I have rediscovered Twitter (@MartineRolls and @Bay_Times) recently, and I still like Pinterest, too, but I find each of those more limited than Facebook.
Besides, not many of my friends tweet or pin.
Instagram is just for sharing pretty pictures. Linkedin is all business, and Google+ has been explored but is not really what I am looking for.
The only reason I still use Facebook every day is because I need it for work, and I want to stay in touch with friends that don't live locally.
Okay, okay, I admit it. I also still use it because I'm hopelessly curious.
Of my 431 Facebook friends, there are still enough people who post genuinely good stuff. I wouldn't want to miss out on that.
So I'm not quite ready to say goodbye to Facebook just yet. But fact is, and those of you who interact with me on social media have probably noticed, I am not online as often as before.
I like less, share less, and post less and those are the unmistakable first signs of my Facebook fatigue.
Have you also noticed all that dirty laundry on Facebook lately?
People seem to happily use it as a tool to rubbish each other. They usually do this without naming the person they target but it's painfully clear to those involved.
Confession pages, that name people as drug abusers, thieves and cheats, and pages like Tauranga Sluts, a Facebook page asking people to send in pictures and stories about ex-girlfriends and other women, are simply disgusting.
Pages like this started with fairly harmless gossip but they have become more offensive.
Facebook has taken most of these confession pages down, and people can report pages they have concerns about, but everything on the net moves so fast. The damage is usually already done.
I'm really not surprised that there are so many people that suffer from depression, or worse, because of cyber bullying.
If you are new to Facebook, or if you're not sure if you are on the right track, do yourself a favour and Google the words Facebook Etiquette.
Here are a quick few Facebook do's and don'ts that most users know about, but not everyone applies.
1. Use privacy settings to control people's level of access to your profile
2. Do not say anything disrespectful about anyone on Facebook.
3. Respect your friends' time by not posting anything and everything.
4. Don't comment on every post - it's called Facebook stalking and it's creepy.
5. Don't tag your friends in unflattering photos. Think before you tag!
6. If a friend deletes a post, photo or tag then they'll have a valid reason.
7. Don't send game or app request to everyone in your friends list.
8. If someone asks you a question, be so kind to answer it.
9. Don't accept friend requests from people you don't know.
10. If a post is private, message it and don't post it on someone's wall.
If everyone would stick to the above, it will at least be bearable for me to hang on until the next big social media craze hits New Zealand.
At this stage, I am getting back to my old ways and spend my rare free evenings reading books, studying, or watching movies.
Those long nights behind the computer screen, forgetting time while checking up and commenting on things, are gone for now.
Fact is though, that I am a social media junkie. I'm just really craving something more interesting, and more positive.
Developers, could you please hurry up?
