My Latest Pet Peeve

[loulizlee]

Some people, especially on Facebook, will post, repost, or share anything and everything they see without ever checking to see if it is true.  One of these is missing people, pets, etc.  I think it is great to repost messages about missing children or pets, but some people will repost them without checking to see if they are still missing.  I have found if you click on the picture of the missing, you will usually find updates that will tell you if they are still missing.  Some of the missing have been located months or years before.  Also, there are so many outlandish things that are being reported as true.  I always check Snopes before I repost anything like that.  I think it is ridiculous that these reposts keep going on forever.

[aflyingmonkey]

Lots of those people who share & start those "appeal to pity" pictures are looking to add to their activity count on Facebook, every share, like, etc....   gives them a more popular FB rating - number of people taking about their FB page count.   Always look where the photo/meme originates, most have nothing to do with what they are even sharing & people just continue to pass the photo on like lemmings.    Lots of unscrupulous people around.

[catherinedwhite]

I agree = People don't read anymore.  Just the headlines.

[lvstephanie]

I know what you're saying.... I once saw a post that had generated all sorts of comments, esp. of people that were all up in arms about the article... Only a few of us saw that the article was from The Onion (and thus dismissed it as satire). I also find it amusing (yet very troublesome) when I find something shared on FB that I had originally read many years ago when it was some viral e-mail that had made the rounds before FB even existed. Usually those posts tend to be some form of propaganda that is just looking to get that knee-jerk reaction with no regard to its validity. I've sometimes linked to the Snopes article in a comment to those posts. However as John Oliver shrewdly pointed out on HBO's Last Week Tonight that the internet is like quicksand in that the more you struggle, the deeper embedded you become. Thus by me commenting on the error of the post, I'm only helping that post's ranking, my friends will see that I commented on the post (but not necessarily what I had to say (esp. when there are hundreds of comments), so for all they know, I could be commenting my support of the post), and the post will get spread more because of my input.

[loulizlee]

I never thought of that, lvsstephanie.  I guess I'm naive; I didn't even realize some people are just trying to get likes.  I have a relatively small friends group (about 100), and I don't think they do that.  They are mostly older people.  Maybe they do, though.  I'm also retired, so I have more time to do the research.  Now I question if it really does any good.  However, I have read articles that is one way to help stop the posts.  Probably just ignoring them may be just as effective.   

[donnitab]

I have run across this a lot lately on my feed. It drives me crazy also. I have seen a couple of articles that went I actually went to read it, not only was it not true, it was like 4 years old....Crazy!!

[skrogman]

Be careful.  I have also heard that there are some of those "appeal to sympathy" posts that are bugged.  I usually look at the top of the picture and see if the source is a known, reputable one before I will re-post.  If I don't recognize the source of the post, I will not re-post it, but might make a separate comment of my own with doing it.  I could say something like "Did you all hear of the missing young girl in...last seen in the ... neighborhood?"  In my own comment.

[debidoo]

Yea, I have "issues" with face book because of the fake or out of date posts like you described and other things.  I have people on mine that just do post after post after post about missing pets in areas that I don't even have access to (or them for that matter) and other stuff I could care less about.  I only stay on it to keep in touch with my deceased husband's family.

[loulizlee]

debidoo, I use Facebook just to stay in touch with family and close friends, also. 

[minioncookies]

I don't have alot of friends on my facebook but i do recall seeing some of the things you mentioned. I don't really pay much attention to them because alot of times they have something hidden in the links and somehow get your information to your facebook. Although I don't think it is bad to repost things to get the information out there i too can see how it can be annoying .. On the other hand i don't see many people researching before they post because if they just recieved the information it would be considered new to them.. So they would repost it to get the information out there.. Which is actually a good thing to have so many people posting information out there gettng the word out.. It's beautiful..But like i said i can see the annoying part as well.. I am lucky to not see alot of that on facebook because i hardly use it only to communicate to a handfull of people

[tjshorty]

They do get tiresome.  I don't even bother with looking at them anymore.  Esp, if it concerns some kind of abuse.  Like the ones that say stuff like hit share if you hate child abuse.  I think that's just stupid.  I also find it real hard to comment on photo's.  Thanks for the like button so I don't have to say anything.

[vp44]

Some people, especially on Facebook, will post, repost, or share anything and everything they see without ever checking to see if it is true.  One of these is missing people, pets, etc.  I think it is great to repost messages about missing children or pets, but some people will repost them without checking to see if they are still missing.  I have found if you click on the picture of the missing, you will usually find updates that will tell you if they are still missing.  Some of the missing have been located months or years before.  Also, there are so many outlandish things that are being reported as true.  I always check Snopes before I repost anything like that.  I think it is ridiculous that these reposts keep going on forever.

I do not think most on FB is going to check everything. Maybe they feel they are doing the right thing.

[msmoneybags48]

I go on Facebook to put in some entries, play my games and respond to my friends.  I try to be as discretionary as possible, but not everyone does that.

[bretay]

people do repost a lot of stuff that should be checked...i have also heard of snopes and used it a couple of times..i know there are times i see the same thing being passed around at least every month or so

[djohnson43]

Usually with me if I have a post come over that I think is cute I will usually just hit like and then maybe send it on to my daughter. My friends list is maybe 20 or so but she has half of the senior class from her high school and then the friends she has made over the summer at the various camps she has gone to. (ie. drama over night camp, and her youth group camp made up of kids from the southern states. But after spending four weeks with them and sharing the same values for the most part can form life long friendships.) I do know what she is posting though because I have access to her page. But I also hear it from my Aunt if she puts something inappropriate and my Aunt sees it posted before I do.