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Facebook’s war on free will

theguardian.com

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Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#21

Post by waisbrot »

ameister14 wrote: post #5
ue_ wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if this will be seen as when people say "Just stop using drugs" to drug addicts. Facebook for those who use it can have immense real or imaginary utility; it's not as simple as telling someone not to use it, unless they are a very casual user and do not rely on it for things like organising group events.

Stopping the use of Facebook and transitioning to another method of organizing group events does not cause physical illness or death.

You're thinking of physical dependency. Addiction is compulsive behavior despite adverse consequences.

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#22

Post by golemotron »

ameister14 wrote: post #11

This was written so disrespectfully and dismissively of programmers, hackers and engineers that I have a hard time reading it, despite my extreme distaste for Facebook. >In the labs of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) during the 60s and 70s, they broke any rule that interfered with building the stuff of early computing, such marvels as the first video games and word processors. Also, Calling a 33 year…

Get used to it. The tech backlash is just beginning.

There are two forces. One is the series of gaffs by Google, FB, and Amazon and the resultant public awareness of their power. The second is Trump's election. When he set up his initial meetings with business leaders at the beginning of his administration, the tech giants were notably not invited. He sent the signal that they were not part of the real economy.

Say what you want about Trump's morals or ineffectiveness, but things like that send signals across a society whether we like it or not. "Greed is good" came from Reagan's election in the 80s. Tech is losing its shine in our culture.

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#23

Post by kfrzcode »

crispyambulance wrote: post #17
kfrzcode wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're pigeonholing. Facebook is only part of the tapestry of social media poison.

You're right but I still wonder what will ever become of the idea of a "true" online social network. Why do we have to hand over so much of ourselves in order to obtain social connection as a "side-effect" of the true business of social media operators like Facebook and Google? Are these companies the only way to have meaningful online social networks? I don't think it has to be that way, but I also can't fathom how…

I see the big 4 as robber barons[1]. They see opportunity in millions and billions of dollars. The company doesn't care about the individual.

[1]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robber_baron_(industrialist)

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#24

Post by cJ0th »

Knufen wrote: post #8
ue_ wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wonder if this will be seen as when people say "Just stop using drugs" to drug addicts. Facebook for those who use it can have immense real or imaginary utility; it's not as simple as telling someone not to use it, unless they are a very casual user and do not rely on it for things like organising group events.

Some people are probably addicted to facebook, but for the vast majority I don't think your comparison is very good. In almost all cases you can switch to something different than facebook.

When it comes to messaging I prefer XMPP with Omemo these days. There is Gajim for PC, Conversations for Android and ChatSecure for Apple.

Of course, many people don't want to change their habits and I think there is no need to push too hard. However, I convinced a friend of mine to try Gajim on PC and to my surprise he sticked with it and installed the Conversations App a few months later on his smartphone.

Of course, the network effect of FB is very real. So overall this anecdote doesn't really change anything. But I think it is import to remind ourselves every once in a while that there are people out there who are willing to change their habits. And some of these people, in turn, influence other people. It's unlikely that you start a trend but I think we should keep trying.

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#25

Post by trendia »

ikeyany wrote: post #16

You could take a year-long class on the psychological influence (some call it social engineering) of Facebook and you'd barely scratch the surface. One example I find particularly interesting is how Facebook slowly expanded what would trigger a notification, keeping people fixated on that red box like rats to sugar water.

It had the opposite effect for me -- now that everything gives me a notification, half the time I see the red dot on the corner I assune it's something stupid.

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#26

Post by j_s »

striking wrote: post #10
Knufen wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people are probably addicted to facebook, but for the vast majority I don't think your comparison is very good. In almost all cases you can switch to something different than facebook.

If all your friends are on Facebook: no, you really can't.

Depends on your definition of "friend", for sure!

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#27

Post by [deleted] »

ikeyany wrote: post #16

You could take a year-long class on the psychological influence (some call it social engineering) of Facebook and you'd barely scratch the surface. One example I find particularly interesting is how Facebook slowly expanded what would trigger a notification, keeping people fixated on that red box like rats to sugar water.

[deleted]

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#28

Post by zizek23 »

It's the Internet that enables communication. Families and friends would be able to communicate once the Internet became possible whether Facebook exists or not. People would be able to use and get value from the Internet whether Google exists or not.

These companies add value but they are not the Internet. If they didn't exist the Internet will continue being useful.

What they have been able to do is inject themselves into communication pathways, provide a network effect in the case of facebook to leverage social curiosity about others which in the larger scheme of things is not important, and now sit on tons of data which has zero value to users and thus does not enhance communication in any way, but helps advertisers.

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#29

Post by akud »

striking wrote: post #10
Knufen wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Some people are probably addicted to facebook, but for the vast majority I don't think your comparison is very good. In almost all cases you can switch to something different than facebook.

If all your friends are on Facebook: no, you really can't.

I haven't had a Facebook account for five years. I get by just fine by emailing or texting a friend when I want to get a hold of them.

Re: Facebook’s war on free will

#30

Post by jknz »

Getting off facebook will not suit everyone, mostly because a lot of users will use messenger or need facebook to beventa in the loop of some social events.

There is way to empty one's Facebook feed and remove all notifications that are not related to messenger. The solution is to unfollow everyone, until the facebook feed displays "no more posts to show". One can then enjoy the messaging features of facebook without the bad. One can also view some profiles or groups occasionally but this prevents the passive consumption of feeds.

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