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Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

bradfrost.com

31–40 of 401 posts

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#32
My favorite is a push notification to the effect of, "You haven't posted in N weeks. Would you like to post something?" The first time I got it it was annoying. Then it kept happening weekly, by the third time I deleted the app.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#33
post #2

The best thing I ever did was delete the Facebook app from my phone. I had already disabled all the notifications, but that didn't change things like deleting the app. Not being able to get to Facebook wherever you are. As silly as it sounds it was liberating. I still access Facebook from my laptop - but now that it's off of my phone, I'm accessing Facebook less and less frequently and I'm find I'm happier as a resul…

> Less Facebook == more happy

More productive, less distracted, etc., sure but was FB really getting you down that much? Am I just using Facebook "wrong" in that it's not upsetting me the same way it upsets others?

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#34
post #17
post #2

The best thing I ever did was delete the Facebook app from my phone. I had already disabled all the notifications, but that didn't change things like deleting the app. Not being able to get to Facebook wherever you are. As silly as it sounds it was liberating. I still access Facebook from my laptop - but now that it's off of my phone, I'm accessing Facebook less and less frequently and I'm find I'm happier as a resul…

You could just use facebook in a browser on your phone.

Shhhh, why do you have to mention that for. You're responding to a comment that concluded "Less Facebook == more happy" with an alternate way to increase access to Facebook.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#35

Another notification type not mentioned in the article is "you last updated your profile X weeks ago." This one is worse because it also uses the iOS/OSX notifications system for maximum passive aggressiveness: https://twitter.com/minimaxir/status/887740777031278592

The one that finally did it for me was the "Do you know x?" notification that I couldn't disable.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#36
post #2

The best thing I ever did was delete the Facebook app from my phone. I had already disabled all the notifications, but that didn't change things like deleting the app. Not being able to get to Facebook wherever you are. As silly as it sounds it was liberating. I still access Facebook from my laptop - but now that it's off of my phone, I'm accessing Facebook less and less frequently and I'm find I'm happier as a resul…

Same. I initially only uninstalled messenger (which intolerably presented me with a popup asking me to enable notifications EVERY TIME I OPENED THE APP), then got rid of the FB app. Now even on my laptop facebook.com is pointing at localhost in /etc/hosts, which makes me edit a root file to look at it. I'm much, much happier. If it works for you, cool, but if you're dissatisfied and considering abandoning it anyway, I can offer anecdotally that it has been a great decision for me.

(The only reason I don't close my account: I check it once every week or so, because I have older family members for whom this is probably as far as they're going into the world of social media and I feel a bit guilty either pressuring them to use some alternative or disconnecting from them further, as they are unlikely to understand my dissatisfaction with the FB product and much more likely to take it personally)

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#37
post #2

The best thing I ever did was delete the Facebook app from my phone. I had already disabled all the notifications, but that didn't change things like deleting the app. Not being able to get to Facebook wherever you are. As silly as it sounds it was liberating. I still access Facebook from my laptop - but now that it's off of my phone, I'm accessing Facebook less and less frequently and I'm find I'm happier as a resul…

Right on! Total agreement here. Since I was pretty addicted (as of about a year ago), not only did I delete the app from my phone, I changed my passsword to one generated by LastPass (e.g. totally freaking hard to memorize). This re-enforces the fact that the only EASY way to get on FB is via my laptop:)

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#38
Since they changed the timeline to the point where it's impossible for me to see things in reverse chronological order (even if I try to tell it to), I've unfollowed EVERYTHING, set up notifications for the few family members whose posts I don't want to miss, and mostly quit using it for anything but family. I'm so tired of all the ads and marketing crap. I was missing posts I cared about and just seeing crap every day. No thanks.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#39
post #33
post #2

The best thing I ever did was delete the Facebook app from my phone. I had already disabled all the notifications, but that didn't change things like deleting the app. Not being able to get to Facebook wherever you are. As silly as it sounds it was liberating. I still access Facebook from my laptop - but now that it's off of my phone, I'm accessing Facebook less and less frequently and I'm find I'm happier as a resul…

> Less Facebook == more happy More productive, less distracted, etc., sure but was FB really getting you down that much? Am I just using Facebook "wrong" in that it's not upsetting me the same way it upsets others?

The most important features on Facebook are hide, unfollow, and block.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#40

I'm beginning to wonder if our ability to sympathize only serves to advance the agendas of those who want to make money on us. Facebook's pushiness is and should always be held as unacceptable, in all circumstances and for all people. "I sympathize that the company needs business users to keep it afloat" does not justify the kind of begging they've been up to lately. The author's (and all our) collective sympathy kee…

Facebook is almost becoming Farcebook.
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