Facebook surely has its fans and foes, and undoubtedly flaws. There is of course virtue in connecting with old and new friends on Facebook. One of those virtuous places within Facebook can be found in Facebook Groups. You can start your own, or join an existing group.
You never know who or what you may encounter in a Facebook Group. In my experience, I’ve unexpectedly heard from my high school math teacher, (“I’m still kicking” was his post) as well as my childhood next door neighbor. I planned a work reunion for about 35 people that turned into 200 people. Expect the unexpected but expect nostalgia on a grand scale if you join an alma mater or neighborhood group. My childhood neighborhood group has pictures of the neighborhood that span decades and occasionally I’ll see a familiar name in a post or comment.
So how do you find such groups? You can use Facebook’s search and see what suggestions appear, for example the city you grew up in (or current town) followed by “group” (e.g., Fresh Meadows group) to keep up to date on local news, commentary, and nostalgia. You will have to click on Join, and at some point an admin for the group will make you a member. If the group is public you will be able to see posts without joining. You must be a member to post or comment. There are 3 different privacy settings a group may have. Click here to find out more about group settings.
In addition to searching for a particular group you can explore a myriad of Facebook Groups by category. There are multiple ways, but the way that currently works on all devices is to search “groups discover” then click on Groups Discover. Or search “create group” to easily start your own group.
Once a member of one or more groups, you’ll see updates from the group in your News Feed. Read not only the posts but also comments as you may find a lost classmate or neighbor or who knows? I’d love to hear if you’ve had any interesting group encounters!
Jeri Usbay 