Still Cranky

Warning:  The following post is likely to make a lot of people very angry – including a lot of friends of mine.  But I'll take that risk…because  I can no longer remain silent on this issue.

Ok, what is it with all those people who post pictures of their pets – instead of themselves – on their Facebook profiles?  Am I the only one who has had it up to here with this practice?

The first time I saw a photo of so-and-so's dog or cat on their profile page,             
I thought it was cute and charmingly original.  But now that almost every other Facebook profile picture is a portrait of a dog, cat  or pot bellied pig, it's completely lost its cute factor.  In fact, it's just downright annoying.  I'm so over it.

Like a lot of people, I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook.  Actually, it's more like a mildly interested-couldn't care less relationship.  At times, I admit I can get caught up in the intersecting orbits of friends, acquaintances and total strangers.  At other times, I'm so bored by the whole endeavor, I rarely even visit the site.  Frankly, I wonder if the fascination of Facebook has run its course and question if it will even be around in a few years. 

But that's a topic for another day…back to those annoying pet pictures.  I think I finally figured out why they bug me so much.  It's not because I don't like animals.  And I certainly don't mind when people post photos of themselves with their animals. 

No, the reason I find the furry profile photos so disconcerting is because they contradict the whole point of Facebook.

Ostensibly, Facebook is about connecting.  But for many of us, it can have just the opposite effect.  A few minutes on the site can make me feel even more disconnected and alienated than ever.  There's the wierdness of "friending" people you don't even know (and would probably never spend any time with even if you did know them).  There's the false intimacy (and intense boredom) of reading  those endless, narcissistic "Dear Diary" entries ("Today, I decided to try herbal tea!").  Plus, the unspoken pressure to constantly write something oh-so-clever or cryptic on your "Wall" only adds to the superficial, distancing effect of it all.  It's a game – fun at times – but it bears very little resemblance to interacting with actual, non-virtual friends.

So when you choose to not even share a picture of yourself – and decide to hide behind a photo of your adorable Golden Lab (or cartoon character clip art, or a stock photo of Clark Gable, or whatever), it  adds yet another layer, feels even more impersonal and just compounds the whole unsettling effect.  It's especially frustrating to finally track down a long-lost  schoolmate or childhood buddy only to find a blurry photo of a Miniature Poodle with Red Eye.

Look, nobody is forcing you to be on Facebook.  But if you're going to be on it, the very least you can do is show your face.

Too self-conscious about sharing your photo?  Fine, then don't go on Facebook.  Feeling ambivalent about Facebook and not sure you really want to participate?  Great – then don't.  Want to show off your adorable kitty?  Then pose with him – or just post Mr. Whisker's photo on one of those Facebook-type sites just for pets (yes, they really exist…how could they not?).

Mr. Whiskers may be darned cute.  But if you're going to bother to be on Facebook, I want to see your face…not your feline's.

There, I've  said it.  Now I'll sit back and watch the fur fly.