What is it about tagging photos in Facebook?
Recently, one of my kids made a comment on Facebook suggesting that I learn how to tag my own Facebook photos. Tagging was described as a way to "make connections, build relationships, introduce people to people." Actually, I know how to tag photos in Facebook. I just would rather not spend the effort.
I definitely want to share my photos, and it's not that I don't appreciate other people tagging my photos. I just don't really like making connections with people I'm not already connected with. Other than my extended family, I'd rather no one else in the world knows that I even exist. I understand that you extroverts draw energy from all this "connecting" and "building" and "introducing" stuff. Well, I'll never really understand it - but I recognize that there are people out there who do gather energy from interacting with others.
But for us introverts, "making connections" and "building relationships" takes way too much energy. So, it's about maintaining relationships with the people who are closest to us. And to do that, we have to conserve emotional energy so we can spend it connecting with the people we care about. I know that Facebook could be a great way for me to maintain those relationships without actually having to talk. But for me, Facebook is about listening to what my family is doing, and sharing my pictures with them. Pictures are an efficient way of communicating because they show how much I love the people who are close to me, without having to actually talk about it!
This photo tagging issue comes down to the question of whether it is worth spending all that time tagging the several hundred pictures I posted. For me, it is a lot more efficient to send one Facebook message to all my family to let them know I've posted new pictures. I recognize that, regardless of whether you see yourself as an extrovert, you active Facebookers somehow enjoy creating all the activity that ultimately becomes part of the Facebook buzz. I also recognize that, without you people doing all that connecting and building and introducing, Facebook would be a pretty boring place. But I'd rather not spend my free time tagging photos. My idea of relaxation is spending a couple minutes on Facebook seeing what my kids are doing, then go read a book. I guess I'm a Facebook leech, because I like to read what others are doing but I don't want to spend the energy telling other people what I'm doing all day.
You extroverts will never understand why us introverts would rather go read a book or watch the Food Network. And us introverts will never understand how you extroverts can spend so much time keeping connected with tens or hundreds of people all day and night. As Rudyard Kipling said, "Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." But I'd rather not meet the twain - it'd just take too much energy.
I definitely want to share my photos, and it's not that I don't appreciate other people tagging my photos. I just don't really like making connections with people I'm not already connected with. Other than my extended family, I'd rather no one else in the world knows that I even exist. I understand that you extroverts draw energy from all this "connecting" and "building" and "introducing" stuff. Well, I'll never really understand it - but I recognize that there are people out there who do gather energy from interacting with others.
But for us introverts, "making connections" and "building relationships" takes way too much energy. So, it's about maintaining relationships with the people who are closest to us. And to do that, we have to conserve emotional energy so we can spend it connecting with the people we care about. I know that Facebook could be a great way for me to maintain those relationships without actually having to talk. But for me, Facebook is about listening to what my family is doing, and sharing my pictures with them. Pictures are an efficient way of communicating because they show how much I love the people who are close to me, without having to actually talk about it!
This photo tagging issue comes down to the question of whether it is worth spending all that time tagging the several hundred pictures I posted. For me, it is a lot more efficient to send one Facebook message to all my family to let them know I've posted new pictures. I recognize that, regardless of whether you see yourself as an extrovert, you active Facebookers somehow enjoy creating all the activity that ultimately becomes part of the Facebook buzz. I also recognize that, without you people doing all that connecting and building and introducing, Facebook would be a pretty boring place. But I'd rather not spend my free time tagging photos. My idea of relaxation is spending a couple minutes on Facebook seeing what my kids are doing, then go read a book. I guess I'm a Facebook leech, because I like to read what others are doing but I don't want to spend the energy telling other people what I'm doing all day.
You extroverts will never understand why us introverts would rather go read a book or watch the Food Network. And us introverts will never understand how you extroverts can spend so much time keeping connected with tens or hundreds of people all day and night. As Rudyard Kipling said, "Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet." But I'd rather not meet the twain - it'd just take too much energy.
Comments
for me, the tagging photos thing is to let people know that there is a photo of them out there on Facebook or a photo of their kids, because you get a notice when you've been tagged in a picture or otherwise the person in the picture may never see the photo unless you tell them about it. So that's why I tag...so people know they have another picture...
The one thing I don't like about it is when people tag you in pictures that you look ugly in...I'd rather not let people know there is a bad picture of me :O) hehe
I just read these old blogs because I linked to the latest one from FB and found the ones I haven't read.
I think I could safely categorize myself as an extrovert, but I, too, dislike posting about myself much. Feels like I don't really have anything very clever or earthshaking to report. Not that that keeps a lot of others from posting, but I'm not into sharing all the little details...I even have a hard time posting stuff about Lindsay, of whom I'm embarrassingly proud, but I still can't brag about her to all and sundry.
I don't tag because I don't see the point, but I don't post a lot because I, too, am a Facebook leech. I love that expression! It's perfect. I suck up what your kids and my other extended family posts about their kids, and what my friends say about their kids and themselves.
Occasionally it's fun to post pictures which I've been scanning of us when we were younger. I get some interesting conversations going from that. Posting is only fun when it sparks an interchange. And it's people I know, and care about. But it's still pretty surface. I don't expect anything very significant from these relationships. I get my real support, challenges, caring and love from people I talk to face to face. Even if I only do that once or twice a year. Or decade...