Ok, so this is an interesting topic
More so because almost inevitably, they will reactivate it again at some point.
What is it about facebook that makes some people so emotional? And why is it that some people can sign in, laugh a bunch, and sign out again - while others sign in, find nothing new and are left feeling miserable by this?
Its interesting to say the least, however, as I am not a psychiatrist, nor have I researched this topic I can only offer my own opinion based on my own experiences using the social platform.
Facebook offers a wide range of abilities, some of which allow the user full control whereas other are completely disempowering, a little like real life.
For example, a user can privately message another, or publicly write on their wall - however the receiver is then free to do as they please with this information , much like a real life conversation - once you tell someone something, whether in private or in a public place, it is then up to that person to do as they please with it.
The only problem with this being online is that different people interpret Facebook 'information' differently, emotionally attentive people use real social rules when accessing the site, such as always replying to messages, specially now that people know when you have read their messages, keeping their passwords secure, logging off after using the site to make sure anything on their page is not seen by anyone other than them etc
However other types of people see facebook purely as an 'online' interaction, anything shared on the site is not important as it is not 'real' communication. These people tend to be the ones who are never really bothered by the site. They use it for entertainment, news and to network - never to express emotions or any life changing experiences.
These people don't see a problem ignoring messages, not liking wall posts posted for them, and ignoring even messages written publicly, because again, this is just an online platform, if someone had something to say that was important they would contact them in a 'real' way.
For the emotionally attentive, having a message read and ignored is like 'someone walking out of a room in the middle of you starting a conversation with them' - as a friend of mine so nicely put it. She plays by the real social rules, whereas the person she messaged sees facebook as simply an online platform - and here comes the clash. Feeling ignored is upsetting, specially when in real life that person is very nice to you... it gets confusing why that person ignored you online but is so nice in real life... And when something gets to you this much, you end up deciding to take a break from it... only to come back because you never really figured out why it upset you.
The real issue here is, facebook has not yet been defined - is it a real platform or simply a virtual online community? There are many other factors which effect peoples decisions to leave the site, but for the purposes of keeping this short I will keep it at the social clash.
More so because almost inevitably, they will reactivate it again at some point.
What is it about facebook that makes some people so emotional? And why is it that some people can sign in, laugh a bunch, and sign out again - while others sign in, find nothing new and are left feeling miserable by this?
Its interesting to say the least, however, as I am not a psychiatrist, nor have I researched this topic I can only offer my own opinion based on my own experiences using the social platform.
Facebook offers a wide range of abilities, some of which allow the user full control whereas other are completely disempowering, a little like real life.
For example, a user can privately message another, or publicly write on their wall - however the receiver is then free to do as they please with this information , much like a real life conversation - once you tell someone something, whether in private or in a public place, it is then up to that person to do as they please with it.
The only problem with this being online is that different people interpret Facebook 'information' differently, emotionally attentive people use real social rules when accessing the site, such as always replying to messages, specially now that people know when you have read their messages, keeping their passwords secure, logging off after using the site to make sure anything on their page is not seen by anyone other than them etc
However other types of people see facebook purely as an 'online' interaction, anything shared on the site is not important as it is not 'real' communication. These people tend to be the ones who are never really bothered by the site. They use it for entertainment, news and to network - never to express emotions or any life changing experiences.
These people don't see a problem ignoring messages, not liking wall posts posted for them, and ignoring even messages written publicly, because again, this is just an online platform, if someone had something to say that was important they would contact them in a 'real' way.
For the emotionally attentive, having a message read and ignored is like 'someone walking out of a room in the middle of you starting a conversation with them' - as a friend of mine so nicely put it. She plays by the real social rules, whereas the person she messaged sees facebook as simply an online platform - and here comes the clash. Feeling ignored is upsetting, specially when in real life that person is very nice to you... it gets confusing why that person ignored you online but is so nice in real life... And when something gets to you this much, you end up deciding to take a break from it... only to come back because you never really figured out why it upset you.
The real issue here is, facebook has not yet been defined - is it a real platform or simply a virtual online community? There are many other factors which effect peoples decisions to leave the site, but for the purposes of keeping this short I will keep it at the social clash.
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