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Deleting Facebook permanently

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Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#201

Post by codemac »

WhompingWindows wrote: post #187

How does everyone else who deleted FB deal with the "old friends" problem? I don't have email or phone numbers for dozens of old friends from HS and University, it'd be fun to ping them with this or that once in a while.

I struggle with the same thing. If we were close enough in the past I'm much less shy now of asking for a phone number/email.

If we're just passive where I'd love to see an update about life stages and progression... fb it is. Really wish the world was but a series of email mailing lists.

Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#202

Post by drcongo »

tootie wrote: post #113
drcongo wrote: post #29

I deleted it 8 years ago when it first became obvious what was going to happen. Have never missed it for a second and I feel a bit sorry for people who think they can't do the same.

Serious question: What happened? I was a FB member for a few years and quit mostly because I wasn't actually interested in what anyone was up to. As far I could tell, FB worked perfectly fine. My breaking point was realizing that my friends and family aren't that interesting.

I'm a social networks veteran - from Friendster and early very Flickr on. By 2012 it was pretty obvious to most people working in tech that Facebook was heading in a bad direction with scant regard for users' rights or privacy. Looking back now, it was all pretty benign compared to what it has become, but there were enough indicators like the constantly changing privacy UI which, with every tweak, made it harder to protect your privacy. Add in the fact that the "Like" button started appearing on sites external to Facebook so that they could track your browsing outside of their platform and that was enough for me. At that point it is spyware.

Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#204

Post by zimmertr »

anorphirith wrote: post #41

I've also deactivated FB and Instagram about 2 weeks ago. I kept telling myself I was in control, but the truth is that I wasn't, somehow my brain was craving that infinite scrolling of pure trash. I feel like I've regained control over my life and I am much more productive now. As if they had managed to get me hooked and sell days of my life away for a few cents here and there. I blame myself

I was totally indifferent when I deleted Facebook. Maybe for a week after I would catch myself subconsciously opening a new tab and typing `fb.com` when I was bored before realizing what I was doing.

I held out on deleting Instagram for literal years until about 2 months ago. I finally got fed up when they overhauled the UI to focus on selling cheap and crappy goods. I always thought it provided a lot of benefit to my life because it was fun to share pictures. Turns out I didn't even care when I deleted it lol.

I think about deleting Twitter too, but it's just so darn useful for breaking news. And I could never get rid of Reddit. It is certainly an echo chamber but unless something bad happens it's basically the best website to find other hobbyists and even ask technical questions.

Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#205

Post by enigma20 »

Traubenfuchs wrote: post #16

I am 28 and none of my peers is using FB anymore. I have some older friends that do their yearly christmas party invite on FB and some people who chat with me on FB messenger. There primarily are ads, spam, people posting commercial content and people congratulating each other for their birthdays. Is facebook this dead for anyone else?

I have only a Messanger app on my smartphone. And using the website from time to time because of some expats groups (hiking, biking).

Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#206

Post by blunte »

benbristow wrote: post #139
packetlost wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm 23 and I use it for memes, groups (photography, cars), local events, and keeping up with some of my less 'close' family members (as in, it's the only reasonable means I have of contacting them). I occasionally post some of my photography projects so my grandparents can see them. FB Marketplace is leagues better than Craigslist and I have sold several items on it. Don't get me wrong, I hate facebook, but if used m…

The new 'Dating' feature is pretty good too. Not overly monetised unlike the alternatives like Tinder.

If by "not overly" you mean "completely and invisibly", then sure.

There's extra financial value in knowing who is attracted to whom.

I cannot imagine just how terrible the privacy must be for people dating via Facebook.

Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#207

Post by Mediterraneo10 »

dsr_ wrote: post #197
Mediterraneo10 wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your mention of mailing lists/fora/newsgroups made me wonder about how easy it is for people today to forge those same (non-"friends", but still) close relationships with strangers today. I definitely remember those close bonds with other internet users in the 1990s and early millennium. However, today due to everyone moving to Facebook and other content silos with a mobile app, independent website forums are severel…

People being people, they can use any medium they can find to make acquaintances. Tools being tools, some of them are better than others. Here's a list of subjects that I know people have bonded over: - fandom of specific works - generic fandom - fish aquaria - genre literature - a period of history - games (video, board, role-playing, LARP...) - sports - watches - cars - appliance repair - carpentry You need strict…

I feel that your optimism is unfounded. The specific kinds of fora you say are necessary, are a dying breed. They simply aren't as available to an internet user as before the rise of walled silos. Even where a forum is available or a user has the technical skills to put up his own forum, that forum is nothing without people other than yourself congregating there, and they have mainly left forever for the walled gardens.

Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#208

Post by benbristow »

blunte wrote: post #206
benbristow wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The new 'Dating' feature is pretty good too. Not overly monetised unlike the alternatives like Tinder.

If by "not overly" you mean "completely and invisibly", then sure. There's extra financial value in knowing who is attracted to whom. I cannot imagine just how terrible the privacy must be for people dating via Facebook.

Yeah, of course, the data is what you pay with. But it's sure as hell nicer than seeing an advert every few swipes, constant notifications asking you to pay for expensive tiers of memberships etc. etc.

Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#209

Post by 19g »

alexfromapex wrote: post #28

Delete the Facebook and Instagram apps off your phone along with Messenger and it becomes much easier to not use them out of habit.

I deleted the Instagram app from my phone a while back, but still was stuck browsing on the web version.

More recently, I've had issues logging in via mobile browser so that's helped as another blocker.

Re: Deleting Facebook permanently

#210

Post by sidr »

random5634 wrote: post #77
Traubenfuchs wrote: post #16

I am 28 and none of my peers is using FB anymore. I have some older friends that do their yearly christmas party invite on FB and some people who chat with me on FB messenger. There primarily are ads, spam, people posting commercial content and people congratulating each other for their birthdays. Is facebook this dead for anyone else?

I've been very inactive, in the older age range. That's a big shift. It was driven by the move to just constant clickbait controversy / political shares in news feed and other factors. Way back in feb I made a post suggesting masks might be a low cost / useful way to reduce spread of covid, that was attacked by everyone as not recommended and that they don't work, and so I just gave up on facebook at that point.

> Way back in feb I made a post suggesting masks might be a low cost / useful way to reduce spread of covid, that was attacked by everyone as not recommended and that they don't work

Was this back when the CDC guidelines were saying the same? I can't fault lay people for placing faith in the words of supposed science/data-driven institutions (if that was what was happening rather than people spouting ridiculous conspiracy theories).

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