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Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

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Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#231

Post by bigiain »

Pfhreak wrote: post #197
Carpetsmoker wrote: post #141

No. I actually created a Facebook account in 2018. The problem is that without Facebook you will miss out. Sure, close friends and family will invite you to their social events, but more distant acquaintances will not; you know, the bloke you met at the pub last week and had a 20 minute chat with, or that cute girl you talked to but then she suddenly she was dragged off to a birthday party by her friends. By missing…

Counter point, I deleted my account (not just deactivated.) I haven't missed any significant events. You can absolutely have an active and fulfilling social life without.

I'm the other way. I _know_ I miss out of a lot of things I'd know about and be interested in attending if I had a FB account still. And I'm still happy with my choice not to be there. There are groups I've lost touch with, because they no longer bother running a website or mailing list, and do everything through FB these days. Even groups I'd have bet money on _not_ going that way (looking at you, DorkBot Sydney...)

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#233

Post by Carpetsmoker »

bigiain wrote: post #228
Carpetsmoker wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this is too harsh. Organising a grand 50th birthday is a lot of effort, and forgetting that one friend (who may not be a close friend but still a friend ) doesn't have Facebook is easy enough.

"Easy enough" - only if your default way of thinking is "all my friends are facebook friends". That's plain lazy thinking, it's completely giving up on your privacy-aware friends because Zuckerberg makes doing that so so easy. What a surprise.

There are many systemic wrongs that are worth fighting to change, and a single person can't possibly fight them all at the same time. You can't expect everyone to be deeply invested in the privacy cause; some people care more about, say, feminism, or veganism, or homelessness, or something else. That's okay, too.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#234

Post by ksangeelee »

IIAOPSW wrote: post #173

I got banned from facebook this year. So some background. I used facebook as a normal user from 2010 to 2012. I thought it was stupid on day 1 but was peer pressured into it (thanks high school) and by 2012 I still thought it was stupid and useless so I quit. At various intervals between 2012 and now I've had shitposting accounts. Fake names and fake pictures but most people in the friends list knew who was behind th…

I agree, it never deserved to be taken seriously. When my wife deleted her account, I found it quite bizarre that people were asking questions like 'how are you coping?'.

To me, it's just a website - I wondered how absurd that same question would sound had it been a pistonheads or mumsnet account she was deleting.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#236

Post by austhrow743 »

Pfhreak wrote: post #197
Carpetsmoker wrote: post #141

No. I actually created a Facebook account in 2018. The problem is that without Facebook you will miss out. Sure, close friends and family will invite you to their social events, but more distant acquaintances will not; you know, the bloke you met at the pub last week and had a 20 minute chat with, or that cute girl you talked to but then she suddenly she was dragged off to a birthday party by her friends. By missing…

Counter point, I deleted my account (not just deactivated.) I haven't missed any significant events. You can absolutely have an active and fulfilling social life without.

Would you class a party hosted by that guy who was talking to that girl who was friends with the coworker you went drinking with three Fridays ago as a significant event?

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#237

Post by bigiain »

shock wrote: post #168
unicornporn wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I couldn’t go through with it for reasons I’m embarrassed to admit Quitting Facebook may not a choice without severe consequences. I'm lucky enough to be able to stay away from Facebook, but I know everyone isn't in the same position. It's important to acknowledge that Facebook is inextricably intertwined with many peoples professional and social lives. Your workplace may require you to Workplace by Facebook for co…

> Quitting Facebook may not a choice without severe consequences You know you're living in a time of peace when not having Facebook is considered to have severe consequences .

Or it's indicative of the battlefields of the (very near) future...

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#238

Post by krn »

bigiain wrote: post #229
krn wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A Facebook account which is accessed only via web browser with third-party cookies and notifications disabled is not the worst thing. It essentially becomes just another website. What is the worst thing though, it's installing one of the Facebook's apps on your smartphone. Because then you basically give up the entire private data of your day-to-day life. (I imagine, very few people have actually seen the full permis…

Sure - but it just enables the behaviour of selling out your entire social circle to Zuckerburg. I know we've lost that fight - but it doesn't mean it's not worth resisting.

> but it just enables the behaviour of selling out your entire social circle to Zuckerburg.

If that's the main reason to quit Facebook, the question should have been: "Did you delete your Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp accounts in 2018?". Yet, somehow nobody asks that question.

Re: Ask HN: Did you delete your Facebook account in 2018?

#239

Post by bigiain »

LargeWu wrote: post #230

No. I have a few online businesses and Facebook is critical to driving traffic. It's not a stretch to say I would not have a viable business without the ability to advertise on Facebook proper. Even Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest...none of these have ever driven a single sale, but I've gotten plenty off Facebook.

I'm curious - would you be happy mentioning what type/area of business that is?

I've heard _way_ more stories of five and six figure Facebook ad spends resulting in zero attributable transactions than success stories. The word on the street I'm hearing is that Instagram is where the conversions are coming from in B2C...

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