The anti-Facebook depressed crackhead.

Alright, so here is the video....

And this is the blog page...

You need to get off Facebook.

Now that you have watched it, let's break it down shall we?

First thing to note is that there are hundreds of thousands of people that "LOVE" this video. It "speaks to them" or "hits home" or whatever. There are people left and right saying "Oh Ross you are so gorgeous!" and "This guy is so hot with his quirky smile." and so much other drivel.

The only explanation I can come up with is put a "sappy" song to some cue cards and you instantly get an emotional response from people. Even if it's complete rubbish, or made just to get some sort of attention, as I feel this is both.

My first issue is this "Ross" kid in general. I don't know. Maybe it is his real name, but it doesn't matter. He looks like he has been on meth far too long and can't seem to break the habit. I mean COME ON.

Look at this kid...

Now look at these people...

Do you see what I'm saying? Droopy look, sunken cheeks, dark bags, scrapes and cuts. Does he not resemble a homeless kid on crack? When did this become "hot" or "sexy" or "charming"? I need to start smoking the rock.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's move on to his cause. Let's start with his little film subtitle thing "I want to inspire the f--- out of you."

Really? So you were basically sitting around thinking "how can I inspire the f--- out of people?" and thought making a video that I have to read that is about Facebook would be the way to go? Well, that's fine. It seems to have worked on some people. I'm sure if it was set to music that wouldn't fit so well in a strip club it probably wouldn't have been as inspiring, but it's all about the mood.  But hey, good for you thinking you want to do something inspiring. Or whatever.

So then we have his overall message. That everyone is a Facebook addict and it's bad for you and you are wasting your life.

So there are some people that probably abuse Facebook. I have no doubt. And there are those that would even say I do, but that's your opinion. I feel differently, but we will get to that.

I think people assume that people that spend any more time on Facebook than they feel is "normal" are addicts and wasting their life and/or time. But for some, like myself, we have no problem with the amount of time we spend on Facebook. I sit at a computer all day and I have access to Facebook all day. I don't sit and stare at nothing but Facebook. I do a great many things at the same time. That's why I run 4 monitors on one machine. And one of those 4 monitors has a web browser on it, and that web browser will always have a Facebook tab open. That's just one of the things I have open and access to all the time, along with Photoshop, Illustrator, usually Maya (3D animation software), some form of media player (tv or movie or music), and who knows that else. But the point is, Facebook is always there and easy to reach. and I'm OK with that.

There are people on my friends list (a meager 438 compared to many) who are on more than others. I think it's great. I am one of those people that loves to see what people are up to. I love people posting random thoughts, awesome quotes, funny youtube videos, and I can even put up with people posting virus warnings that they obviously haven't checked the legitimacy of (snopes.com is your friend people).

You know how I see Facebook? As a tool for communication. For caring. As a unique and super simple way to keep in touch with people I give a damn about. I have old friends I lost contact with years and years ago, and to me the emotional connection of getting back and keeping in touch with these people is fantastic. I have friends on their that I hated in high school, but it turns out they have matured or I have just given them a chance now and they have turned out to be really cool and fun to chat with and keep up to date on how things are going for them. I even have new friends I have gained through other acquaintances that have turned out to be a good time every time they post, and responding and communication is an all around good time that isn't doing any harm to anyone.

Now I write my fair amount of status updates. Many are useless, many of them people seem to find amusing, and sometimes they are even serious. But the thing is, if people don't care for my particular brand of humor, or they just get sick of seeing my profile pic, it is so incredibly simple to block me or unfriend me. And no hard feelings from me. I love to post links to funny websites and things I find amusing. And I love when others post the same type of things. Some people don't like their pages being "flooded" by one person. Well, that's their prerogative to go ahead and x me. I have no qualms. And I have people that post a lot more frequent than others. Those people I tend to really enjoy reading what they have to say or what they are thinking. I actually learn a lot from them, either because they are truly intellectual people that have interesting lives, or from fantastic links and information they share that I might never have seen otherwise. It is like people watching, only your read their public thoughts instead of watch them flirt with the Hot Dog on a Stick girl at the mall. It's interesting, often funny, and a lot of times I learn something about someone or something that I didn't know previously. I call that a win.

So sure, there are those people who accepts every single friend request from every spam bot and total stranger that finds their name through some random means. If they are into that, that's up to them. If people are posting things like "My farts tickle." or whatever and you are constantly thinking to yourself "do I really give 2 tickle farts about this persons tickle farts?" then maybe you should just either unfriend, block, or not accept random friend requests. Doesn't mean you have to delete your Facebook account and cut off all contact with the hundreds of great people you are able to keep up with otherwise.

I rant about this little film, but sure, maybe it has gotten some people away from something they might spend too much time at instead of doing more productive things. That's fine. But in the right hands, with the right attitude, and the maturity to handle it, Facebook is an amazing piece of work that keeps families in touch, people up to date, entertainment flowing, and so much more. It can be a force of so much good, just as much, as it can be bad. If you take the time to evaluate yourself and if you have the capabilities to use Facebook in a mature, disciplined manor, then there is no reason you need to get off Facebook. There is no reason for you to think of yourself as a horrible person for using it. As a matter of fact, you might be helping others out. I know my mom worries about me a lot, but she reads all my weird random posts on Facebook and she knows I'm doing OK. She appreciates it and it even sets her at ease. Another example of the power of Facebook is when a good friend of mine whom I haven't seen in 10 or so years was in a horrible ski accident. I would probably have not known for months, if at all. But thanks to Facebook, I was able to find out the day after it happened and was able to stay posted and up to date on her and her families progress, and to me it was a great comfort having the information I wanted to know right there at the ready.

So don't delete your Facebook account. Control yourself. Learn how to use it. Don't look down on those that might have more access to it than you happen to, and THINK before you post. It's not hard. I might recommend laying off the Facebook games (yes there are a lot of horrible people out there making apps and many of the games and apps are invading that privacy you are worrying so much about), but for the most part, use Facebook responsibly and you can use it to enrich your life. Keep in touch with amazing people, and even enjoy the world as a whole more through your little colorful box than you might ever get to without it.

But thanks for trying to inspire the f--- out of everyone anyway Ross!