Facebook! As a friend said, “Xanga is yesterday.” Now it’s Facebook. 😀
As we have become more aware of Facebook, I’ve been able to see some friends pages, etc. Being the social person I am, I think it would be a LOT of fun to have one! However………
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, Facebook puts some interesting ads on people’s pages. These ads, namely dieting ads, openly show pictures of partially bare bodies. Because of these ads, I will not be getting a Facebook account. I believe, however, that it’s not enough to be merely discontent with things of the world, but to take action against it. Therefore, I sent the following email to Facebook…
Hi, there,
I just wanted to send you an email and let you know why I will not be getting a Facebook account. While I think the idea is very neat and I love the way to keep in touch with friends, there is one major thing holding me back.
On the pages of friends, I have seen some ads that have bothered me. I believe most of them (if not all of them) are dieting ads. They blatantly show the bodies of other people, whether it’s a woman’s midriff or a bare-chested man. While this may not seem like a very big deal to some people, I know that there are many others who do not want to see the bare bodies of other people, much less have them advertised on their personal Facebook. There are still people who believe that a person’s body is private and a special thing not to be on display for hundreds of other people. I have seen a Facebook group that actually is a group of people against these dieting ads.
I do not want to have such pictures on a site I have. For this reason, I will not be getting a Facebook. I ask you to please reconsider your policy and give this issue thought. If you ever change your policy, I will be very glad to get an account with you!
Thank you so much for considering this.
God bless.
-Bonnie
So….why am I posting about this on our wordpress?
I am asking each of you to write to Facebook as well. I’m not asking you to shut down your account if you have one or to commit to never ever getting one. I simply ask that you write to Facebook and express your concern.
As Christians, we must take a stand against immodesty….even in seemingly “small” things like these dieting ads. If we’re going to stand up against the bigger issues in today’s world, we should not merely look the other way on the small issues. Facebook might read my email….but they’ll be more likely to heed an army of emails.
Some of you may remember a similar post when I shut down my xanga. For more information as to why this whole Facebook thing is such a big deal, feel free to read my Xanga post.
Thank you so much. If you do decide to email Facebook, I would love to hear about it. Email me at DailyWalkwithHim(at)gmail(dot)com. Prayers are also appreciated…you can email me there to let me know you’re praying. You don’t have to commit to pray every day at noon or anything (although if you do, that would be great!); even one prayer would be amazing.
God bless.
-Bonnie
9 comments
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July 27, 2008 at 7:29 am
Chelsea
Good for you Bonnie!! I know they will sit up and take notice and when they read your letter. I will try and also send one their way.
July 27, 2008 at 9:30 am
Nathan
Thanks Bonnie!
Also, there is a group on facebook against those ads, and you can use a adblocker on your browser to keep those ads from showing… I never see them any more…
August 9, 2008 at 10:08 pm
Jeremy
IN YOUR FACE FACEBOOK!
I’ll do my part
Jeremy
August 12, 2008 at 9:10 am
Cherilyn
I just read your letter yesterday and today signed on to facebook and they have changed things! I don’t know the extent of it, but for one, they say
“Second, we wanted to give you more control over your profile. Everyone should be able to express themselves how they want, which means privacy controls and control over how content appears on your profile”
Maybe you made a difference!
August 13, 2008 at 1:49 pm
dailywalkwithhim
Many, many thanks to those of you who have contacted Facebook and/or written me with a note of encouragement!
^Thanks so much for letting me know about that! I got on my Mom’s Facebook for a little while last night to see what kind of changes were made. We discovered something nice, although I’m not sure if it’s a change or if it’s always been there. Apparently, on the majority of the ads, there’s a little thumbs up and thumbs down. If you click the thumbs down, it will ask you why you don’t like the ad. Once you give a reason, it will remove the ad from your Facebook. So you can customize which ads you see while you surf Facebook. It does not mean, however, that someone else visiting your page can’t see those ads. Each person has to customize the ads they see on their own computer.
I strongly encourage all of you with Facebooks to take the time to customize your ads. There are some pretty awful ones up there.
Again, thank you all for your comments and encouragement!
-Bonnie
August 13, 2008 at 6:51 pm
kimiona
Hi Bonnie,
Michael gave me your journal address. 🙂 How are things going? (and how are all the other cdf members that maybe trolls your journal ;))
This is kimiona from cdf.
Sharon
August 15, 2008 at 1:01 am
kimiona
Yeah! I know Hannah Gramm and her family. Met the Medina family a few times. I also met Nicole Hearn once. That’s pretty much all of who I know in real life from the ATI program.
Just so you know, and I’m pretty sure you know, I’m less “conservative” than many of you, so proceed to my journal at your own discretion. Just wanted to warn you guys. =D heehee. But I would love for you to read it. 🙂
August 21, 2008 at 10:29 am
kimiona
nah. i’m not ati. i just know ati people. i was part of the School of Tomorrow ACE program for 2-3 years tho.
perhaps. where do you live?
September 11, 2008 at 11:13 am
Update « Daily Walk with Him
[…] never heard back from them regarding the original email I sent. However, thanks to commenter Cherilyn on my last post, I was alerted to potential changes on Facebook. To make a somewhat long story […]