I like Facebook

Even though I sometimes hear negative comments about it, I like Facebook.   Considering the numbers of people it reaches, it seems inevitable that there would be some negatives.   I know I could eliminate all possible problems with it,  if I would just not use it.  But I like Facebook.

 I like it for the people.

Each time I check Facebook, I see the names and postings of people I have known for a long time, and some that I have met more recently.  This includes relatives, friends, and acquaintances.  It’s like running into someone at work, or at the store, and exchanging a friendly greeting or a piece of information.  Sometimes I am able to search for and connect with someone I’d lost contact with and wanted to find.  I find these connections interesting and rewarding.  Over time, I’ve learned to appreciate something about a person that I may never have gotten to know in the day to day situation.  The amount of time I spend reading these posts and responding to them is my choice.

I Like it for the pages.

Pages I Can Read

Just about every business and organization has a Facebook page.  The variety I can access easily all in one place is amazing.   I read articles from various magazines and newspapers, way more than I would subscribe to.  I learn about topics and people I knew nothing about.  Just to demonstrate the variety, some of the pages I access are Monterey Bay Aquarium,  Architectural Digest, Kern County of Old, Friends of the Kern County Library, Writers of Kern, I love Los Angeles, krokotak, We love California, Karen Goh, Upworthy, National Audubon Society,  Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Monet’s Palate, The Art of Cathleen Abalos.  That is just a short list of the pages I follow.  These pages inform me, entertain me, and expand my horizons.  I like Facebook for this easy access to so much variety.

Pages Of My Own

I have two pages other than my personal page.  One of those is The Pelican Family Book Series Page.  The purpose of that page is to talk about my books, encourage parents to read and interact with their young children for optimal child development, and to spark an interest in the beautiful natural world around us through photos.  The second page is just a fun page my sister and I developed to share our experiences together:  Two Old Sisters Out and About.

I Like Facebook, But With Limitations

Facebook has been useful and interesting to me.  I don’t automatically believe everything I see or read. Nor do I feel the need to comment on most of it.  I believe strongly that, as parents and teachers, we need to teach others to read and think critically.  I wrote our post #12, Helping Your Child Acquire Tools For Learning Part 3 — Analyzing, to make that point.  One of the statements in that post is a sentence from the children’s book Gila Monsters Meet You At The Airport by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat.  The sentence says “I read it in a book, so I know it’s so.”.  My sons and I used to laugh about that when we wanted to make the point that you can’t always believe everything you observe.  Thinking critically is always important, perhaps even more so with the tremendous amount of information we encounter every day in this technological era.

Facebook keeps me connected with relatives, friends and acquaintances,  and I learn about things and am introduced to new ideas.  I am entertained by it,  and can use it to share with others. I like Facebook.