A case of the Facebook giggles

Facebook always makes me laugh. I was years late signing up for the social media website and I can’t say I missed much – except a few good chuckles.

I have never taken the website seriously nor have I ever gone on an emotional rant and unloaded feelings to hundreds of Internet strangers. And no – get ready to gasp – I have never announced that I am preparing for a wild night out and posted dozens of pictures of the aftermath.

There’s a new study by German researchers that says Facebook envy could cause depression in people. That’s right, all those tropical vacation pics and details of the newest shiniest gadget your “friends” have can make you feel bad about your life.

I must say, logging onto Facebook a couple times a week actually makes me feel better about my life.

Never once have I bitched and complained in the hopes of getting attention and sympathy messages. And being a writer, the dreadfully misspelled words online makes me avoid the Internet as much as I can.

This was posted a few days ago. Is it too much info for a world of strangers? “Child support hearing this morning. I think I have a pretty good case against him to NOT get it lowered. We’ll see. Wish me luck this morning!!!”

I consulted a former colleague, a social media marketing expert, and asked why people do this.

“She wants attention. She is hoping for postings that will support her and bash the ex so she feels better about herself.” How do I feel? I love that I don’t have drama like this in my life. This is entertaining.

I then asked what the next step is.

“If she has a smartphone she’ll probably post something as soon as she gets the news (in her favour), otherwise it’ll be a dead issue and she’ll probably delete the previous comment if she doesn’t get what she wants.”

And sure as shoot, that afternoon there was no followup and the original comment was gone.

Back to those German researchers for a second: one said of the study, “We were surprised by how many people have a negative experience from Facebook with envy leaving them feeling lonely, frustrated or angry.”

I say grab some popcorn and spend a Saturday night waiting for the drunken (and soon to be embarrassing) posts to roll in and grab screen shots for blackmail at a later date!

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