Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#21

Post by Nextgrid » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:21 AM UTC

o10449366 wrote: post #10

product50 wrote: post #2

Another hit piece by NYTimes against Facebook. Personally, sharing good news across Facebook/Instagram and receiving acknowledgements has been a very satisfying experience for me. More than that, as a consumer of Facebook, I also really appreciate when my friends post their achievements/milestones as it lets me stay up to date with what is going on in their lives. Facebook allows you to scale the sharing of your happ…

The Times new "Privacy Project" is nothing more than a thin veil for their agenda against Facebook. Read their article on "How The Times Thinks About Privacy"[0] and notice they don't actually take responsibility for the abundance of information they collect on their readers every single day and try and normalize it by saying "Everyone else does it, too!" They conveniently decline to disclose any information on how t…

On the other hand, not being tracked by the NYT is easy - just don't visit their website. As far as I know, unlike some other company (hint hint) they don't go around asking their users/subscribers to hand over their contacts list.

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#22

Post by jasonlingx » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:23 AM UTC

product50 wrote: post #2

Another hit piece by NYTimes against Facebook. Personally, sharing good news across Facebook/Instagram and receiving acknowledgements has been a very satisfying experience for me. More than that, as a consumer of Facebook, I also really appreciate when my friends post their achievements/milestones as it lets me stay up to date with what is going on in their lives. Facebook allows you to scale the sharing of your happ…

FB’s business model is essentially putting ads next to your family photos.

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#23

Post by blhack » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:31 AM UTC

Facebook is enhancing my family’s joy. My family is spread across the world. Because of Facebook, I know what my sister in law is up to, and have things to talk about with her when I see her. I know what my nieces do over the summer at the cabin, and have a connection to them.

These hit pieces are ridiculous. If you don’t like Facebook, don’t use it.

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#24

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:31 AM UTC

product50 wrote: post #2

Another hit piece by NYTimes against Facebook. Personally, sharing good news across Facebook/Instagram and receiving acknowledgements has been a very satisfying experience for me. More than that, as a consumer of Facebook, I also really appreciate when my friends post their achievements/milestones as it lets me stay up to date with what is going on in their lives. Facebook allows you to scale the sharing of your happ…

[deleted]

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#25

Post by Nextgrid » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:32 AM UTC

jasonlingx wrote: post #22

product50 wrote: post #2

Another hit piece by NYTimes against Facebook. Personally, sharing good news across Facebook/Instagram and receiving acknowledgements has been a very satisfying experience for me. More than that, as a consumer of Facebook, I also really appreciate when my friends post their achievements/milestones as it lets me stay up to date with what is going on in their lives. Facebook allows you to scale the sharing of your happ…

FB’s business model is essentially putting ads next to your family photos.

It would be a perfectly acceptable business model if it was just that.

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#26

Post by Abishek_Muthian » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:32 AM UTC

Is 'Like' incl. 'Upvotes' etc. the most impactful feature on the web i.e in terms of influencing human behaviour?

Since 'Like' and its likes(pun intended) releases dopamine & the incentive keeps one addicted; it became the foundation of these social networks.

Unlike actual real relationships, positive feedback from these social networks gives instant gratification without strings attached(at-least seems like that), making them more preferable. It has become the social currency.

Incentives are necessary for retaining users, but hypothetically if all social networks decide to do away with 'Like' system for the sake of mental health, what can be the alternative?

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#27

Post by jjeaff » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:34 AM UTC

Nextgrid wrote: post #21

o10449366 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Times new "Privacy Project" is nothing more than a thin veil for their agenda against Facebook. Read their article on "How The Times Thinks About Privacy"[0] and notice they don't actually take responsibility for the abundance of information they collect on their readers every single day and try and normalize it by saying "Everyone else does it, too!" They conveniently decline to disclose any information on how t…

On the other hand, not being tracked by the NYT is easy - just don't visit their website. As far as I know, unlike some other company (hint hint) they don't go around asking their users/subscribers to hand over their contacts list.

And even worse, Facebook asks your friends about your personal details. Things like "What high school did John attend." If for some crazy reason you haven't put every single detail about yourself on your profile.

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#28

Post by ilovecaching » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:37 AM UTC

I met my spouse on Facebook, and we use it for her business, so really it's the catalyst for all of my joy. I also live really far away from my family, and it's an indispensable tool for me and the newer generations that are moving farther and farther away from home to connect with their loved ones. I've also found out about concerts, gatherings, sporting events, that I never would have gone to in all likelihood had I not been on Facebook.

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#29

Post by Nextgrid » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:39 AM UTC

Abishek_Muthian wrote: post #26

Is 'Like' incl. 'Upvotes' etc. the most impactful feature on the web i.e in terms of influencing human behaviour? Since 'Like' and its likes(pun intended) releases dopamine & the incentive keeps one addicted; it became the foundation of these social networks. Unlike actual real relationships, positive feedback from these social networks gives instant gratification without strings attached(at-least seems like that), m…

Upvotes or likes per-se aren't a bad idea, they can be used to reward what the community defines as good behaviour and filter out bad content (clickbait, etc). It seems to work pretty well on HN or Reddit for example.

The problem arises when there is no longer a clear definition of what should warrant a like, so the number looses its utility as a quality metric, and from there everything breaks loose especially if the automated curation uses the likes counter as a signal.

> Incentives are necessary for retaining users

Facebook didn't have likes in the beginning and it didn't prevent them from growing. Maybe the incentive should be quality, relevant content and meaningful conversations with your friends?

Re: Facebook Is Stealing Your Family’s Joy

#30

Post by mises » Sun, Apr 14, 2019, 2:42 AM UTC

Okay, the anti-Facebook sentiment (particularly by the New York Times) has gotten ridiculous. "They're stealing your joy"? Seriously? I understand they're not perfect and that they sell data. Because I understand this, I have chosen not to give them my data by not using their service. I get everyone has a bias, but the NYT isn't even trying to conceal it at this point.

For what it's worth, my family has connected with members we didn't know existed who lived in foreign countries. My family immigrated from many different places, but people were left behind and it's great to meet and know them. Facebook isn't "evil", it just did what was best for Facebook (though arguably not in the long term due to the backlash).

I wouldn't be surprised if Facebook sued for defamation, and they might actually have a good case against the New York Times. NYT has broken relevant information about Facebook, and that shouldn't count, but this is beyond the pale. To be clear, I don't know that they would or should win, but they would at least have a good case and that it might be worth hearing in court.

Though with all that said, I had to make a burner a few months ago for an organization that was using a Facebook group for announcements. They repeatedly banned my account for "suspicious activity", even though all I did was occasionally read what was posted. They wanted a photo ID to provide I was really me, which of course I couldn't provide as I wasn't the name with which I signed up. I tried three different accounts, and they did this to every one after two to three days. Why should I have to sign up as my real name? Does Facebook really think a bad actor would hesitate to fake an ID? I may not like what the NYT is doing, but boy is Facebook making itself hard to defend.