Exploring Facebook's Unexpected Entertainment

Although I have plenty of things that need my attention around the house, I’m embarrassed to admit I spend way too much of my time surfing Facebook on my cellphone. I am quick to announce I don’t “do” Facebook. I don’t have an account. I don’t know how to post anything. I may comment once in a blue moon, but other than that, I tend to just lurk.

I’m looking to be entertained, not riled up, and have found videos of babies and toddlers fill that need. But along the way, I have discovered some pretty funny comedians, both men and women. The ones I am watching are storytellers, many of whom honed their technique on cruise ships and in small nightclubs, and now we’re seeing the likes of Leanne Morgan, Nate Bargatze and Sebastian Maniscalco making the big time. I like to think I found them early on Facebook.

More recently, I stumbled upon a woman wearing three pairs of glasses – on her forehead, her nose and around her neck – telling us she is the leader of the “We Just Don’t Care That Much Anymore Club.” As she called the meeting to order, she flipped open her notebook, bit the cap off her yellow marker and spit the cap off to the side. She had me. All of a sudden, she’s got fans around the globe sharing things they don’t care about. She says the club is for women in menopause, perimenopause and postmenopause. The club is growing.

I also found an older couple being followed by a granddaughter with a camera during their daily activities. This couple is not for everyone, as they snipe at each other using language you don’t expect from that generation. He fancies himself something of an inventor, which usually leads to some oddball solutions to everyday situations. Bad language and hilarity ensue – to me, at least. She has passed, but the videos go on. Jock and Belle, I believe.

Then there are the cooks and wannabe cooks working from their home kitchens, usually trying new recipes on camera, with their best friend doing the filming and taste-testing. I find myself jotting down their lists of ingredients with the intention of giving some of them a try. I now have a good pile of scrap paper with recipes taking up space and adding to my clutter.

Videos of people slipping on ice, although sometimes pretty funny, cause me to cringe. You just don’t bounce down a flight of steps without hurting your back. You never see the rescue squad, do you? A friend, 20 years younger, thinks these videos are hilarious. And she’s not alone. There is big money to be made. Just watch America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Obviously, I’m in it for the entertainment, but lately some nefarious videos are creeping into my space and trying to suck me in. U.S. fighter jets coming out of nowhere doing incredible maneuvers; rioting in American streets; talking heads trying their best to scare us all to death; incredible weather events; the catastrophe of the day. Is the world, and life as we know it, all coming to an end tomorrow? April 1?

Enter artificial intelligence. Now we really don’t know what to believe. I’m crawling back under my rock. Me and my Oreos.

The late, great Robin Williams once called it “methods of mass distraction.” I miss him. And George Carlin.