Why Do You Share On Facebook?

Facebook

Facebook

For most of the time I have been on Facebook, I have been bothered by some of the posting behavior of my fellow users. Recently it has started bothering me less and less. Why, because I have started to accept that everyone looks to Facebook for different reasons. These reasons are starting to intrigue me.

The Reasons I post
When I ost something it is to share some form of information that I think others may have a want or need for. This could be a music video, article, or perception of thinking. However, I try my best to not share things that others have seen a million times before. No matter how much I love a song, why post a video most have seen already? Wouldn’t it be better to post something new? I have always heard that social networking is all about content. The better the content the more people will not only follow you, but also pay attention. If I post some Nickelback video, to me it is a bigger mistake that people have seen it before than the mistake of posting something so many so passionately hate. I find no issue with posting a video people despise. I do however have a major problem with people posting a video that people have seen a million times before.

Sorry I was offended by your offensive behavior
There was once a person I followed on Facebook that would post the same mainstream videos everyday. There was about ten of them. I have wondered if it was some posting bot on a loop because there was never much variation to it. I majorly offended the person when I asked if that was the case. I was honestly just trying to find out why one would post the same thing over and over again everyday. It made no sense to me.

Who Pays For My Therapy?
Here I was thinking that it was silly to post something most have seen and this person goes and posts the same thing over and over again everyday. How many people on her list of friends had not seen that video by the tenth time she posted it? I am willing to bet that most of them had seen it before she posted it once. It was pretty mainstream. It would be like teaching a child that humans never eat hot dogs ever and to eat one would be wrong. Then that child goes to a hot dog eating contest where someone eats packages after packages of lips and bung holes. That child might need some therapy. This wasn’t just someone breaking the rules that I held sacred. That I could deal with. This was pissing on the bible in front of the Pope and and setting the book on fire!

I’m better now, really
Now I see people posting mundane things all the time and it still makes me twitch a little. I still see people trying to pull off Rickrolling like it’s a new thing! But now I see that even though Facebook and Twitter are for posting content of some sort that most have not seen, for others that is not the case. For that person that posted that Nickleback video everyday, Facebook might be the place where you are letting others know what you are listening to. So you can post a video because you think others should see it, or just because you want others to know what you are currently listening to. So before you go off on someone for breaking some sacred rule of conduct in social networking, know that for some it’s not about the actual networking. Hell, sometimes they just want to unplug their brains and play Farmville…(*shudder*).