Off Facebook

[Dia Minha]

I love Facebook. I love being able to keep in touch with family and friends in such a convinient way. However, last year I had a few family members that decided to make it an unsafe place to be and since then I have slowly been letting it go. I continue to go back to it, because it is so convinient. Recently however, I have been reminded at all the "bad" things that can come from it. To me Facebook as become the perfect example of "opposition in all things", with all the good, comes all the bad. I'm so glad Bodynspirit is still here, for it is the only place right now I feel safe, online . . . well, besides LDS.org and Netflix.

So first of all thanks for keeping it up and running, even as it as kind of died out.

Second of all; does anyone have any suggestions on where or how I can keep in contact with family and friends without all the drama that comes with Facebook? One thing I have thought of is to start a private blog and encourage all those I want to continue to hear about to start one as well. It is not as convinient and would take a little more time and planning, so more difficult to keep up. Any suggestions?

[natickgirl]

I know what you mean about "unsafe" places online. Fortunately, none of my in-laws are on FB! I still have to be careful about what I say, though.

My first thought was to send out e-mails, but they can be forwarded to who knows how many people. A private blog sounds about right. I don't blog, so I don't know how much work that entails.

You are always welcome here! Life is crazy busy, but I know many many people still check-in regularly, even if they don't post comments.

[bookworm]

Dia, depending on what you're looking for, a blog is a great thing, because you can post photos and tell about what's going on in your life and keep it private and just invite those you want to see it. No one else can access it. I have one private blog and two public blogs and I love them!! If you want to check them out, let me know and I'll send you links. Not to be pushy, just an offer.

Also, if you are looking for a family website, we have one we use called [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] . It is fantastic, it's similar to facebook, in that we can post discussion items or photos (or even blogs) for all members to see, it's easy to navigate, and it's not terribly expensive (I can't remember the cost, but I remember thinking it wasn't too bad for a yearly fee). We use it mainly to post photos and files including recipes, music we want to share, videos of the kids' performances, etc. for those who miss out on them, partly because my parents are not Facebookers, but it's private so I post all kinds of things there I don't post on FB.

[Dia Minha]

Thanks for the information Bookworm. I guess for me, it is my family I feel unsafe with. I feel like if I post something on Facebook that is great and exciting, like my children succeeding in school, sports, dance, drama etc., certain memebers of my family "hates" (hate I believe is too strong of a word, but I can't think of what it really is) me, because something good happened to me. If I post something I'm struggling with or having a hard time with, then I'm complaining and whining, but I feel them cheering because I failed. It isn't my whole family, just a few that I feel like are set out to try and make me miserable.

I know there are times I have read something somebody else has posted and it kind of rubs me the wrong way. I have also noticed a tendency for me to rely on how many comments I get on any given status update to tell me how I can feel that day. It has just become a not so good thing to me. Not just because what other people will do and say on there, but simply because of the way I let it affect me. I have been feeling for some time now that I needed to let it go, yet I know in order to do so, I need to find something positive to replace it with.