Do any of you actually use Facebook?
I thought about this yesterday: Given all of Facebook's political controversies and shady data practices, do you guys actually use the platform? I remember signing up in high school simply because of peer pressure. I've never once derived any pleasure from the platform, but quite the contrary. I recently deleted my account because I see zero upside in keeping it, and to think that I'll leave my current timeline ridden with cringey and performative garbage from high school/college online, knowing all of Facebook’s flaws and controversies--it's absurd. I can't see this platform having any place in my adult life, its political and social garbage and ads and all. It really calls into question some of the holdover elements from our childhood that we've never really stopped to truly examine and question because society, corporations, popular culture, and our peers all work in tandem--knowningly and unknowingly--to reinforce what are often some very harmful structures and tropes that we're better off without. What are your thoughts?
I would’ve deleted it years ago if it didn’t help me remember people’s birthdays
Exactly this
No, I haven’t used it in years, the last time was high school. Only social media I use are IG, YouTube and wso. Also have TikTok and Snap but don’t really use either tbh.
Deleted both it and IG because fuck Mark. I've missed wishing a few friends Happy Birthday on the exact day but if that's the only price I'm paying for avoiding the privacy concerns it brings into my life I'd say well worth it. They just had another huge breach, which I'm guessing partially contributed to you starting this topic. It's such curated garbage now and devolves into inarticulate political rants all too often.
.
I'm in the process of trying to delete by FB and I just went through the FB birthdays section and added my closest friends and family's birthdays to my personal google calendar. Vast majority of folks I'm friends with on there aren't close enough to wish anyways
I keep it around because I’ve moved a lot and I tell myself it helps me keep track of old friends. I haven’t posted in years, and if I’m being honest I’ll probably never talk to most of the people I have on there again, but inertia keeps it alive
Same here. Check in once a year to thank for bday wishes, log off for another year... Or when I need to contact someone from the past. Never extracted any other value from it.
i have one to see where people I went to school with are at in life but that’s basically it. The politics is irritating especially with brain dead people who “share” a comment with a one line point and then have another 50 sheep friends saying “Yes! Totally Agree!” WSO is the only social media I’m seriously actively on as I find the quality of discussion, debate and logical analysis to not even be closely matched by any other platform.
second this. deleted all other social media last fall and the effects are genuinely noticeable. i seriously think mainstream social media alters the way you think -- head feels a lot less cluttered since deleting
It’s not just a coincidence you felt that way. Tech executives won’t let their own kids use social media: https://m.independent.ie/life/family/parenting/the-tech-moguls-who-inve…
And that’s not just one random link. You can find tons of articles like this. They know it’s damaging but want to turn a profit , influence political trends etc. Social media platforms employ something known as information overload: https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/article/information-overl…. By clogging up peoples minds it lowers critical thinking skills and is one of the weapons social media uses to control the narrative.
It's so weird. In one sense, Facebook is still alive and vibrant; in another, it's a dying platform. None (or almost none) of my core friends (say, the 25-closest friends or contacts I have) have even updated their profile picture in years (myself included). They almost never post anything. I log-in almost exclusively to follow non-friends stuff (e.g., I follow a psychic that I like, I follow The Daily Wire, I watch Fail Army videos, Ozzyman videos, and wiener dog videos).
I mean, I think the core demographic has shifted from being college-aged students to middle aged and older people. I use Facebook occasionally to check birthdays, or if someone I used to know well had a baby or something to see a picture. I just think it's a lot easier for non-tech savvy people to use, and that means an older crowd who probably don't have a ton else going on other than spending hours catching up on every little thing. I'll play into a sitcom stereotype for a moment and note that it used to be the housewife who spent hours on the phone gossiping, which now is probably scrolling Facebook for the same effect.
I use it to A) remember birthdays or B) check up on the most mentally unstable family members and people from high school that still post absolute insane stuff on there. It is quite entertaining.
Deleted Facebook prob 6-7 years ago now and am genuinely surprised when people mention something they saw on there as if they actually check it / still have one.
guess this man doesn't like memes
it's great for that, especially all those crossover memes
Still have my account, but stopped logging in entirely. no need to see all the ads and social media influencers praising products nobody wants.
The other half are baby pictures.
Not sure what I should do with the birthday reminders, among our friends we don't celebrate birthdays any longer. too big of a group to do that. I have thousands of people on fb, I can't be bothered to send 3-4 birthday messages per day.
I use Facebook because I am in a group called “NYC Moms for Safer Streets.” I am not a mom, but I do live in NYC and I just want to be aware of the crime that is happening around me. Some of the incidents that members of the group post about are not written about in the media. Because of this, being in this group gives me insight into incidents that are not officially published. The members all aim to improve public safety. After becoming a victim of a violent crime, I became interested in the group. I had a few traumatizing experiences while living in NYC, and after becoming a victim of violent crime, I never truly felt safe.
wtf
Welcome to real life filled with real people who have real experiences.
I don’t really get the MS. This is mostly fine.
I don’t really get the MS. This is mostly fine.
no.
I literally only use it to follow meme pages. I am still friends with people on it that I've been friends with for years, but I don't use it for anything but memes. The second someone starts posting their worthless political opinions or other trivial personal info I unfriend them.
I rarely use it except to keep in contact with a few people. I think it has turned into trash and don’t like all the fake notifications.
Nah, but I use Instagram, so...
Wow, good for you! And they say 65+ don't get technology.
I really just use FB messenger to keep in touch w/ friends and family all over the world. Everyone has it, so no need to bother ppl to install it.
I use it in a similar way (have the messenger app on my phone but not the Facebook app). Seems like Messenger (especially if/when they introduce messaging across WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger) will be where most of the Facebook users spend their time in the future.
Same. Scrubbed as much as I can from main FB account and just use messenger.
Zark FUckerberg can blow me
Look at this. Facebook is widely used, even by us. We may not be manic users of the platform but if most people use it a little bit it will go on and on with no end in sight.
Our fb gets lots of activity (facebook.com/wallstreetoasis)
I use it exclusively so I can look people up and see what they look like.
or jerk off to girls
To their pictures from 2015, since it seems no one has updated their pics in 6 years.
I do that with LinkedIn.
“Professional Networking”
Yes to manage my VAs. It's basically my Slack at this point.
Deleted it years back along with Instagram. I even got tired of LinkedIn. It’s all become too political but I miss all the humor. You can always get a good laugh from social media.
It's pretty worthless these days besides birthdays and engagement/baby announcements. But, as I enjoy with every social media platform, the dumpster fires in the comments always provide me with some quality laughs. And reassurance that the US is quite honestly filled with idiots.
Stopped using it almost 10 years ago. Got into it during high school, didn't really care that much during college. It was good for staying connected with extended family, but I already see them in person a lot, so no need to really keep it around.
Anyone else use FB for fapping material...?
Only for business and sports to chat with old buds. Tbh, I am not interested in any birthdays outside of my immediate fam. I also could not possibly care less about where people check in.
No and I look down upon those who do
Facebook = Future Assured Career Ruination or Cancellation
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