Lonelier on Facebook?

[Solivagant]

The posts I see on Facebook, as well as being ignored there, can affect my mood and make me feel lonelier. Just as seeing friends having fun together or a couple holding hands while I'm out on a walk can make me feel lonelier, or being bombarded with happy love/family-themed stuff on holidays can make me feel lonelier, or being the only person in a movie theater not with someone can make me feel lonelier.

That doesn't mean I think people shouldn't post or Facebook should shut down just because it makes me feel worse. I don't know if anyone is saying that, I haven't read the whole thread. But expressing that something made you feel lonely isn't the same as blaming that thing for your problems, in my opinion.

In any case, I don't think there's anything wrong with feeling that way when you live a lonely life; it's kind of natural.

 

[Melsaldi]

One person (who can relate with my loneliness) responds to my posts or likes them. Everybody else seems to not care. I post replies to stuff people post on their walls, sometimes expecting a reply from them, but not getting any. When I send private messages to people, oftentimes asking a question, rarely do I get a response, or a really short one.

 

[Unbinilium]

I'm only on Facebook for the News feed from reputable sources. It's a nice way to congregate all the daily occurences.

 

[sk66rc]

I've always thought technology as a whole has a potential to isolate people as much as it connects people... I think it's all about how we use them... When you start looking at things in reverse, it usually start showing how things have gotten to where they are now... For example, before the smart phones with social medias & all the messaging capacities, we actually had to call people... Used to me more intimate relationship with people... We weren't just staring into screens... We actually had to talk to a live person... Before the cell phones became so popular, we had pagers... Generally speaking, people had to make an effort to go find a phone, page someone & wait for their call back... Still involves "talking" to a live person... Before the pagers, we actually had to call people & if we missed them, we had to either leave a message or wait for them to call back & manage to set up a meeting & "talk" to a live person... Closest thing to a text message was a piece of mail... When was the last time you wrote a "letter" to someone, not an email but with pen & paper... We send it out & it took few "days" for us to get a response back... A lot more effort went into it... Before the letters, people "walked" across miles to speak to people they wanted to see and/or talk to... Point here is, as technologies became more & more advanced, people seem to put less & less efforts to really connect with others on personal & intimate level... Everything became more like a tv show... They see what's going on & sometimes can relate but still remain somewhat distant & have to freedom to just "shut it off" at will... I personally don't have a smart phone... Had one for 6 years due to my work but now, I have a very simple phone that I can only call & text with... Funny thing is, when I call people, it will go to the voice-mail but 2 minutes later, they'll "text message" me back with, "Sorry missed your call... Did you need something?" or "Did you wanna talk?" I'm not really into having any length of conversation over text messages... So yeah, I can see how "facebook" or likes can cause people to be more isolated & be distant from other human contacts...

 

[Grackle]

When I send private messages to people, oftentimes asking a question, rarely do I get a response, or a really short one.

That happened to me too. I shut my account down because of that.

 

[AmytheTemperamental]

I have a small handful of people (my mom and two sisters, and a couple random ones) from my hometown. I deleted everyone that I can see in person. If it wasn't for my mom messaging me on there everyday, I would close it all together.
I have always felt lonely on facebook. Probably because at one time it was filled with people who I wished would accept me, but weren't willing to do so in person at school, etc. And now it's almost empty.

 

[Nicolelt]

I have considered deleting Facebook, but my family would flip because I live so far away. Also that is how I communicate with my friends I show dogs with. I have been getting off of social media a lot lately, because I don't have a lot to report.