was reminded of my lack of reliance on Facebook earlier this week, as when randomly checking the platform; I discovered two account restriction alerts. In the first week of August I was given yet again, a Facebook ban. I had uploaded an inappropriate image. There is no argument that it was inappropriate, I shared a file as a mass upload and I did not scrutinise the content carefully. If I had, the file would have been deleted and not shared. A bad taste cartoon slipped through my usual careful checks, I was careless. I was at fault and I was banned from posting on Facebook for up to forty-eight hours. Since I was still able to use messenger however, the inconvenience was minimal.
I thought nothing more of the ban, until earlier this week; when I discovered the two alerts. I have been banned for thirty days from the 7th August 2021. I can neither 'go live' nor 'advertise.' I had not noticed these bans. I am not entirely sure what 'going live' is anyway and as for the advertising, I am still sharing links to my Ebay site (yes you guessed it, there is a link below). I have apparently been banned by Facebook, from using services I have never used and that I have no plans to use. I was unaware of the bans, because my normal use of the platform was then and still is, unaffected.
Clearly Facebook considers the two actions I have been prevented from using, to be of some importance. A ban is meant to be a punishment, is it not? Clearly some users of Facebook, do actively use the two options and I assume, must find them to be of benefit. I find myself simply perplexed and quite amused. I am banned from doing something I wouldn't do, I had not even realised I was banned until the last week of the ban and it confirms to me; that Facebook regards itself as being far more important than it really is.
OUR
ELECTRONIC DEPENDENCE
https://chatteringmagpie-summonerofthehearth.blogspot.com/2019/02/our-electronic-dependence.html
FACEBOOK
AND THE PUZZLE THAT ARE FRIEND REQUESTS
https://chatteringmagpie-summonerofthehearth.blogspot.com/2018/05/facebook-and-puzzle-that-are-friend.html
GAMBIAN
SCAMMERS
https://chatteringmagpie-summonerofthehearth.blogspot.com/2018/05/gambian-scammers.html
The Toxic
Internet & Intolerance
https://chatteringmagpie-summonerofthehearth.blogspot.com/2020/03/the-toxic-internet-intolerance.html
FAREWELL
FACEBOOK?
https://chatteringmagpie-summonerofthehearth.blogspot.com/2018/12/farewell-facebook.html
A failure
of Intuition
https://chatteringmagpie.wordpress.com/2021/02/01/a-failure-of-intuition/
IN PRAISE
OF FLUFF BUSTING PURITY
https://chatteringmagpie.wordpress.com/2020/12/06/in-praise-of-fluff-busting-purity/
IN PRAISE
OF AD-BLOCK
https://chatteringmagpie.wordpress.com/2020/12/06/in-praise-of-ad-block/
My
Photography
https://www.deviantart.com/chattering-magpie
My Ebay
https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/chattering-magpie
No comments:
Post a Comment