Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#181

Post by artursapek » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 1:42 AM UTC

tbabb wrote: post #176

It's official. I will never work for Facebook. In terms of hipness (lack of it), positive impact (lack of it), and sliminess, this puts them on the same shelf as Comcast for me. It also frames their ruinous impact on societal discourse as "hostile" rather than just a "a naive and clumsy mistake". For Facebook employees: Is this really the company you want to work for? Is this the impact you want to have on the world?…

Facebook employees are fed a lot of kool aid and each work on a very narrow piece of the system. I don't think they question the larger problem they're enabling.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#182

Post by clusmore » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 1:46 AM UTC

taylodl wrote: 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…

The step that worked for me was unfollowing everything from Facebook, so that I have a completely empty News Feed. If I want to see what's happening for a particular person, I just navigate to their profile and see directly. I've found this way, even if I have Facebook installed I very very rarely open it and if I do, I close it immediately since there's no content.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#183

Post by Dave_TRS » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 1:48 AM UTC

JoshMnem wrote: post #173

taylodl wrote: 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…

This is useful too: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/news-feed-eradicat...

Agree, news Feed eradicator is my favorite chrome app too. When you go to Facebook it automatically replaces your entire newsfeed with a short quote about using your life for something better. Right now all my newsfeed says is: “Inaction will cause a man to sink into the slough of despond and vanish without a trace.” ~ Farley Mowat"

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#184

Post by imron » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 1:52 AM UTC

Not going to comment on the article, but I liked the contrast of text and background on that site. It's nice to see something that is not grey on light grey.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#185

Post by imron » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 1:57 AM UTC

lamby wrote: post #33

taylodl wrote: 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?

> Am I just using Facebook "wrong" in that it's not upsetting me the same way it upsets others?

Maybe you just don't have an accurate baseline and it's not that using Facebook upsets you but that not using it increases your well-being.

Try not using it for 2 weeks and see if you notice a difference.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#186

Post by yogrish » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 1:58 AM UTC

taylodl wrote: 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…

It's the best advice to stay happy. I also removed the app last month on my mobile and it helped me to have a very happy weekend as I don't get to login on my laptop. Earlier on weekends I watch FB in morning and get depressed coz one of my friends friend (out of 500 odd friends) went to Europe and had good time but I feel like a loser and screw up my day.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#187

Post by aeturnum » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 2:01 AM UTC

tgb wrote: post #103

mbillie1 wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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,…

Actual question: what's the point of Messenger if you don't have notifications enabled?

I have all notifications for facebook turned off and just leave messanger untouched. It doesn't nag you unless someone messages you.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#188

Post by fumar » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 2:03 AM UTC

I deleted my Facebook account a few years ago and quickly found that it provided little value to my everyday. I would say longer term, as friends had kids, I missed some of the "social bonding" experience via the web, but din't miss anything in person. A month ago my phone died and as a test, I didn't install Instagram. Instagram was the last FB connection. I always defended Instagram to myself. It didn't require as much attention as FB and barrier to entry was low (post some pics sometimes). In the last year Instagram has shifted more towards the FB notification style and adopted more Snap features. My feed became filled with ads, stories gained dominance, and notifications became persistent. I figured that is sufficient mental intrusion to warrant my departure.

As a heavily connected individual, work in tech, I find that disconnecting does alleviate mental baggage. I have gained more time to read and that brings me more joy than scanning an insta-feed.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#189

Post by bitexploder » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 2:13 AM UTC

hasbroslasher wrote: post #133

taylodl wrote: 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…

Up until last year, I chalked up the "I deleted my Facebook" phenomenon to hipsterdom or some pathology where people think the can "cure" "addiction" by quitting whatever unhealthy behavior pattern they exhibit for a week or month and then coming back. Last month I deactivated my Facebook and have yet to turn it back on. In the months prior I started finding alternative sources of news: NYT, Pitchfork, HN, various su…

As an information security person and someone that cares deeply about preserving my privacy and the privacy of my fellow citizens I see Facebook / Google / Amazon as sort of existential threats. For them to exist we can't maintain our privacy to a high degree. And as long as they maintain a network effect, even if you do delete your Facebook account, they will maintain a shadow profile of you. You will always be a node in their graph now. European privacy laws and the right to be absolutely forgotten are the answer. As a free human being I believe in the right to be completely outside of any corporations software system and record keeping. There is so much work to do on this front, look at what happened to Equifax. We don't really get a choice about some things (credit reporting), but for everything else, I am going to fight it.

I am going to fight your shitty operating system updates that take away my privacy

I am going to fight your massive personal information sucking network

I am going to use alternative shopping services, no matter how easy you make it for me to click once and have stuff I really like appear in a great user experience.

I am going to fight these things because privacy matters and in the long run without privacy as consumers and human beings with inalienable rights we will give away something essential in there.

It isn't hipsterism. It isn't being a luddite. It mass-scale experiment about how much these organizations can concentrate before people really understand.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#190

Post by orbitur » Tue, Sep 12, 2017, 2:13 AM UTC

gk1 wrote: post #10

They also ensure there's ALWAYS at least one notification when you sign in. Even if nothing of importance happened, they find _something_ to notify you about just so you can see the red notification count every time. I deactivated my account yesterday and look forward to a FB-free life.

I mean, enjoy your FB-free life, but I tweaked my settings a bit, and I only ever get a notification if someone likes my posts/comments, which is all I care about.

If I open the app after not having posted something in a day or two, it's quiet.