The Silent Majority of Facebook

I am back and well rested from a great vacation and I appreciate my blog readers hanging in there during my hiatus. (I will be posting a blog soon on my vacation in case anyone is wondering. )

I have received complaints that I wasn’t blogging often enough – and I told some of these people – who I am delighted to count as my readers – to check out the archives. One even got back to me and enjoyed reading older ones – so anyone out there who doesn’t like the gaps between my posts, feel free to look at the archives. There’s some good stuff, I promise.

Today’s topic is a brief post, but a thought provoking one.

I was away on the East Coast for a bit. I saw old friends (don’t you hate that term? No, they aren’t OLD, just long ago ones and for lack of a better word….) and met friends and lots of friends of friends. There’s lots of time for schmoozing in Margate NJ and it is nice to have that face to face conversation with people that I often only communicate on Facebook with during the year. (In fact in this digital age, it is good to have face to face conversation going on at all!)

I found out something that has struck me several times previously, but obviously I don’t really believe it because I am surprised every time I learn of it.

What I am repeatedly learning is that MOST people on Facebook follow other’s lives silently. They don’t “like” photos, comment to posts, or comment to blogs. But they read, they follow, and they appreciate all the same. I call them the silent majority of Facebook.

I must have heard from a half a dozen people while away, if not more, what my kids were doing, about past blogs I have written, or about photos posted. These are people that have never, ever commented or given me any indication that they even look at my Facebook page or blog. One quoted at least four events from the past year.

Yes, people are watching.  I’ve heard this before and I always bump into acquaintances and friends of friends in Houston where I live, where people comment on a blog or something going on in my life yet I never knew they read or followed because there was never an acknowledgement before. Each time, I am surprised because I am the opposite.

If I am going to invest the time on Facebook, I am going to let people know I saw their photos, their statuses, and I comment on many things. I am also a serial “Liker” – hitting that “like” button way too much.

I am not, and have never been the silent type in any forum in life, in person, or on a social media site. That’s just the way I am built.

Yet it is slowly dawning on me that MOST people are not like me. They enjoy seeing other’s good news, photos, read blogs, etc, and never, ever let on that they had viewed any of it.

I would call these people Silent Stalkers, but really, they are no more stalkers than I am. Just because I am vocal about my Facebook presence, doesn’t mean I am not checking things out, just like all the silent types.

Their silence doesn’t bother me. I don’t demand to be “liked” for my blogs or my photos. I am more than happy to share with them even if they don’t make their presence known. And then again, I may find out about their presence if I happen to run into them.

So if you are a Silent Majority member of Facebook, raise your hand. It is safe to do so, because I won’t know you saw this, nor will anyone else. It will just be our little secret.

3 comments

  • I totally agree! I spend a lot if time finding entertaining & amusing pictures and posts, and I have seen many people repost (or share) my pictures on their own wall WITHOUT even clicking a “like”. That is a no-no for me, and people risk being defriended for such an action. How rude!!

  • I’ve found the same to be true, when I return to the East Coast! You’re far too kind though, in giving the silent stalkers a pass. Is it really that hard/time-consuming, to say congrats on a major milestone, or express sympathy on the loss of a loved one?

    I look forward to hearing about your time in Margate!

    • I agree with your sentiments too Liz but every person is different and some will not or cannot comment in a public way. Thanks for reading Liz!

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