Is FB for the Oldie Goldies?

This incident happened last year, on a train. As I sat on my seat, waiting for the train to leave, two elderly gentlemen came and occupied the berth opposite to me. They were retired friends or relatives.

One said to the other, ‘I went to Hyderabad last week’

The other asked, ‘I don’t know that. Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘Facebook me update kiya naa, didn’t you see?’

The other uncle was silent. He feared that he will be branded as belonging to an older generation of people, who don’t know what Facebook is.

Facebook was cool when it started. Initially, Facebook belonged to late teens, early twenties people. Later, Facebook became so popular that everybody irrespective of their age group started joining it. My 10 year old cousin, who is not even of a legal age to join FB, has an account. My 55 year old aunt who belongs to a completely different generation also has an account. FB has moved from a chic portal where friends shared their opinions and pictures, to a family portal. Now, your posts cannot be radical, lest your aunt or mom might see and raise a hullabaloo over the content.

My patience is tested by FB, when I see posts in a few categories. I give a blind eye to them, to preserve the valuable online friendship.

1. When someone is getting married, their FB page is flooded with engagement pictures and marriage pictures for months. One or two weeks, I can bear it. I am happy for you that you are moving to a new phase. But, if you want to celebrate that phase for 5 or 6 months in a row, don't count me in. The whole world knows that you are married. Do you want even aliens from other planets to know about it?
2. The posts, which talk about how much we love our hubbies' or how much we miss our fiancés. Jeez! I know you miss him or her! Why can’t you keep it private? I love my hubby as much or even more than you do, but I don't go around posting my misery of separation whenever he is not in town. Does this mean you are advertising your misery to God knows whom, who might take it in a completely different way and even come to help you out of it. There are crazy people out there.
3. People, who post religious messages or messages of poverty, hunger in different parts of the world, for example hungry kids in Africa. I know you that are devoted to a cause, whereas your friends are not. Just don’t flood their pages with your cause.

I am liable for committing crimes in categories 1 and 3. I don’t deny it. Sometimes, I wish there was an unlike button in FB. An unlike button will make FB exciting. Even though I am bored with FB, I cannot move away from it. I am addicted to it. Yes, FB will remain a portal for the oldie goldies, people like me and those who are older than me (spoken in teenage language). The budding teens will move to brighter chat pastures, like Snapchat and Pinterest. 

Facebook will die in three years, predict Princeton Researchers. 

Image from http://yourstory.com/2014/01/facebook-will-die/