Facebook Hostage

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Pic taken before Covid-19.

Mad at me?  Don’t pass the buck.  You said I should try Facebook.

I did.  That is why I have not done a commentary in months.  You see, I’m a Facebook hostage.  I cannot keep my eyes off the ball because I’ll end up with a profile I cannot recognize myself.  Who are all these people?  What are they doing in Nonqaba’s room?  Does she really live here?

That’s Facebook for you.  I think it should be re-named Friend of a Friend (FOF).  Just imagine if I am one of your 1,000 friends?  That’s a lot of sharing of video, family photographs, music clips, New Year’s Eve invitations and what not. 

I’m not complaining.  FOF has its advantages.  I found long-lost friends and inherited wonderful new ones.  It has also pushed traffic to this website.  What is disappointing though is that there is no original content.  Nobody seems to use the ‘what’s on your mind’ box. 
Maybe it should go.  It seems to me that Facebook is one big relay race of second hand information I can get on the web.  That is what makes me a hostage.  I must constantly think of my needs, my thoughts and of course Sweetness.  I want you to think about the book. Is it good, bad or none of the above?

Correct me if I’m wrong, I also come to your house with the hope of seeing you.  It is like your phone at home.  I hesitate when your cousin from out of town picks it up.  “I’m sorry.  I think I have the wrong number.  I was hoping to speak to Phindi.”  Your cousin laughs and says it is the right number.
I’m a Facebook hostage because I don’t want visitors to turn back because they think they are lost.  They can scroll down the page trying to find out what I said and when but who has the time?  They click me away and go somewhere else.

I also get the impression that Facebook visitors are real dot.comers.  They come, put a dot, stay a dot of a minute and they are gone.  They won’t get as far as this paragraph.  They are in a hurry to put their dot somewhere else.  They’ll visit this website if they want some content (my ramblings).
Well and good!  That’s cyber!  Freedom of association!  Now you have the reason for my disappearance.  I’m a Facebook hostage.  I’m always there to make sure that when you drop by, you find me, and not turn back because you think you’ve come to the wrong house. 

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang.
 

 

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