I don't think I've come close to calling anyone a neanderthal, sorry if this has riled some emotions. If you are younger, you will certainly have a lot more pressure to use it (you can be ostracized), so you probably should use it.
Also, people tend to have a cognitive bias against judging themselves as conformist... myself included. We probably all are more than we would like to admit.
I recently read the Wulf's The Invention of Nature, a biography of Alexander von Humboldt - from the middle of his life up until his death Humboldt wrote 2000 to 3000 letters per year, crazy if you think how much work a "regular" letter is.
Your point about the great minds of the past is spot on. There's a reason why people buy letters from famous painters. I'm sure Van Gogh would at least have had a twitter account.
Anyways, based on artists I know - who aren't digital artists/ graphic designers, a scene where most tech companies are viewed as just an extension of greedy capitalism, I have serious doubts Van Gogh would be an active user on Twitter.
That certainly sounds like an attempt to insult those who do use Facebook.
> but can you image the great minds and innovators of our generation [...] updating their FB?
Absolutely, the same way that great minds of past generations had friends, went to social events, and wrote letters. Facebook is just the latest and easiest way to maintain the social bonds which are important to nearly all of us (including so-called "great minds").
I don't post status updates often (probably once a month), but I log into Facebook multiple times a day. It's great to see what my friends are up to and what they care about.
If not for seeing my friend at SpaceX post about today's launch, I probably would have missed out on watching it.
Get off your high horse. If you don't want to use Facebook, that's fine. That doesn't make those of us who do neanderthals.