Facebook Kicked into Touch

[Glassman]

It was a long time coming, and watching The Social Dilemma probably sealed it for me. However, all things considered, I had to deactivate my FB account. I don't really like the way Facebook works; don't like most of the activity on it and if they're [FB] going to control speech as tightly as they do, I can't abide by that.

Downloaded all the images I'd posted on it and eff ewe cee-kayed it into touch.

Anyone else done - or thinking of doing - the same?

The annoying thing is I have a business page which is still active but without a profile, I can no longer access it.

[anonymous-user]

Ages ago, sacked off Messenger too. It will only be a matter of time before i bin off Instagram and that just leaves whatsapp and the only reason i have that is to keep in touch with a few friends up north and for work, otherwise that would be gone too.

[p4cks]

Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram... all gone and I've never had Twitter.

Best thing I've ever done.

[durbster]

I still have an account but I haven't used it for the last year or so. I have the Messenger app on my phone because of family and friends (especially in lockdown times) but will be getting out as soon as is practical.

The way I see it is that having an account but not using it is worse for them because it costs them money to host me

I think the golden age of social media is peaking, or has peaked. They had it all and they blew it.

[Coolbananas]

I don't mind Facebook because it only intrudes as much as you allow it to. We control what we populate it with, we control what we 'like' and we control who we add as friends.

I only have close friends and family on it. It's a small group and I never seem to get all the 'issues' others appear to have who have used Facebook to connect with every soul they ever meet.

For what I use Facebook for, it has done nothing I am concerned about. I use Messenger because it appears to be the preferred medium among my Portuguese friends and small local businesses like restaurants etc who have FB pages but no website. I use Whatsapp for family and other friends and I also have Signal now because some have moved to that. Instagram I rarely use but do have an account. I have a Twitter account but haven't looked at it in years, no interest. Same with LinkedIn, stopped using that years ago too.

Facebook is just a tool I occasionally use, it doesn't cause me any problems so I'll continue to have it.

[anonymous-user]

durbster said:

I think the golden age of social media is peaking, or has peaked. They had it all and they blew it.

I disagree, as long as Youtube and Instagram exist then the youth of the day will will want to be "famous influencers" and the more that we as a race are obsessed with celebrity lifestyles, the more it perpetuates this situation. I think we are only at the beginning of the social media boom. Facebook might be old hat now but Youtube and Instagram is more and more popular.

[V8covin]

I find Facebook useful so I use it.The end

[Countdown]

Coolbananas said:

Facebook is just a tool I occasionally use, it doesn't cause me any problems so I'll continue to have it.

Same here. I use it occasionally (maybe 1 or 2 times a week). It’s one way of keeping in touch with family/friends. I’m not sure what the big deal about “leaving” is.

[DaveH23]

I've never had it. Apparently people find that odd.

[r159]

DaveH23 said:

I've never had it. Apparently people find that odd.

Same here, found it easier sticking to forums for making comments and taking photos of ste for people who couldn’t care less or care far too much.

I still hold out for Friends Reunited making a comeback, everything goes in cycles you know.

[missing the VR6]

I keep an account for Market Place, but haven't browsed it for 18 months. It's all absolute drivel. I like Instagram as I only see the content I want apart from the odd advert. I use phone calls and texts to keep in touch with friends, and couldn't care less about the other X number of "friends" who's posts I'm missing.

[ReallyReallyGood]

durbster said:

The way I see it is that having an account but not using it is worse for them because it costs them money to host me

Sadly it’s worse than that, they will still be able to track everywhere you go via Like buttons and tracking pixels, so they are still curating a profile of you and making money off your data.

[Coolbananas]

ReallyReallyGood said:

Sadly it’s worse than that, they will still be able to track everywhere you go via Like buttons and tracking pixels, so they are still curating a profile of you and making money off your data.

I don't see any 'sadly' about it, personally. I have no objections to Facebook monetizing my 'likes' and the personal data I allow on the platform. I don't see the problem some have with that in exchange for using the platform to connect with folks and pages they are interested in.

I have 'liked' Cycling Weekly, GCN, Portuguese Cycling Magazine, Astronomy Magazine, Space, the Daily Mash, Ozzie Man Reviews, On the Tools and a couple of News sites and while the adverts I see are never anything I actually click they don't offend me because over the years I've tailored the platform to only show what I might be interested in.

My FB feed is therefore only the aforementioned pages which I am obviously ok with and close friends and family posts interspersed with the adverts that I gloss over and move swiftly past.

I've read about problems some have with FB, the posts they dislike, the feed they hate, the pages they find intrusive, the fights, the squabbles - surely it is just a case of making sure the only family and friends you have on it are the ones you don't mind sharing the platform with? Same with how much and what you see from pages and adverts - you can tailor that and not 'like' every page under the Sun. Amazing how different the FB experience is as an occasional tool to connect with when used exclusively for what and whom you are actually interested in as opposed to populating it with unwanted stuff.

[durbster]

ReallyReallyGood said:

durbster said:

The way I see it is that having an account but not using it is worse for them because it costs them money to host me

Sadly it’s worse than that, they will still be able to track everywhere you go via Like buttons and tracking pixels, so they are still curating a profile of you and making money off your data.

Good point but not necessarily true. If I left Facebook signed in and I didn't use a browser that blocks all those shenanigans, you would be right

[Smitters]

I binned Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Strava early in Lockdown 1. There was nothing healthy or life-improving about any of them. I don't miss anything with the exception of Facebook Marketplace, simply because of it's reach.

I could wax lyrical about various reasons, but the bottom line was directly or indirectly they created more stress than pleasure, so had an overall negative impact. So, they're gone.

[john2443]

V8covin said:

I find Facebook useful so I use it. The end

Me too!

Also I installed an extension called FB Purity which makes it much more useable.

[CubanPete]

ReallyReallyGood said:

Sadly it’s worse than that, they will still be able to track everywhere you go via Like buttons and tracking pixels, so they are still curating a profile of you and making money off your data.

Block 3rd party cookies.

[Hoofy]

I don't mind FB. I find it very useful for business and personal life. Yes, Mark Wossname is tracking my cookies but then at least I don't get ads for football and tampons.

[durbster]

Coolbananas said:

ReallyReallyGood said:

Sadly it’s worse than that, they will still be able to track everywhere you go via Like buttons and tracking pixels, so they are still curating a profile of you and making money off your data.

I don't see any 'sadly' about it, personally. I have no objections to Facebook monetizing my 'likes' and the personal data I allow on the platform. I don't see the problem some have with that in exchange for using the platform to connect with folks and pages they are interested in.

I have 'liked' Cycling Weekly, GCN, Portuguese Cycling Magazine, Astronomy Magazine, Space, the Daily Mash, Ozzie Man Reviews, On the Tools and a couple of News sites and while the adverts I see are never anything I actually click they don't offend me because over the years I've tailored the platform to only show what I might be interested in.

My FB feed is therefore only the aforementioned pages which I am obviously ok with and close friends and family posts interspersed with the adverts that I gloss over and move swiftly past.

I've read about problems some have with FB, the posts they dislike, the feed they hate, the pages they find intrusive, the fights, the squabbles - surely it is just a case of making sure the only family and friends you have on it are the ones you don't mind sharing the platform with? Same with how much and what you see from pages and adverts - you can tailor that and not 'like' every page under the Sun. Amazing how different the FB experience is as an occasional tool to connect with when used exclusively for what and whom you are actually interested in as opposed to populating it with unwanted stuff.

I think you're missing the point a little. The problem with Facebook is not what you see when you visit Facebook.com, it's what they do behind the scenes with all the data they're harvesting, and their total inability and/or unwillingness to control the monster they've created.

In a nutshell, they created a platform that seemed innocent enough at first but, somewhat inevitably, people realised it was the perfect weapon for highly targeted misinformation campaigns. They knew that and were happy to let those campaigns run and people die so they could reap the profits.

[Chicken_Satay]

durbster said:

In a nutshell, they created a platform that seemed innocent enough at first but, somewhat inevitably, people realised it was the perfect weapon for highly targeted misinformation campaigns. They knew that and were happy to let those campaigns run and people die so they could reap the profits.

What misinformation campaigns?