Tag Archives: Facebook

What Your Facebook Posts Can Secretly Reveal About Your Relationship

How many of us know at least one couple that post photos of themselves together constantly, want to share with the world how they both had the same breakfast or tag each other in silly little comments of love and adoration for each other? Well, according to a few experts these couples might not be as happy as we think and they are simply seeking validation for their relationship from other people.

Nikki Goldstein, a sexologist and relationship expert from Australia believes that:

Often it’s the people who post the most who are seeking validation for their relationship from other people on social media, the likes and comments can be so validating that when someone is really struggling, that’s where they get their up from – not the person making the gesture, but what other people say about it.”

Goldstein also suggested the couples who are so keen to take pictures of each other and immediately upload them to social media are often missing out and not living in the moment with their partners. They are more interested in what people have to say rather than enjoy the moment they are in.  She claims:

Couples are taking these photos, straight away putting them online and then watching the likes and comments instead of being with their partners.”

Apparently, couples that refer to their partner online as ‘my girl’ or ‘my babe’ can also be showing signs of possessiveness with the use of ‘my.’ Goldstein does give advice for couples that like to share photos of themselves with their partners. She suggests:

If you are going to post… keep it fun and entertaining for people, not mushy and possessive.”

This does go to show that social media isn’t really a reflection of true life. We can choose what we want people to know but sometimes our behaviour online can tell others a lot more than we are admitting or would want them to know. When you next see a gushing loved up photo of a couple you know, they might not be as happy and in love as you think.

According To Science We’ve Got Too Many Facebook Friends

We’ve all got that one friend who always has more Twitter followers or Facebook friends than you, and always seem to get a zillion likes a day.

This can be annoying and always makes me feel socially inadequate. However, the latest studies show these amazing social butterflies probably don’t have more “real” friends than you do.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have determined how many Facebook friends you should have, and sadly most of us have to many.

According to Professor Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist and evolutionary psychologist at the University of Oxford, the mental capacity of human beings allows them to maintain social relationships with about 150 people.

He and a team of researchers surveyed over 3,300 people in a study questioning whether or not the Internet made it possible for humans to have functional relationships with more than 150 people.

They found the average male Facebook user had 145 friends compared to 166 for the average female user. This puts the average amount of friends for all users at 155, close to the same number of real friends Dunbar believes one can maintain.

He reportedly said,

This suggests that the constraints that limit the number of friends we can have in the everyday offline world also limit the number we have online. I suggest that this is because friendships ultimately require occasional face-to-face interaction if they are to be maintained over time.

Survey participants considered just 28% of their Facebook friends to be true friends and also claimed they would turn to only four in an emergency.

Those participants with significantly more than 155 Facebook friends confessed they too have only a small amount of truly close and dependable friends.

The findings imply real friendships cannot be maintained exclusively online.

Dunbar reportedly explained,

Social media certainly help to slow down the natural rate of decay in relationship quality that would set in once we cannot readily meet friends face-to-face. But no amount of social media will prevent a friend eventually becoming ‘just another acquaintance’ if you don’t meet face-to-face from time to time. There is something paramount about face-to-face interactions that is crucial for maintaining friendships.

This study was originally published in Royal Society Open Science.


[interaction id=”568a4dbc3a731d3e71b88659″]

National Unfriend Day: 14 Types Of People You Need To Ditch Today

We all know that our Facebook friends list are about 25% real actual friends.

The rest are people we went to school with and people we met and friended while drunk, then never saw again. Also, there are even a surprising number of Facebook friends that you actively dislike.

But, really, do you need or want hundreds of Facebook friends?

Likely today marks the 5th year of National Unfriend Day, a day that makes it socially acceptable (ish) to delete the most annoying of your Facebook friends.

It’s time to clear out the friend clutter. So how do you decide stays and who goes.

Just ask yourself the following questions:


1. Do they post unwanted spoilers for your favourite films/TV shows?

delete-03


2. Are they almost a complete stranger to you, and yet you know every minute detail of their life? Has it ever crossed your mind that that’s a bit weird?

delete-04


3. Do they post endless smug pictures of their charmed, approval-seeking lives?

delete-02


4a. Do they post tonnes of baby pictures? (This one depends on one other factor)


4b. Is this a baby with which you have an actual emotional attachment?

In which case, they can’t post enough photos of their adorable offspring. You can keep them.

delete-07


5. She’s your ex and you know you shouldn’t be stalking her like this…

delete-06


6. Are they forever copy-and-pasting chain statuses?

delete-05


7. Do they send you constant Candy Crush requests?

delete-11


8. Do they demonstrate a remarkable ignorance of how to actually use Facebook?

delete-10


9. Do they go on regular offensive rants about the gay/feminist/black/Muslim ‘agenda’? – DELETE

delete-09


10. Do they post loads of cute animal photos and videos? – LOL, that’s what a Facebook feed is for. They can stay.

delete-14


11. Are they an emoticon lover – to the point you have to google in order to understand what is being expressed in their status?

delete-16


12. Do they over share? Like every minute updates of their living day…

delete-01


13. Do they vague-post? Like ‘well that was unexpected… ;)’ or ‘SOME PEOPLE are just so annoying’. Ditch, you don’t have time for their psychological mind games.

delete-12


14. Would you ever have an actual real-world conversation with them?

If the answer is no then, well, they’re not a friend, are they?

delete-15

 

Margaret Cho Has The Perfect Method For Tackling Online Homophobic Abuse

The bisexual actress, comic, and LGBT activist, Margaret Cho – who has nearly 400,000 followers on Facebook – has released an online statement regarding the amount of online abuse she gets

In a Facebook post, Cho described the disturbing encounters she has been involved in – and why people should take trolling more seriously.

I’ve experienced numerous breaches of security, a couple of very troubling face to face interactions and so much online trolling I can’t help but believe it’s all somehow connected.”

However, rather than shy away from social media, Cho advises those subject to homophobic abuse to use modern technology to their advantage.

I want everyone in the reach of my voice to keep their phones charged, film everything, screenshot and report ALL offensive people and ALL threats on social media.”

Margaret Cho 01

She also warned her followers of the danger trolls pose – and how people should take any threats or abuse they receive seriously.

BUT UNDERSTAND ‘Haters’ are potential killers. We’ve seen this countless times now. They say it on social media, then they go DO IT. We’ve got to be vigilant and protect ourselves. Stay alive. I need you all here with me. I love you.”

Cho said although the abuse sometimes upsets her, she has developed a unique way of getting her own back.

The actress described of she takes a screenshot of offensive messages she receives and forwards them to the troll’s employers, spouses or loved ones.

Ask their employers if they are aware of this person’s activity online and if they condone this type of behaviour. That usually shuts EVERYTHING DOWN. And it’s pretty gratifying. Bully the bullies with class and grace. It’s the BEST.”

26 Million People Across the World Turn Their Facebook Profiles into Rainbows

If you went on Facebook over the weekend you may have seen friends’ profile pictures turned multi-coloured.

In fact over 26 million people across the world turned their Facebook profiles into rainbows to support the LGBT pride and after last week’s landmark Supreme Court decision, which cleared the way for same-sex marriage across the US. 

The company introduced a rainbow filter tool that allowed user to simply change their profiles, and so far the rainbow photos received more than half a billion likes and comments, and the momentum shows no sign of slowing down.

Among the millions were a number of familiar faces, with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Elizabeth Banks, and Arianna Huffington taking part.

Arnold Schwarzenegger had a particularly memorable encounter with an anti-gay fan:

Orange is the New Black star Lea DeLaria Heads to Facebook HQ (Video)

Lea DeLaria, one of the stars of Orange Is The New Black, stopped by Facebook’s NYC offices to answer some great questions “Like a word you over use?” and “Who is your funniest co-star?” – very funny.

Screen Shot 2015-05-22 at 14.52.18

DeLaria character in Big Boo in Orange Is the New Black will officially be recurring in Season 4.

Season 3, will begin on June 12, still on Netflix.

Watch the clip below

 

Facebook’s Chris Cox Apologizes To LGBT Community for Proposed ‘Real Names’ Policy

Facebook is apologizing to drag queens and the transgender community for deleting accounts that used drag names like Lil Miss Hot Mess rather than legal names such as Bob Smith.

The world’s biggest online social network caught heat recently when it deleted several hundred accounts belonging to self-described drag queens and kings, other performers and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Facebook has long required its users to go by their “real names” on the site for security purposes, to stand out from other social networks and so it can better target advertising to people.

Now, the company says the spirit of its policy doesn’t mean a person’s legal name but “the authentic name they use in real life.”Last month, the company suggested that performers such as drag queens have other ways of maintaining their stage identities on the site, such as creating pages that are meant for businesses and public figures. But a fan page is not the same as a regular Facebook account and users were not happy with the suggestion.

“We owe you a better service and a better experience using Facebook, and we’re going to fix the way this policy gets handled so everyone affected here can go back to using Facebook as you were. We see through this event that there’s lots of room for improvement in the reporting and enforcement mechanisms, tools for understanding who’s real and who’s not, and the customer service for anyone who’s affected.”

Chris Cox, Facebook Chief Product Officer

The Transgender Law Center, a San Francisco based transgender rights advocacy group that met with Facebook over the issue on Wednesday, said it is

“[We’re] excited to work in good faith with Facebook to address all the concerns raised in today’s meeting. What was made clear today is that Facebook is ready to collaborate with our communities and shares our values of making sure everyone is able to safely be their authentic self online.”

Cox also shed some light on why so many accounts with drag names and other stage names suddenly started getting deleted.

“An individual on Facebook decided to report several hundred of these accounts as fake. These reports were among the several hundred thousand fake name reports we process every single week, 99 percent of which are bad actors doing bad things: impersonation, bullying, trolling, domestic violence, scams, hate speech, and more – so we didn’t notice the pattern.”

Chris Cox, Facebook Chief Product Officer

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation had representatives at the meeting. Later, GLAAD published a statement on its website:

“GLAAD was happy to participate in this meeting with Facebook, and we look forward to working with them and the coalition partners on implementing a solution that allows people to be their authentic selves on Facebook.”

Facebook Pride Celebrates around the World

100’s of Facebook employees have joined forces to celebrate and support pride across the world. The Facebook LGBT employee group took part in pride’s in Seattle, London, Dublin, Chicago, SF, and NYC.

Not only this but Facebook also launched new custom gender optionin the UK, to help users better express thier own identity on Facebook.

When you come to Facebook to connect with the people, causes, and organisations you care about, we want you to feel comfortable being your true self. An important part of this is the expression of gender especially when it extends beyond the definitions of just “male” or “female.”

So today – following a successful launch in the US earlier this year – we’re proud to offer the UK a new custom gender option to help you better express your own identity on Facebook.

Earlier this year we collaborated with our Network of Support – a group of leading LGBT advocacy organisations in the US – to offer an extensive list of gender identities. We’ve now teamed up with UK experts Press For Change and Gendered Intelligence to update the list of ways people can choose to describe themselves so it’s relevant to people in the UK.

Facbook

Photo by Jason Agron

Facebook Gets LGBT-Themed Stickers For June’s Pride Month

Facebook is celebrating Pride month this June, by releasing a new sticker set to the Facebook messenger store.

Over 20 LGBT-themed stickers are included in the free set.

“We’re celebrating Pride by adding these free Facebook Messenger stickers to the Sticker Store. We see this as one more way we can make Facebook a place where people can express their authentic identity. Happy Pride!”

LGBTQ@ Facebook

Here’s what they’ll look like…

Facebook messenger 01 Facebook messenger 02 Facebook messenger 03 Facebook messenger 04

15 Things You Suddenly Start Seeing On Facebook When You Hit Your Late 20s

The Facebook feed of someone in their late-20s can be a bizarre mix. Hard partying, aimless traveling, complaints about office jobs, and baby pictures. Everyone’s either getting married, buying a house, or rejecting adulthood entirely.
  1. Statuses left, right, and center about “getting my dream job!!”
  2. The person who randomly takes up cooking a few years out of college and then posts nothing but pictures of the food they make, and even goes so far as to hashtag them on Facebook, which should be a hanging offense.
  3. That one person who posts so many pictures of their baby that you sort of start to question where the line for personal responsibility is when it comes to giving your infant a social media presence against its will.
  4. University announcements that sort of makes you think “Whoa, that person is still a Student? Aren’t they like, 30?”
  5. Photo albums of a wedding posted so quickly after the actual ceremony that you’re unsure whether or not there was a designated “Facebook wedding live-blogger” set up in the corner with a laptop connected to the camera.
  6. Long, defensive statuses about people “not respecting their life choices,” which nine times out of 10 means that someone made a snarky joke about their decision to get married or have a child.
  7. Photos from music festivals, but the mature, respectable kind that let you know they’re more interested in the music and less interested in buying burritos dosed with acid to do in their tent (an actual thing that they sell at All Good festival).
  8. Pictures of drinking that come with increasingly aggressive justifications in the captions. “I EARNED this pitcher of margaritas. #WorkHardPlayHard”
  9. Pictures of engagement rings, and by this I mean a photo album of 15 different angles of said ring and a few photos of the actual question-asking setup.
  10. Travel pictures that fall into the Eat, Pray, Love category and are heavy on the “discovering myself whilst riding an elephant” shots.
  11. Friend requests from people you went to middle school with over a decade ago, and who post those weird memes from pages like “I F@*king LOVE Science.”
  12. People who post rants about their job four days into working there, largely to remind you that they have a job.
  13. Combative statuses that take an odd amount of pride in the fact that the person is neither married, nor engaged, nor expecting a child, because they are just getting “more awesome.”
  14. Articles that casually let your whole feed know your socioeconomic bracket, such as travel articles about the “essential things to bring to Switzerland” or reviews of a Michelin-starred restaurant that you are “looking forward to trying.”
  15. Inexplicable professional photo as profile picture, which raises the questions “Who is just taking head-shots of you? What are these for? Was this professional, airbrushed picture of you specifically taken and paid for to garner Facebook likes?” (which honestly is a hustle I respect and embrace myself). Long live the pointless professional Facebook picture.