Facebook has gotten weird. It’s been a gradual shift, sort of like Amanda Bynes’ sanity through the years, and it’s skidded to a tailspin of bizarre incidents. Facebook, like Bynes, has left many raising an eyebrow.
This summer, the strange emergence of “like/share this picture if” posts have taken on outrageous, guilt-tripping qualities, such as “Like” if you hate cancer, ignore if you want all puppies and grandmas in the world to die.
It’s annoying enough to beg for likes, but then to imply that you wish ill on others for not responding with a virtual thumbs-up is downright juvenile. Who creates these things? They’re not hurting anybody, but who are they helping?
Everyone hates cancer. It doesn’t need a thinly veiled awareness campaign just so your notification bar will light up all day.
On the other side of the spectrum are the Facebook political aficionados. It’s election season, and the fate of our nation is something worth discussing, especially in our demographic — but it shouldn’t be done through Facebook. Broaching the topic often results in a caps lock screaming match or simply goes ignored by many.
I believe one of the biggest factors causing these squabbles is the protection and anonymity that hiding behind a screen provides. In-person discussions can go awry, but they rarely end in Hitler comparisons.
What happened in recent years to make political affiliation something people literally wear on their sleeves? I learned as a curious child that asking someone who he or she was voting for is a social taboo.
These trigger topics incite tension and judgement among friends, relatives, co-workers and even acquaintances. Now, if people feel they can calmly, rationally and maturely discuss these ideologies, they should go right ahead. Unfortunately, I don’t think our generation has reached that point just yet, myself included. It’s embarrassing yet understandable. Let’s stop leaving such public, permanent reminders of this fact.
Another peculiar trend I’ve noticed on Facebook is an abundance of wall posts on celebrity pages demanding them to do an activity if “x” amount of likes are received on the post. For example, Nicki Minaj must perform a concert with no wigs or makeup if a particular post collects 50,000 likes.
Who taught people this is how life works? This trend is sort of like a petition, only lazier and less formal and usually without any semblance of a real cause. I recognize this again is just a cheap and ridiculous method of garnering the invaluable power of likes, but what people are actually doing is giving celebrities they dislike publicity. These posters also wind up sounding a tad bit crazy, telling celebrities they have to do things asked of them.
But I continue to use Facebook despite these blunders because, like many, I need to use the social network to find people and contact others. I need it to have a job in the future. And I need it to convince Obama that if this article gets 25,000 shares, he has to attend the debate dressed as Chewbacca. Ignore if you hate Chewbacca.
