Live data from Hacker News

The Time Has Come to Finally Delete Facebook

pastemagazine.com

51–58 of 58 posts

Re: The Time Has Come to Finally Delete Facebook

#51

Facebook prioritizes "connection", but doesn't question whether all of those connections are -good- ones. I know there are a million comments out there about how deleting Facebook led to someone having less anxiety, depression, etc., but I'm also in that camp for a reason that I don't think gets mentioned a lot. I suffer from PTSD due to childhood abuse and neglect (and I'm talking heavy drug use, physical, verbal, a…

Thank you for posting this comment. I think creators of social platforms need to be vastly more aware that just because you know someone or are related to them doesn't mean it's a positive. They need to stop assuming that making certain associations is all to the good. Such default assumptions tend to do the most harm to very vulnerable people who most need some kind of support for protecting themselves.

How do we solve this problem of discovery w.r.t. smart suggestions based off degrees of separation from mutual friends or other data on either end algorithmically?

Anyone have any insight into a more thoughtful recommendation approach that can be represented algorithmically?

Also any social platform would be hurting user growth metrics if they made you jump through hoops for discovering if someone you know has a profile. This is super nuanced, thanks for the unique perspective.

Re: The Time Has Come to Finally Delete Facebook

#52
post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you for posting this comment. I think creators of social platforms need to be vastly more aware that just because you know someone or are related to them doesn't mean it's a positive. They need to stop assuming that making certain associations is all to the good. Such default assumptions tend to do the most harm to very vulnerable people who most need some kind of support for protecting themselves.

How do we solve this problem of discovery w.r.t. smart suggestions based off degrees of separation from mutual friends or other data on either end algorithmically? Anyone have any insight into a more thoughtful recommendation approach that can be represented algorithmically? Also any social platform would be hurting user growth metrics if they made you jump through hoops for discovering if someone you know has a prof…

How about not recommending people some algorithm thinks you should be "friends" with? If you can't bother to remember or type a person's name in and manually make that connection, chances are you're just fine without it anyway. I used Facebook in college back in 2004-2008 before they had any kind of suggestions and I had no problem amassing over 1,000 "friends." On a side note the whole site is totally different now and I don't use it anymore.

Re: The Time Has Come to Finally Delete Facebook

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"the subtleties of language matter", yet you're the one interpreting language like a robot with a dictionary.

Under the everyday notion of forcing someone to do something, Facebook is not forcing people to friend others. The definition I cited was for illustration. Since when does backing up you point with a definition mean you're being slavishly robotic? Since you're trying to imply my usage of the term is narrow and unrealistic, what's the different notion of "forcing" someone to do something that would make it true that F…

"trying to imply"? Hardly!

I'm explicitly stating.

Re: The Time Has Come to Finally Delete Facebook

#55

Going cold turkey is never easy. If you're having trouble withdrawing, consider what I did over the past few years: 1. Turn off notifications for the Facebook app on your phone; next 2. Turn off notifications for the Facebook Messenger, Instagram, et cetera apps on your phone; then 3. Delete the Facebook app from your phone; then 4. Delete the Facebook Messenger, Instagram, et cetera apps from your phone; and finally…

Yep. I did the same. I treat it more as my online Rolodex now.

I’m using Facebook so much less now that every time I login it send some me a “friend suggestion” notification.

The last 20 or so people recommended are not even people I know. I’ve never even heard their names before.

Re: The Time Has Come to Finally Delete Facebook

#56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe "force" is too strong a word. However, it strongly pushes them by generating lists of people you may know even if you haven't talked to them in over a decade. It also makes it easier for someone to just click "Friend this person" rather than having to find someone's number and pick up the phone. Guilt is a strong motivator, as least for me, so granting someone that access makes it a lot more difficult to set ap…

It's up to you to accept a friend suggestion or request. And the UI makes it easy to delete any friend request. If there's pressure it comes from outside FB itself.

Not really

If you delete a friend request people can send a new request

The only option is to leave it there and be reminded you have new friend requests or delete the request and block the user

It actually forces you to take action to block people you removed from your life long ago.

It should work the other way around

Re: The Time Has Come to Finally Delete Facebook

#57

Facebook is not going away, not soon, at least. Not until a fit replacement shows up. I look at people around me, they love how easy it is to create a new facebook "group" just to get people together working on something (event, workgroup, plain discussion around a topic). Nothing matches this so far. Nobody wants mailing lists (I do!), or newsgroups, or going to 2 or 3 other website (more registrations needed) to be…

just create group chat in your favorite messenger

Re: The Time Has Come to Finally Delete Facebook

#58
post #3

I never had Facebook but still got my friends, family and places to go to. As an outsider I find the fuzz around Facebook amazing. So what Facebook does only care about money. Are they supposed not to? If you don't like Facebook just leave and don't be so dramatic about it.

For devil's advocate testing of this, apply standard addiction/depression comparisons.

- "As an outsider I find the fuzz around heroin amazing....If you don't like heroin just leave and don't be so dramatic about it."

- "As an outsider I find the fuzz around depression amazing....If you feel depressed just get some exercise and don't be so dramatic about it."

- "As an outsider I find the fuzz around sex addiction amazing....If you are addicted just stop having sex and don't be so dramatic about it."

The world is becoming more empathetic to addiction and mental strength - And is, in general, transitioning away from 'stiff upper lip' / policing policy towards nurturing / healthcare.

It's worth considering 'FOMO' (fear of missing out), social anxieties, desperation to belong in society etc... There are many factors like these (genuine mental patterns that people experience) that give credibility to the current narrative of 'social media is addictive and we should help people'.

It therefore seems that one's default stance should be 'I assume there is a genuine problem here that people need help with' rather than 'they must be pathetic, why don't they just quit'.

Post reply on HN