David French's post makes me feel better about my reluctance to join Facebook (still haven't done so). French writes:
. . . I just can't take it anymore.
I can't take the "discussion groups" that contain such insightful
comments as "ROFL." I can't take the idea that I'm somehow
"maintaining relationships" by reading status updates like, "OMG, I
love my kidz!" or "That Derby party was so great!" or "I'm shopping for
shoes and just hate the prices!" I also can't take the positively
insufferable idea that Facebookers are somehow changing the world by
talking about themselves at great, great length.
Now you could say that I'm just one of those grumpy old guys still cracking the whip on his "horseless carriage" while the rest of the world zooms past on their shiny Model T's, but not really. I’m actually just
checking out of an impossibly dumbed-down world of meaningless information flow and pseudo-discourse where like-minded people build virtual temples to themselves and “LOL” all day about who knows what. I’m not on that bus. Not at all.
And don't even get me started on Twitter.
So far, the whole world of "viral video," "social networking," and "tweets" seems to be mainly useful for making stars out of Paul Potts, Susan Boyle, and sleepwalking dogs. Why? Because they require nothing from the viewer. Facebook is even better. It requires nothing from you, and the only real work is the indescribably enjoyable act of building a (virtual) shrine to yourself.
This is genius marketing. But changing the world? Not unless by "change" one means "further devolution down the narcissistic path of echo chamber ignorance." So, in the grand tradition of NR founder William F. Buckley, I'm "standing athwart history yelling 'Stop!'"
In the grand tradition of Facebook, I did so in a way that required zero effort or personal sacrifice: by clicking a mouse button marked "deactivate."