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Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

bradfrost.com

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Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#391

Post by newscracker »

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. It's the best advice I can give.

I completely agree, and this works for me too. I take long breaks from Facebook and find it refreshing. It also becomes painful to think of logging in to Facebook afterwards. The tons of notifications and tags and replies. There's too much on the platform manipulating people to stay on it. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is real, and I know people who cannot stay without checking Facebook everyday. The main reason I haven't quit Facebook is because I use it for some activism related topics, and a huge audience exists on the platform.

For privacy reasons, to protect myself a bit more and to avoid ads, I mostly Facebook only from a browser on a computer. I don't use the app even though I know I can deny permissions for contacts, photos, camera, mic, location, notifications, etc., on iOS. Sometimes I visit mbasic.facebook.com from the browser on the phone for kicks and to get to messenger directly without jumping through hoops.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#392

Post by newscracker »

bitexploder wrote: post #189
hasbroslasher wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 no…

> 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.

Seriously, if I could upvote you several times, I would! You just said everything I believe in, including naming the corporations that worry me the most and make me feel hopeless sometimes. I try to educate people at every opportunity, fully knowing that it will take a long time for any effect to be visible. But I'm kinda used to that as an activist in other areas.

I don't know if there will ever be a decentralized and privacy protecting social networking platform that will beat Facebook and the like (pun unintended) in network effect, but I'd be ecstatic to see such a day! On the same lines would be reducing data collection almost everywhere and ensuring that privacy comes first - by governments or private entities. I have very little hope on the latter because information security is truly an afterthought in our Internet connected world where anyone can spin up WordPress, add some random plugins and start a "gig economy" or whatever the fad of the day is. It's too easy to start something software based that is completely insecure!

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#393

Post by officemonkey »

jdietrich wrote: post #55
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. There appears to be a significant negative correlation between Facebook activity and wellbeing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28093386

The book "Contagion: Why things Catch On" by Jonah Berger basically explains that we share when we have "strong emotions" triggered. That includes anger and anxiety.

So much of social media is dependent on triggering anger or anxiety to get you to share. Which is effective political memes make you mad. Because they're designed to.

I decided that being on a platform that uses me as a transmitter of memes to make cash by making me mad or anxious was (a) sociopathic on behalf of Facebook and (b) stupid on my part. I logged out, deactivated, and deleted. I've done it before, but now it feels permanent.

I'm on twitter sometimes (because there's much less social pressure wrt following/unfollowing) and Goodreads, where I follow people who read and write the books I like to read.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#394

Post by noisy_boy »

I deleted my facebook account last year and haven't looked back. It was a great decision.

However, I don't think me (and may others in this thread) are a big cause of worry for facebook. While tech-savvy/privacy-aware users are leaving facebook in greater numbers, their absolute percentage is a fraction of the gigantic market of users in the developing world.

The developing world is a huge pie for facebook that is totally primed for taking. Majority of people in that group have absolutely no qualms about happily sharing private information (if at all any awareness of them being the product). In such a demographic, the social/economic/caste divide has been so wide and entrenched that facebook is seen as something that breaks barriers. People from lower socio-economic strata who have always been treated poorly by the privileged can now buy a cheap Android smartphone and be on the same platform of the people they serve and communicate as equals. They used to look aspirationally at the privileged sitting in air-conditioned shops sipping coffee while browsing smartphones - now they can (atleast partially) fulfill the fantasy.

They have all the time in the world, they love the notifications and they are eager to share. Our leaving barely makes a dent.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#395

Post by corobo »

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…

Returning to this approximately a day or so after it was posted. I decided to remove the Facebook app from my iPhone and replace it with a Safari bookmark to the mobile site.

Oh my lord, the Facebook app eats battery life. I haven't had to charge my phone yet compared to my 2x charges per day. Whether through less usage or less Facebook doing its thing I can't confirm. I'm not going back either way.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#396

Post by newscracker »

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?…

> For Facebook employees: Is this really the company you want to work for? Is this the impact you want to have on the world? Is this really the best place in society to apply your talents?

I've wondered the same about a few companies, Facebook and Amazon in particular. Even if one may be working on some storage deduplication or scaling the system or other seemingly dissociated pieces from the obnoxious front end, how is it possible to imagine that you're truly doing something for the good of humankind (net-net)? I can understand the higher pay, facilities and probably technical and other challenges. But impact on the world at large with consideration for the future being created? I personally don't get it.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#398

Post by warcher »

eat_veggies wrote: post #386
warcher wrote: post #90

This ties into a phenomena that I've noticed with a lot of social networks lately-- fake content. What I mean by that specifically is putting things into your feed that nobody actually intended to share . e.g. "XXXX liked this thing!" Or generating notifications of non-events, like "Hey, share a thing!" The share button is literally right next to the 'uplike' button. And they specifically did not press it. But you're…

Snapchat is pretty good about this. They only send notifications for direct messages, not for sponsored content, stories, or group chats.

For now. The others didn't, until they did.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#399

Post by _Tev »

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…

Honestly, it is kind of scary how people on HN live in the no-FB bubble. I mean, FB is kind of optional for social life, but the universal "I deleted FB and am happy" does sound like echo chamber. Because Facebook DOES have advantages, even though more introverted people might not appreciate them as much. Especially regarding event organization:

I regularly organize big board game parties, which are attended by 10-15 people (out of ~40 invited). How easily can I invite / manage so many people without some platform like FB, which (almost, at least around me) everyone uses? And I really appreciate easy info / updates events on FB provide for e.g. info about how much food should I cook, telling people about changing time (or day! We just had poll on FB because people liked this sunday more than saturday) of the party, telling them what to bring . . . emails just wouldn't cut it, it would consume much more time, and would be really clunky. And on the other hand, people attending who DO NOT have FB, are PITA to manage, they consume literally 10times more time to keep list of, message, get the answer from . . . FB has it all in one neat (even though sometimes smelly) package.

Similarly for e.g. GoT (also boardgame) events, as exactly-six-people is pain to manage generally. For someone going to such events it also has great UX, without any hassle of mass-sms or mass-email events.

Not to mention classic FB advantages like photo-sharing, communicating with friends on the other side of the world, etc. . .

It seems to me like deleting FB is not an option if I would like to stay as social. And I am actually quite introverted too, but thanks to channeling social interaction to FB (of course no app, just mbasic.facebook.com and desktop website) and particular events I can enjoy my time alone (which is vast majority of the time) without any regrets or being left behind in my social circle.

Re: Facebook, You Needy Sonofabitch

#400

Post by vanderZwan »

warcher wrote: post #90

This ties into a phenomena that I've noticed with a lot of social networks lately-- fake content. What I mean by that specifically is putting things into your feed that nobody actually intended to share . e.g. "XXXX liked this thing!" Or generating notifications of non-events, like "Hey, share a thing!" The share button is literally right next to the 'uplike' button. And they specifically did not press it. But you're…

> What I mean by that specifically is putting things into your feed that nobody actually intended to share. e.g. "XXXX liked this thing!" Or generating notifications of non-events, like "Hey, share a thing!"

I also noticed I get a lot of "this female friend of yours who just like you also doesn't have her relationship status revealed to us is interested in going to X tomorrow" reminders. It's like Facebook wants me to be a creepy stalker male friend.

I started taking screenshots of it and sending them to them - "hey, Facebook wants me to stalk you" style (they're privacy conscious so we can joke about it together instead of them thinking I'm creeping on them)

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