Back in the ’50s, people joked that cheering for the New York Yankees, a baseball dynasty, was like cheering for General Motors, an industrial behemoth. After all, what thrills do you get from backing the heavily favored horse? Times change; those two Goliaths have ceded their competitive dominance.

Let me take a stab at defending Facebook, one of today’s industrial giants along with Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Ebay. Everybody loves to take shots at Facebook, often with good reason, such as the company’s propensity to find out everything about you and use it for commercial purposes. Donald Trump is certainly no fan of Facebook, ever since the company suspended his account.

For better or worse, I’m an active poster on Facebook. Some people love my posts; others do not, especially those who still laud the presidency of Trump. Most people in the latter category have unfriended me. Or vice versa.

I will not try to defend Facebook’s business model; nor am I one of those people who spend hours trying to decipher all the ins and outs of Facebook — its privacy settings, its ad guidelines or its practice of putting people in “Facebook jail” for having made inappropriate comments. Surprisingly I’ve never been thrown into Facebook jail; maybe my comments are too nuanced or subtle or sarcastic to be flagged by robotic monitors.

Here, though, are a few reasons I maintain my presence on Facebook.

I get a sense of vox populi, what the majority of Americans are thinking. Yes, we live in a bubble in Brunswick, Maine, but my Facebook friends hail from all over. They post articles and views from around the country and across the political spectrum.

Constructive back-and-forth debates sometimes occur on a variety of topics: e.g. gun control; abortion; the taking down of Confederate statues; or the meaning of certain terms, such as “defund the police” or “critical race theory” or “cisgender.”

People often post about the significant events in their lives — a birth, a death, a graduation, an illness, a new job, a new move, an unusual hobby. I love seeing videos of my daughter-in-law demonstrating her expertise on the trapeze.

There are silly animal photos, to be sure, like a cat sleeping on a dog, but there also celebratory shots of wedding anniversaries, birthdays and family reunions. Stunning photos of nature often appear, such as a magnificent sunrise, a breathtaking rainbow, a heron in flight or a group of sleepy seals sunning on a rock.

I have benefitted from being a member of several Facebook groups, such as Maine Authors Publishing, Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance, the Class of 1960 at Mount Pleasant High School and Support Brunswick, which provides a helpful forum for local citizens seeking the names of service providers or the latest update on a town policy.

It’s interesting to hear my Facebook friends weigh in during national events, such as political debates or entertainment award ceremonies or sporting evens. On that front, I’ve tuned in to some fine television shows or Netflix series and read some great books, thanks to the recommendations of Facebook friends.

Sometimes a friend will post a question, which generates fascinating responses. “Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met?” “What have you done that you think none of my other Facebook friends have done?”

I suspect that most of my Facebook friends get an adrenaline rush from the spate of greetings on their birthdays.

I get a rush from posting satirical comments, usually of a political nature, which sound totally plausible but aren’t true. In my next life, I want to be Andy Borowitz, the satirist for the New Yorker whose columns never fail to make me laugh.

On the downside, of course, are the ads, which increasingly pop up on my News Feed. After I clicked on an ad for my favorite non-alcoholic beer (Athletic Brewing Company), for example, I began getting daily ads from companies advertising non-alcoholic bourbon (What?) and non-alcoholic gin (Are you kidding me?).

I confess that my time could often be better spent by talking with a friend or taking a walk with Tina or reading a book, than by going on Facebook to check on the latest “news” or political outrage. I’m getting somewhat better at limiting my time on Facebook, just as I watch less television news these days. Maybe I should write an article on the topic — and post it on Facebook.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns. dtreadw575@aol.com. (David’s latest book co-authored with Anneka Williams, who graduated from Bowdoin College this past May, is entitled, “A Flash Fiction Exchange Between Methuselah and the Maiden: Sixty Stories to While Away the Hours,” is available at Gulf of Maine books (Brunswick), Mockingbird Books (Bath), Paul’s Marina (Brunswick) or on Amazon.)