OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

General Discussion on any topic relating to CPAP and/or Sleep Apnea.

What about the influence of FB & other "social" networks on your life & thinking?

Poll ended at Sun Jun 10, 2018 8:02 am

Dude, I'm totally addicted to FB/IG/etc.; someone please help me break free!!!!
1
2%
It definitely has caused me problems and a lot of heartache, and I should probably stop using them completely.
1
2%
I've tried them; they just aren't for me.
7
17%
I never really got into them.
10
24%
I do well at keeping them in their place and find them helpful.
7
17%
I thoroughly enjoy using those forms of social networking.
1
2%
Such social networks are a big part of my life, and I couldn't live without them.
1
2%
I think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread, and I think everyone should use them for all the benefits.
0
No votes
Just like every other tool in the world, it can be used for good or bad, so I don't see the point of the statements in the news reports or this stupid poll.
7
17%
Don't you have better things to do than to clutter up this forum with OT polls like this one? Go waste your time on FB, not here, would ya!
7
17%
 
Total votes: 42

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jnk...
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OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by jnk... » Tue Dec 12, 2017 8:02 am

In view of recent reports, as in the links below . . .

http://fortune.com/2017/12/12/chamath-p ... k-society/
https://www.axios.com/sean-parker-unloa ... 36343.html

. . . do you think that purely "social" networks, such as Instagram, Facebook, etc., are damaging, helpful, both, or other? You may choose as many options in the poll as you agree with. Feel free to add further opinions to the thread discussion, if any occurs and you feel like it.

Since cpaptalk.com has a specific function, I am not including it or similar anonymous user-help sites in the definition of purely "social" networking, in regards to this poll. But feel free to comment on whether you think forums such as this one are much the same as, or completely different from, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Or ignore this poll completely. It isn't about CPAP or OSA, after all. Thus the "OT" for "off topic."
-Jeff (AS10/P30i)

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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by Lucyhere » Tue Dec 12, 2017 10:43 am

I just know this thread is specifically for GoofProof, but I voted anyway.
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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by TASmart » Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:24 am

I voted. The issue I see with social networks is that they are prone to be a very effective distribution channel of both true and false information. Many users are not discriminating in what they choose to believe, so the risk of misleading or false information being globally spread is higher. Such is the price of freedom though. So at times rather =than being a force for understanding and acceptance, social media becomes a force for manipulation, misinformation, and untruth globally.
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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by chunkyfrog » Tue Dec 12, 2017 11:45 am


I know jnk may have been thinking of goofproof,
But, in the spirit of Rodney Dangerfield, we kid because we love. (well, I do)

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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by Goofproof » Tue Dec 12, 2017 12:46 pm

Sorry, I missed this Poll, I wanted to be first to vote. My power went out at 10 am, still in bed. Woke up to no XPAP or O2 Pump, 2 hours to restore power, bad start to a cold day 23 degrees, no heat until power came back. All's well, just our poor power provider, they can't even blame it on hackers, yet. I think they are using extension cords from China hooked to the poles. Thanks jnk, next time include Dancers! Jim
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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by jnk... » Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:03 pm

Goofproof wrote:. . . from China hooked to the poles. Thanks jnk, next time include Dancers! Jim
Yer welcome. I'm here for the entertainment value.

But, just for the record, I really don't think Facebook had anything to do with poll dancers in China trying to steal your electricity, Jim, so don't you go trying to hijack this very serious thread on a vital topic. Oh yes, you know how you can be.
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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by Goofproof » Tue Dec 12, 2017 1:15 pm

jnk... wrote: Don't you go trying to hijack this very serious thread on a vital topic. Oh yes, you know how you can be.


Now would I do that, All Poll lives Matter, They don't loot, they just Pollute! Jim

I only do FB, as they rewrite their software daily, I've installed it on 4 computers, friend lists aren't shared between them. Stupid software for stupid people.
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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by Lucyhere » Tue Dec 12, 2017 4:11 pm

So, Jeff - if you're looking for a serious answer I'll try to give you one. I have a love/hate relationship with FaceBook. I moved away from a state where I lived the majority of my life in 2006. Going on FB gives me the opportunity of seeing family members and friends who I haven't seen in a long time, and includes seeing pictures of them (they look so much older than me ) their grandkids, nieces, cousins, etc. I really enjoy that. What I intensely dislike are people who put their entire lives on FB, what they ate for breakfast, when they went to the loo, etc. A few people I personally know are seriously unhappy people. Yet, if you see their pictures and what they write on FB, you'd think they have the most blessed life, and they don't. Makes me wonder if they think they fool people into believing that they do.

I do like my cell phone and I love texting. It works well for me in so many situations. My doctor's office texts me, dentist, and of course friends and family. I use my computer for email, shopping and several sites I go to. Other than that, I don't have a clue about Twitter, Snapchat or any of the others that my granddaughter can name in a second.

For the younger generation, I think it's sad. Their lives center around their phones. The other day I went shopping and my granddaughter was with her friends shopping too. I decided I was hungry and went to get something to eat. There was my granddaughter with four of her friends -- all of them on their phones -- I mean every one of them. I find that awful. Depression in teens is becoming more prevalent every day. I wonder if it's because they have so little human contact.

Yeah... technology and all that is supposed to be a good thing. Sometimes I'm not at all sure about that.
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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by jnk... » Tue Dec 12, 2017 4:34 pm

Lucyhere wrote: . . . serious answer I'll try to give you one. I have a love/hate relationship with FaceBook. . . .
I tried doing the book of faces twice and stopped twice. I tried doing the gram of insta twice and stopped twice. But then, I do the talk of cpap on and off and on and off, too.

I believe they all have beneficial uses as tools. But I also believe that it is possible for any tool to become intrusive and distracting and dangerous and all-consuming, if allowed to. The issue with present versions of online networking sites is that it appears they are actually designed to become addictive and to take over lives, according to recent reports from people who were in on the designs early on. Maybe that could, or should, change the way we view those tools in their present forms. I don't know.

Part of me wants to view social networking as purely a technology. We laugh looking back at ancestors who railed against the evils of the telephone, the car, the television, and the Internet. But those technologies, to my mind, are "pure" technologies designed to perform a useful task. If social network sites were actually designed to be a form of game that is supposed to become addictive to keep you coming back for more, that puts their implementation in a different category from telephones, cars, televisions, and the Internet itself--which all surely can become addictive if allowed to, but weren't designed for the purpose of becoming so. Is social networking turning life into a game of false popularity instead of meeting a real need for us?

That is my meandering rant for the day. I did not make it to get hits, thumbs-ups, likes, or retweets. And, in fact, if I ever get the impression about myself that I'm really only here for temporary dopamine surges in order to feel better about myself, I might have to take another break from here, too.

Thanks for your thoughtful response, Lucyhere.
-Jeff (AS10/P30i)

Accounts to put on the foe list: Me. I often post misleading, timewasting stuff.

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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by kteague » Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:00 pm

Took me 4 tries to get the poll to open instead of going straight to the results. It took some time of exposure for me to develop a sense of balance and distance in social media outlets. I use Facebook to maintain contact with people I care about when distance would have in times past have caused us to lose track of each other's lives and families. With relatives and friends all over the country, it has been a blessing, especially as I became more homebound and had little outside social interaction for a few years. Seeing the types of things being recirculated by people I once believed to be too smart to fall for that stuff has been disconcerting, and it is hard not to join the fray. But I'm doing better at it. I have one rule for myself - if I don't have time to verify a shared post's authenticity then don't like or share. Keeps it pretty simple. Honestly though, FB has adversely affected some relationships. It was easier to celebrate our similarities when our differences weren't glaring in our faces 24/7.

Interest based forums are a bit different. They aren't so personal - until they are. When people are united around a cause, it can be easy to forget that everything else about us may be polar opposite. This forum was my sanctuary in a dark and desperate time. The first time I saw some members "fighting" it pulled the rug out from under me. I was crushed to be faced with the reality that this place isn't utopia. For the sake of self preservation, I had to put some distance in my emotions. While I may get irritated or pissed off at things some say, I can't remember the last time it made me feel distraught.

I do have a Twitter account and also follow some Instagram, Snapchat, YouNow, and YouTube accounts and in the past Vine, Keek, Patraeon and Musical.ly. None of these matter much to me outside keeping up with what the grandkids are doing and promoting their music efforts. They've already left Facebook (since us old folks took over) so if I want to see their pictures and music stuff, I have to be where they are. I think I do pretty good for a grandma. On my Twitter, I follow a TV station from back home and one in my current city, so I use it for up to date news.

When you put yourself out there, you open yourself up to all the self-appointed critics, armchair quarterbacks, and cause based vigilantes. In case anyone is still reading here's a situation that happened to a family member. At age 13 this kid was posting music covers on his YouTube channel and getting a good response. He posted a cover of a song by a well known rapper. Some internet thug downloaded a copy of his cover then reuploaded it saying it was a leaked cover by Justin Bieber. Bieber fans went wild, and the re-copies spread like wildfire. The person who originally posted several covers falsely claiming they were by Bieber took theirs down when contacted about it, but it was too late. The horse was already out of the barn. Just one of 100+ reposts got over 23 million views. But as word spread that the voice was not Bieber's, some of his fans assumed the kid with the cover was claiming to be Bieber just to get views, when he had nothing to do with the fakery. It got a bit ugly with the fan bases going after each other in the comments. A lot of the people who were duped took their videos down, others just added a note about whose voice it really was. But to this day some vids still exist claiming it's Bieber's voice. Those are the ones you know are in it for the views, not for the artist. The internet can be the wild wild west out there. If one is not in a healthy head space, social media can be problematic.

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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by jnk... » Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:05 pm

Beautifully worded and illustrated, kteague.

I regularly learn from you.

Thanks.
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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by ChicagoGranny » Tue Dec 12, 2017 5:56 pm

purely "social" networks, such as Instagram, Facebook
Facebook is by no means "purely social". Here is my morning routine while eating breakfast and afterwards:

1. Read personal email.
2. Read email news sources I subscribe to.
3. Read two local newspapers (hardcopy).
4. Read "Close Friends" FB newsfeed and comment on some.
5. Read FB "Pages Feed" (rarely comment)
6. If there is any time left, read and sometimes comment in cpaptalk.

Notes: #5, FB "Pages Feed" is the feed of all the pages I follow. This includes several news sources like the NYT, several science pages, several special interest pages and a small host of opinion pages. There are hundreds of links to articles and blogs on a daily basis. I could literally read all day and be continuously fascinated if I didn't have a life otherwise. (I'm hear late in the afternoon because I have had no time for this forum in a few days.)

I don't think one out a thousand people know you can divide your FB newsfeed into Close Friends and Subscribed Pages (Pages Feed). On days you are busy, you can quickly check for important news from friends and leave the other articles for slower days when you have time for quiet reading. (You can also save links of articles you consider really important to be read another day.)

As far as what is harmful and what is not, learn to be disciplined and use discretion.

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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by jnk... » Tue Dec 12, 2017 7:10 pm

By pure, or strictly, I meant not especially dedicated to a particular subject or endeavor in the way that cpaptalk.com is. FB, for example, is generally considered to be for society in general rather than being associated with a certain interest or direction. Sorry for the lack of clarity in the words I chose, Gran.
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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by SewTired » Wed Dec 13, 2017 4:09 pm

My friend is a (now retired) divorce attorney and he says that divorces for gaming (WoW) and social networking are significant, almost equal to gambling now. However, they pale in significant to divorces caused by infidelity and drug/alcohol abuse, which are the top 2 by a long shot. He did point out that social networking probably leads to a lot of the infidelity.

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Re: OT Poll: Are Strictly "Social" Networks Good? Evil? Both?

Post by chunkyfrog » Sat Dec 16, 2017 1:33 pm

I have thus far been able to avoid purely social networks, as they can be time-consuming; (life is short)
I have seen at least one marriage driven onto the rocks by addiction to this particular activity.
I realize there are benefits, and someday I may want to at least attempt to establish a network.
The primary consideration would be to get past my opinion that they are selfish and vapid.

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