Question about Facebook Messenger permissions

*raises hand*

Everyone is really upset about the permissions required for the Facebook Messenger app. All the articles I've read tell what those permissions are, and why I should be offended and opposed. But I haven't found one that talks about how (or if) they're any different from the permissions I already gave Facebook.

Example - I synched my Facebook contacts with my phone contacts. That means if my Facebook friend shares his/her phone number or email address, Facebook added it to my contact list. I can now use my SMS app, phone app, email apps tp contact my friend, all thanks to Facebook.

But, presumably the Facebook app needed permission to read my contacts and personal profile information to make that happen. It would also need to be able to find the various email and SMS apps, to help me make the contact.

The same is true if I want to use Facebook to take or share a photo or video. It has to be able to identify and interact with those apps in order to read and share the file.

As for changing "the state of network connectivity" - if I've told Facebook to keep me available, or to refresh every 30 minutes, doesn't it need to be able to connect?

I'm not suggesting that the permissions aren't excessive, or that people should use the app. I'm just saying that I think Facebook's reasons are more about making its app function properly, and less about using my phone to randomly call my contacts. I also wonder how different the permissions are from those I've given previously.

To be fair, I installed the app - and I hate it. It uses chat heads, and I find it creepy to have little thumbnail photos following me no matter where I go. But - I have friends who prefer it over texting... and sometimes, a person has to compromise.

Disconnected

I've heard people say that taking a break from social media is a good thing. That's it's nice to disconnect, not feel so obligated to so many sites, and people. To be able to just concentrate on the people and places right in front of you.

It sounds so...zen. Which, apparently, I am not.

RIP, Rosie.

My phone died. I love her. I got her last year, and named her Rosie, after the robot-housekeeper on the Jetsons. She's an HTC EVO Shift - and she's amazing. (Oddly enough, several months after getting - and naming - the phone, I found a factory-installed app called "Rosie Utility." Weird, right?)

After coming back from vacation, I started to notice Rosie wasn't holding a charge. I thought it was my charger. Then I thought it might be the battery. I replaced the battery - and promptly learned that wasn't the problem.

It took five trips to four different Sprint stores to figure out that the problem really was the charger port, that the phone needed to be replaced, and that I had purchased full protection, so that replacement would be at no cost to me.

But it also turns out that this particular phone is on back-order, so there's no guarantee the phone will be shipped right away. I have no way to charge my phone, and I was not successful in locating a standalone charger compatible with my battery. That left me two options - go without, or activate an old phone.

She's no Rosie - but she'll do.

I happened to be digging through a nightstand drawer that day, so I knew I had an old phone. When I say old - I mean old. It's a relic, from a simpler time. (OK - it's four years old; but in technology years, that's practically ancient.)

One more trip back to Sprint, and it was activated (SN: I attempted to do that myself online, but going back to a non-smart phone required a plan change, and I didn't want to nuts myself up for when Rosie II arrives.). I'm back up and running.

Sorta.

No apps. I can barely view a photo (the camera on this phone is 1.3MP). There's no browser to speak of, and if there was, the screen is too small anyway. This phone was built for text messaging - and nothing else, outside of actually making a phone call. I can't check facebook; I can't check in on foursquare. I can't record my calories on My Fitness Pal (though I suppose I could use the site; I'm just so used to the phone app). Twitter is near impossible, at least at work.

I'm in a forced social media cleanse - and not at all happy about it.

See, I don't really find social media to be taxing. I like feeling connected. I like being able to check my email, tweet a picture of my yummy dinner, comment on my friend's status, find a movie and buy a ticket, and get directions to a theater all from the palm of my hand. I don't consider that an intrusion.

But I also don't let it rule my life. If I'm having fun with a group of people (or just one special person) - I have no problem putting the phone down and ignoring the notification light. If I need some time to myself, I can totally focus on a movie, or a project, or a baseball game - and not think about my email or facebook, at all.

I don't mind being disconnected. I just don't like when it's not my decision.

Randoms

Randoms: A variety of unrelated ideas that are too short for separate posts, pulled together to get it all out in the open. Like throwing something at the wall, to see what sticks. Amanda does this sometimes and so does Cute~Ella. So, this isn't my idea, but I am stealing borrowing from awfully good places. Why reinvent the wheel?

- I've been avoiding the gym. Not on purpose; I was legitimately sick for most of October. I could barely breathe, let alone work out. Last week I was finally better - and legitimately busy, to the point I was unable to even get to the gym. Now, I'm feeling better - and I need to get it into gear.

- While I love Rosie (my phone) it's very frustrating that she uses so much battery, and that I'm having trouble with storage capacity. I think the problem with technology is that once we get a little taste, we keep wanting more and more. It's like crack - or chocolate.

- Speaking of chocolate, and reasons I need to go to the gym - Chrissy recently brought Freihofer's Chocolate Chip Cookies into the house. I try never to do that, because I truly can't resist the little treats. One bite and suddenly I'm 8 years old, hanging out with my dad on a Saturday afternoon. 

- I've recently discovered some new-to-me TV shows. My latest obsessions are Castle and Big Bang Theory. Something about a chronically quotable comedy just makes me smile.

- Ever have really high hopes for your plans - and everything exceeded your expectations? I rarely do - which makes me appreciate it even more when it happens. I'm truly a lucky, lucky woman. 

Do you yahoo or google?

For years after we (we being X and I) got our first computer (thanks, Dad), we shared an email. It was an nycap.rr.com address, through our ISP. X did the whole outlook thing, and for years - and years - that was how we got our email.

When that wasn't going to work anymore (re: divorce), I had to come up with my own email solution. For a while, that email was mine alone, since it was still being delivered to the account at the house, and the computer set up hadn't change.

I knew it would though, and in anticipation of that, I set up a gmail account.

The thing was - and I'm just being honest - I didn't like gmail at that time. It's set up was...confusing to me, probably because, for better or worse, I was accustomed to outlook.

Then another problem disaster challenge presented itself: online dating. I'd meet guys through a site, and want to move communication off that site to somewhere more convenient - but I learned pretty fast I didn't want random men cluttering up my gmail.

Enter yahoo - which, it turned out, was much more appealing to me. It's interface was more like outlook, I could chat right from the inbox, and everyone did the same thing I did (used yahoo as their "I'm not really sure I want to 'know' you" account). So, yahoo stuck.

Recently, yahoo released a beta version of it's new email format, and I switched over. I do love it - it will keep tabs on my friends who are online in facebook and yahoo, and I can chat right from my inbox. I can view facebook and twitter updates, and I can update my yahoo status - and send it right to those other social networking sites at the same time.

One problem....because this is an update, and I work in a technological vacuum, I can't use yahoo at work anymore. Well, I can - from my phone. Not especially convenient.

So, I turned to old, reliable gmail to save the day.

Yahoo is soooo last century.

I started emailing friends from that account during the day, instead of yahoo. I've started using gchat more often - and it turns out, it works really, really well, even on my work browser - which I'm pretty sure is the same one Wilma used to chat with Betty.

As it turns out - the interface is a little different - or maybe it's just different than I remember. In any case, it's easier to keep track of emails, to sort them, and of course gmail's storage is practically endless. I'm still having trouble with how a "conversation" is saved - but I'm getting used to that.

Importing contacts is, naturally, easy (hey, it's freaking google) and all my most important friends have a gmail account. So I can totally save yahoo for sign-ins and petitions and free online accounts.

And all the cooties.