A number of years ago I permanently deleted my Facebook account and later started a new Facebook account where I only added close friends. I only added people who were Christians to my friends list. Later I added my relatives. The account that I deleted had about 250 friends. Now my current account has only about 55 friends. I am thinking I want to go back to being more open with who I add as friends and no longer limit my friends list to only people who are Christians.
The reason I deleted my original Facebook account and created a new one, adding only close friends, is because I read critical information about Facebook being a place where people share really personal information with "long lost friends", or in other words, friends that they don't have any practical real life connection to. This would include friends from way in the past that years ago you had a much closer relationship with.
However, I am re-evaluating my decision and am thinking of adding back the people I used to have as friends, or people that I am not very close to now, but that I knew closely enough in the past that I would still consider chatting with them in Facebook Messenger to catch up. One of the reasons I am thinking of going back to being more open is because of the very few responses I get to my current posts
Also, another reason I am thinking of going back is because of the desire to share faith based content with a number of people. I used to like to post Christian music videos, Bible verses, and other spiritual content. Some of my friends in the past more open Facebook account were not necessarily Christians, including co-workers I added as friends. It is possible that a non-Christian if he accidentally tuned into a Christian radio station, would turn it off, not wanting to listen to religious content. However maybe a non-Christian would watch a Christian music video if one of their Facebook friends posted it.
There are some potential weaknesses with going back to being more open. One is that sometimes I have the tendency to share information that is too personal on Facebook, including issues that I struggle with that I wouldn't want just anyone to read about. I could address this by trying to have more discernment in what I share. I could also create a smaller list of friends I can share more personal information with, within my larger, more open list of friends.
Another potential weakness with switching back to a more open friends list, is that years ago, I had mental health issues including going to the psych ward, thinking that people were plotting against me. Some of these experiences were connected to Facebook. There was one time where I incorrectly thought that someone may have hacked my Facebook account. If I have a larger friends list, including more people who are not Christians, and more people who I do not necessarily trust, I wonder if I could create more risk that I could incorrectly think people were planning something against me.
I am evaluating this now, and leaning towards the idea of being more open with who I add as friends on Facebook, and having a larger friends list. I might get back to having over 200 people as friends. One of my Christian Facebook friends, however, has over 1,200 people on their friends list. I like the idea of being open and getting more comments on posts that I make. If I add friends from way in the past, though, and I don't feel strongly connected to them, I may unfollow them but stay friends on Facebook, so I don't have to see their posts.
The reason I deleted my original Facebook account and created a new one, adding only close friends, is because I read critical information about Facebook being a place where people share really personal information with "long lost friends", or in other words, friends that they don't have any practical real life connection to. This would include friends from way in the past that years ago you had a much closer relationship with.
However, I am re-evaluating my decision and am thinking of adding back the people I used to have as friends, or people that I am not very close to now, but that I knew closely enough in the past that I would still consider chatting with them in Facebook Messenger to catch up. One of the reasons I am thinking of going back to being more open is because of the very few responses I get to my current posts
Also, another reason I am thinking of going back is because of the desire to share faith based content with a number of people. I used to like to post Christian music videos, Bible verses, and other spiritual content. Some of my friends in the past more open Facebook account were not necessarily Christians, including co-workers I added as friends. It is possible that a non-Christian if he accidentally tuned into a Christian radio station, would turn it off, not wanting to listen to religious content. However maybe a non-Christian would watch a Christian music video if one of their Facebook friends posted it.
There are some potential weaknesses with going back to being more open. One is that sometimes I have the tendency to share information that is too personal on Facebook, including issues that I struggle with that I wouldn't want just anyone to read about. I could address this by trying to have more discernment in what I share. I could also create a smaller list of friends I can share more personal information with, within my larger, more open list of friends.
Another potential weakness with switching back to a more open friends list, is that years ago, I had mental health issues including going to the psych ward, thinking that people were plotting against me. Some of these experiences were connected to Facebook. There was one time where I incorrectly thought that someone may have hacked my Facebook account. If I have a larger friends list, including more people who are not Christians, and more people who I do not necessarily trust, I wonder if I could create more risk that I could incorrectly think people were planning something against me.
I am evaluating this now, and leaning towards the idea of being more open with who I add as friends on Facebook, and having a larger friends list. I might get back to having over 200 people as friends. One of my Christian Facebook friends, however, has over 1,200 people on their friends list. I like the idea of being open and getting more comments on posts that I make. If I add friends from way in the past, though, and I don't feel strongly connected to them, I may unfollow them but stay friends on Facebook, so I don't have to see their posts.
