Why Complain? A Social Media Epitope

 “so, why are you on FB? You could always delete your account. Sure, FB is not perfect, nothing is perfect, but if a person is dissatisfied with a product that is practically free (meaning you are not paying a monthly fee to use it), then you do not need it if you complain.”

Please no complaints, just delete your account.
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This was my comment to a person last week, who was complaining about Facebook (FB) on FB.  I fail to see the irony of the complaint.

Last week, Mark Zuckerberg did an interview and in that interview, he spoke of FB’s mission statement change. 

Facebook started out as a place where friends and families can post, show pictures and the like to each other, as well as meet new people.  Then groups came along, and now you have a place to meet with others who share your common interest.  Well, Mark (can I call you Mark?) said that he now wants to focus more on community and less on the friends and family feature of the social media platform. 

Yes, I read the article, and before I get into the meat of my title, I want to make a few suggestions to Mark:

·         Please get rid of or change friend requests.  This is my biggest pet peeve of the whole FB community since we are now supposed to call it a community.  I am sorry, but in the wake of hackers wanting your account to do you and your Facebook account harm, I have zero interest in the feature, especially if the person FB is suggesting me to friend has 0-4 connections (friends) in common with me.  I have friends who do not have an FB account and I have family members who do not have an FB account.  They have seen it in action, and they do not like what they see.  This is the reason for me to post the comment to the person who was complaining that FB has become a “Libtard” and always has been.” First, what is a libtard?  On second thought, do not answer that question.  I do not want to see the word in the comments section.

·         Games.  OK, I’ll admit it.  I do play Candy Crush, Cookie Jam (which recently had a baby named Cookie Jam Blast-hey, I am a sucker for games named for food.), and Toy Blast, but that does not mean I want you to play along with me.  I do not want any game suggestions, game friend requests, and I do not want to invite my friends either.  If they are in a game, fine, I will play with them, but if not, I am not going to invite them.  In fact, I would be fine if games were eliminated, period. They are time wasters.

·         Chain letter posts.  You all seen them. Asked to re-post them and ask to add your name to the comments section.  We are talking “If you do not post this, God will not bless you” (how mean), “Please post your business and I will have my friends buy from you” (I am still waiting on my first Longaberger order from these so-called friends – not happening). Now the latest…” in honest of FB’s new GIF feature, please type 12345 or some type of fake URL/Your name, and see what will pop up first”.  Meanwhile, some hacker is getting a kick out of it, and copying your FB account as we speak. WARNING:  DO NOT GIVE IN TO THE MADNESS.  In fact, I have been deleting posts, and I will start deleting friends if that person keeps it up.

So, these are my top three complaints about FB.  It is not Mark’s fault.  People have turned FB into a trash heap, and he wants to change it.  Heck, it is his company.

Complaints about social media.

Repeat after me…. I do not have the need of a social media account if I do not want one.  Do that several times.  Now, the next time you have a big beef about the following social media platforms:

·         Facebook

·         Twitter

·         Instagram

·         Pinterest

·         Google plus

·         SnapChat

·         Periscope

·         Blogging

Remember, you can always delete them.   That is what that black button on the side of your keyboard or the button on the website is used for.  It will ask “are you sure you want to delete?” Kindly say yes.  Don’t think, do.  It will eliminate all the stressors of your life, but I have to ask, “Why did you sign up in the first place?  Oh, I forgot, your best friend from 5^th grade is on there.  You must connect.

Notice I did not mention LinkedIn or YouTube.  These social media platforms are a little different.  LinkedIn, which uses a linkup from the others, is mainly for those of the corporate world. No games needed.  No gimmicks.  Only business.  YouTube is video sharing and it does not require you to be a friend to subscribe to a channel, but if you want to continue to see that person’s videos, you must subscribe to the channel. 

I often wonder why people complain.  A complaint is usually legitimate when you have something to complain about and something is put into place to correct the situation.  For instance, you can complain about not having any money.  I will admit that this is my number complaint.  Why do I complain about this problem?  That is the next question.  Am I complaining because I have an electric bill that is due in three days and the amount in my bank account is a little less than the amount that is due?  I will then have to look at how much electricity I have used and try not use so much the next month.  How about if I know how much the bill is going to be, and do not spend so much in other areas, like less shopping.  That way the complaint is solved before the problem has occurred.  There is always a way around a situation. If I have to spend that much, I would try to make extra money, or borrow from my parents.  

So, when I look at a complaint like how a social media company like FB is run, and who is running it, I look at why am I on this site in the first place.  If my complaints outweigh the reasons why I like FB, it is time to delete the account and do something else with my life.  That is what my sister, my nephew, and a couple other people did, they deleted their account.  They looked at what they could be doing, and why, and took matters into their own hands.

Was this a legitimate complaint about the person who’s comment I answered?  Sure, it was.  Everyone has their own reasons for the same complaint.  I would like to think that Mark Zuckerberg is answering someone’s complaint when he had that interview with CNN.  For a complaint to be solved by the person or company you are complaining about, several people need to have that same complaint.  Will my complaints about getting rid of friend requests, getting rid of games, and chain letter posts problems ever be solved by Mark?  If I stick around long enough they may, but I am only one person, and I have not registered those complaints to the powers that be.  Maybe other people do not have those same complaints as I do.  I am willing to live with them.  I have done so this long.  Maybe friend requests will go away soon. I will stick with the few games I play and maybe they will go away too.  As for the chain posts, I will delete at will, and pray that this is a trend that needs to die a quick and powerful death.

Takeaway:  We all have complaints.  It is a part of human nature.  Some are legitimate, while others are utter nonsense.  All can be fixable, especially the ones that can be solve with the simple push of a delete button.  The ones that can are not in your control.  I like to use the art of prayer to get to the complaints.  They at least make me feel better, but I was also taught as a child to pray about everything, no matter how trivial that seem to be to someone else.  Yes, I was one of those children who prayed for a pony.  Did God give me a pony?  No, but that is another post for another day.  I was also taught to never complain for God will take care of all your troubles and sorrows.

Complaints about a social media platform like Facebook takes more than prayer, it takes action on your part.  If you do not like something, say something, but to the right people.  See what they are up to.  Ask questions, don’t assume that your complaint will be taken care of.  Maybe you will find out that the complaint has already been registered and handed over to the right people.  Maybe it is a matter of time and money or simply that it is already taken care of, but they need to test it.  Be patient. 

If not, and no one will listen, there is always the delete button.  At least you have tried.  There is a saying that goes, “nothing beats a failure but a try”.