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What would happen if Facebook were turned off?

economist.com

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Re: What would happen if Facebook were turned off?

#41

Post by yellow_postit »

phishfi wrote: post #25
shereadsthenews wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That seems like quite a claim. I'm sure I can reach plumbers via trade magazines, trade schools, trade shows, displays in plumbing supply shops, etc. In fact all of those sound at least as effective as targeting them on Facebook.

I think you're heavily discounting the amount if actual labor involved in finding and getting into those magazines, schools, shows, and shops...

Also missing on the multitude of testing that digital makes easier. I make no claim about true lift, but FB has built in AB testing tools for advertisers plus relationships with a multitude of 3P measurement providers.

Re: What would happen if Facebook were turned off?

#42

Post by 8bitsrule »

BurningFrog wrote: post #35
burlesona wrote: post #4

From the article, referencing a study where researchers got a bunch of people to quit Facebook and then studied what happened: “They consumed much less news, and were thus less aware of events but also less polarised in their views about them than those still on the network. Leaving Facebook boosted self-reported happiness and reduced feelings of depression and anxiety.” ^^ this is why I’d like to see it broken up or…

FB is just the messenger (NPI). If it's shut down, something else will quickly fill its place.

I was just going to say, today's internet will route around the damage.

Re: What would happen if Facebook were turned off?

#44

Post by marcus_holmes »

asdfasgasdgasdg wrote: post #38
marcus_holmes wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the difference is that only individual posts get downvoted here. I (used to) have friends on FB who will unfriend anyone epxressing an opinion that they don't agree with (or "find offensive"). They end up in an echo chamber where they never hear an opinion they don't already agree with, and then get surprised when elections don't turn out the way they wanted. Weirdly, I'm still friends with some of them irl,…

Agreed there is a difference. Not so much agreed that it meaningfully suppresses the echo chamber effect. The ultimate result is the same. That which sufficiently differs with the views of the majority of the people on this site tends to be seen less, or not at all depending on the extent of the disagreement. Except for us heretics with showdead enabled.

agreed. But the majority here define the "acceptable" opinions, not the individual.

Also, I've had climate-skeptic comments upvoted and culture-war comments downvoted in contradiction to the dominant narrative here, so it does seem to be post-by-post rather than site-wide chambering.

Re: What would happen if Facebook were turned off?

#47

Post by JeanMarcS »

ThJ wrote: post #40

It's funny to read such articles hypothesising about Facebook being gone. I left Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn about 1 year ago. I was hardly getting any use out of it anyway; not even Messenger. I did a similar thing to Reddit. Quit it cold turkey. These days, I hang out on Mastodon and HN. As it turns out, I don't give a shit about what my extended family and old classmates are up to, and they don't really give a…

If only bands I like add RSS flux to their website, I’ll follow you in a minute !

Perhaps it’s because I’m a bit old (47) but I never geeked the urge of adding « friends » for having a big number of friends, so I am mainly interacting with 3 or 4 people on FB, as everybody’s gone now.

But I get news from the band I follow, gig dates and stuff.

I once missed Porcupine Tree having a gig in my town (a lot of work at that time) in 2004 and that’s the main reason I subscribed to FB (many years later but still) to never miss a gig of anyone again

Re: What would happen if Facebook were turned off?

#48

Post by blueboo »

ThJ wrote: post #40

It's funny to read such articles hypothesising about Facebook being gone. I left Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn about 1 year ago. I was hardly getting any use out of it anyway; not even Messenger. I did a similar thing to Reddit. Quit it cold turkey. These days, I hang out on Mastodon and HN. As it turns out, I don't give a shit about what my extended family and old classmates are up to, and they don't really give a…

And I dare say staying out of touch with news as Facebook and reddit presents it is ... how to put this, not enriching, but rather more like emotionally detoxing.

Re: What would happen if Facebook were turned off?

#49

Post by wtmt »

Johnny555 wrote: post #33

Those booted off enjoyed an additional hour of free time on average What to people who spend an hour or more a day on Facebook actually do there? I log in once or twice a week to look for pictures from my family and maybe wish someone a happy birthday (which is a pretty shallow interaction since I only do it when Facebook tells me to). But what do people do when they spend much more time there? Read and respond to po…

They scroll endlessly watching photos and videos on the feed, many of which are shared by others or come through page subscriptions. They may also hit like or tap on some reaction. Actual comments are a lot lesser in magnitude.

One hour a day on Facebook is too short a duration for most of these people.

Re: What would happen if Facebook were turned off?

#50

Post by jd2 »

I quit for the third and final time a few months ago. My kids text pics, etc. We have a group family text thread. I don't like being tracked and my data being sold. Facebook is a very negative social force and a conduit for misinformation. So many fools that believe the "news" they read on FB.
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