Please Make it Stop!

Before social media was the “in” thing, our email inboxes would be filled with all kinds of nonsense – the same nonsense that now permeates Facebook. How many of us had friends and/or family who would urge us to “cc” their messages. If you don’t share this with ten people within the next thirty minutes… I referred to them as the “do this or else” threats. Oh no Mr. Bill!

In retrospect, it’s tame compared to what’s happening on FB and other social media sites, these days. If you’re an FB user, I’m sure you share the same sentiments. It would appear that the vast majority of members believe everything they read, and want to share it with YOU. These include stories about aliens, giant spiders, killer viruses (internet and biologic ones), kidnappers, hackers, politicians, food, and everything else under the sun.

I’ve been advising people for thirty years (as a computer consultant/techie), but for what it’s worth, I might as well be shouting down a well. How many times have I pleaded with friends to conduct a little research before posting any kind of story? How many times have I supplied them with links to sites such as Snopes, and Urban Legends? I’ve appealed to their common sense, but to no avail. Shucks, I keep forgettin’ that common sense is not that common.

Some of my friends thank me for supplying the facts, yet three days later, they are at it again. Sorry, they say, I thought this one was real. My buddy said he checked it out. I give up. It’s hopeless. Do I really have to be part of the human race? It’s downright embarrassing.

You may ask; then why are you still on FB? Legitimate question. Well, it does have some merits. I have been put in touch with long, lost family members. I do enjoy chatting with a limited group of people, and I actually use it as a business tool. Aha, there’s the key word – limited.

So, off I go on my personal campaign against idiocy – yup, “unfollowing” the gullible masses.