Facebook Friends

I guess if we're all completely honest, we do not actually know all that well many - possibly, most - of the people we are "friends" with on Facebook. I certainly have "friends" who I've never met. Some are friends-of-friends; some are even people who asked to be my friend and I thought "why the hell not" and accepted their friend request. I presume I'm not unusual in this.

Perhaps, therefore, I should have predicted that it would happen, but I saw a post today from a "friend" openly supporting the atrocities being committed in Palestine by the Israeli army. I was shocked to discover that someone with whom I had occasionally exchanged greetings could hold views so completely opposed to mine, and so abhorrent to me.

[For the record, I do not support Hamas, or approve of its use of violence against anybody.]

So when people tell you that Facebook is self-supporting because you only see opinions that you already agree with, it isn't true.

And, incidentally, did you know that you can't block a Group on Facebook? So if one of your "friends" shares posts from the Group with which you disagree, you can't block the Group to avoid being annoyed by the posts - all you can do is block the friend.

What a strange thing Social Media is (surely an oxymoron).