Is there a reason we don't quit and/or boycott Facebook?

[dutch777]

I never got on Facebook or any general social media platform as I worked in military intelligence and knew all too well how small data points that seem innocuous can be massively exploited. My son was on and gave up on it as he saw his info being manipulated against his interests. With Trump and the other massive disinformation going unchecked on the platform, on top of the base data mining FB does against its own members interests, why is anybody on it??? Seriously missing something on my part I guess.

[larwdem]

1. I agree

[TreadSoftly]

2. Speaking personally...

I volunteer for groups that use FB for their advertising. That works well -- like a reminder calendar. Also good to keep up with friends without taking a lot of their time (i.e. if I see a photo from X, then I know she's OK).

That said, I limit my personal contributions to interesting photos of animals and stuff to encourage people to vote (I'm a poll worker). The former helps people keep up with me. The second reminds my friends to get their children to vote!

I am also cautious about what I "like" -- always positive on BLM, never anything that trashes or boosts candidates. I would rather have FB people guess as to my political leanings but clearly in favor of socially good efforts.

Thanks for raising the issue though. When my cousin ends her months-long trip with near daily posts that I might stop viewing FB. Bottom line, though -- makes a great events / group calendar / keep in touch app.

[dutch777]

6. I appreciate the perspective...thank you!

[csziggy]

18. My use of Facebook is similar to yours

I follow some of the groups I am involved with since they now only communicate through Facebook. Probably 80% of what I post are articles I have found here on DU about political matters, and the other 20% are political videos and funny animal videos.

I post no personal info and I only have three friends: my husband, my sister, and my niece (who works abroad so is often out of touch via phone or email). I only check Facebook two or three times a week but have gone sometimes for months without checking it.

[Nay]

26. Yeah, same here. My volunteer groups AND art groups are all on Facebook. I also keep

up with faraway friends and relatives on Facebook. I participate in two neighborhood groups that way, too.

I don't participate in any surveys, "like" stuff, pass-it-on stuff, 'fun' tests, none of that.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

29. Do u know how much it costs to advertise? Most of

us have dropped FB, but that is where all the low-infos are. The ones who are so susceptible to GOP lies. They help them by not researching the veracity and spread to all their low-info friends.

I was curious, since it doesn't look like our party will combat this, how expensive it would be to do it on a grass roots level.

[GusFring]

3. I'm still waiting for someone to tell me how it's different from myspace.

I never saw the innovation in it. Twitter is way better imo

[OnDoutside]

4. It's fantastic for keeping in touch with what family, cousins and

friends are doing. I would have definitely lost contact with most of them, had it not been for Facebook. Yes there are some who are low information people, posting shite like anti vaxxer crap or shared stuff that I just know that they know fuck all about. I used to try engage with but now I just snooze them for 30 days, because there is no point. My sister in law is generally a pretty kind person, posts lots of cat or missing dogs videos, but frequently she shares stuff from her feed that she's clueless about such as the other day she shared a fucking Candace Owens video. So I snoozed her for 30 days.

[dutch777]

5. Snoozing the sister in law...LOL!!!

Glad you can at least snooze people for a month.

[RockRaven]

7. I've had this discussion with my immediate family many times...

I never signed up because I didn't want family, friend, and work worlds to co-mingle through social media.

Another never signed up because they don't do anything online if there is any alternative.

Another did sign up because they felt they needed to do so for career networking purposes, but uses it minimally.

Another did sign up because they feel like they cannot keep up with extended family (who are on FB and are not concerned with the harm of FB) without it, but uses it a hell of a lot.

We will never be free of the toxicity/sociopathic behavior of FB until people just suck of up and decide freeing our society of their self-interested manipulation is more important than the convenience of using it.

[Bev54]

8. I would love a different forum

and hate FB but I have friends who live all over the world and we all stay in touch with FB. If there was another forum that provided the same connections, I would take it but so far nothing compares. I am hoping if the dems get in, Warren will split up the company and open the air for new competition.

[marlakay]

13. My hope too I know how bad FB can be

But I have friends across the world and private support groups that help me.

Plus I stay in touch with old friends who live far away now that I never would without it.

Lots of small businesses and restaurants use FB instead of a website and I find out info about them.

After Bernie dropped out I had to snooze my Bernie friends who were angry. Now they are all in for Biden after Trumps disaster with Covid and especially the protests lately.

[The River]

9. We're a Planet

filled with digital narcissists who either don't know or care about the harm FB is causing as long as they get validated with "likes".

[denbot]

10. My wife and I did just that 3 years ago.

Don’t miss it at all.

[A HERETIC I AM]

11. Hate to state the obvious, but Skinner, Elad and EarlG missed the boat.....

when the ability to host photos and other info came about.

This platform right here could have been the Facebook or Twitter of the last decade if they had been able or initiated similar features that made Facebook and Twitter so appealing.

If they had made it so DU was able to host photos, like FaceBook does, or quickly upload photos from your own library instead of having to use the likes of Photobucket (Which utterly sucks, these days) or similar, just as one can do on Twitter or FB, Democratic Underground would have been much larger and those three would have been Billionaires by now.

I use Facebook because it allows easy and entertaining access to friends, full stop. It allows me to highlight or hyperlink friends onto a post, something that DU should do.

The Admins of this forum should and could modify their software such that it could compete with Facebook in much more interesting ways.

[Celerity]

23. Just post the url of the pic, or use gyazo to take a snapsgot

https://gyazo.com/

I post pics and gifs all the time

[Laura PourMeADrink]

30. Think they were saying that there's an ease in just pulling

It in vs. having to use another service.

[Brother Mythos]

12. I've never had any interest in signing up for Facebook. But ...

from my interactions on other forums with people who do utilize it, I've come to suspect that there are many people who are too addicted to the platform to even think about boycotting it.

I suspect that, on the whole, Facebook usage is subject to the ol' 80/20 rule. That is, in all probability, about 80 % of the platform's online activity is attributable to about 20 % of its members. So, if both of my suspicions are correct, I seriously doubt that the hyperactive 20 % would ever willingly give up their social media platform. It then follows that a boycott by the remaining 80 % would have to include the majority of them, to have any real, long-term effect on the bottom line of the business. And, that is very unlikely to ever happen.

That's, pretty much, my two cents worth on the subject of possible Facebook boycotts.

[Cha]

14. I don't do poiitics on FB but my family is

on there from all over the Mainland. And, it's important to keep in touch to see how they're doing. Some live in a red state.

So I won't stop even though I hate what Zuckerberg has turned it into in other areas.

[msongs]

15. twitter is as bad or worse. gonna ban that as well? nt

[Cirque du So-What]

24. I never joined Twitter

but, one way or another, I manage to see scads of tweets - both of interest to me and of no interest whatsoever.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

31. I love Twitter. You can only see tweets from like minded.

[leftyladyfrommo]

16. It's the only way I have to keep in touch with family

and friends especially since we are all in lock down.

I don't do political stuff on FB just cartoons and cute things.

[pnwmom]

17. It's how I keep up with extended family and hometown friends. But since Trump's elections,

most of my posts have been political, usually with articles or original sources attached.

I don't know how careful your son was with his settings. Maybe that's how his info got "manipulated."

[kentuck]

19. Whether we like it or not, Trump and Republicans plan on using Facebook to win next election.

It is fertile ground for lies and propaganda. We dismiss them at our own peril, in my opinion. We need to be much more aggressive in responding to the Trump propaganda, in my opinion.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

33. +1,000,000! Wish we had had the foresight to install a super-agressive DNC head.

Wasn't it Buttigieg who seemed so media savvy?

My idea. Buy same lists GOP does. Set up rapid response team to monitor their smears. Immediately create counter ad, post to same group.

[beachbumbob]

20. problem is no decent alternative is available.

[OneGrassRoot]

21. I'm working on something, HOWEVER...

It's not for everyone as FB is. I'm working on an alternative (I had a successful forum years ago which many DUers are familiar with), but the difference is it won't allow white supremacists and Nazis in. Because once they're in, it's nearly impossible to remove them. They're like cockroaches.

As you see, many people use FB to stay in touch with friends and relatives, and I dare say many of those friends and relatives don't share a similar worldview of wanting a more caring, just world where everyone belongs and no one is The Other.

If enough people would pare down their use of FB to strictly sharing recipes and family pics (which I think is dangerous, sharing so much personal info as people do, but I digress), it would remove FB's ability to manipulate so easily and spread propaganda.

Leave the meaningful discussions for those who share similar values, including businesses and organizations, for another forum built on more integrity, with no Nazis, and no selling or manipulation of data.

[SoonerPride]

22. Facebook is addictive

People rationalize they need for it

It is hard to quit

I quit 2 years ago

[lagomorph777]

25. I don't get it either. I can't get my wife to give up the addiction, and it scares me.

She also pops up with all kinds of racist bullshit, some of which she seems to actually believe.

Personally I have never touched Falsebook or Twit. They are Putin's Platforms.

[Maeve]

27. I use to to keep up with professional and volunteer groups

As well as some of my far-flung family. I never see any of their ads and I unfollow/unfriend RW posters.

About ads--there is a free app available for most browsers call FB Purity that allows you to customize Facebook and do away with targeted ads--well, all ads. I have used it for years and know it to be safe (Hubby is a computer tech)--check it out at https://www.fbpurity.com/ (not a commercial message--I just love the product!)

[obamanut2012]

28. bless your heart

you do you

[Ilsa]

32. I quit. I hated the junk getting posted by

family, and I didn't want it passed along through my page.

I hate that so many businesses use Facebook to communicate with customers.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

35. Some people are insane about it. Before I dropped, saw

"friends" post that they were at McDonald's having lunch. Who cares? And if you didn't "like" something was wrong! I don't know what the technical term is, but some people have this inordinate need to share personal information. Like to brag that they are at a party, with LOTS of close friends ( and you weren't one of them).

[brooklynite]

34. Answer: pictures of grandchildren and cat videos

1. It's free.

2. Most users don't write or read political screeds.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

36. Correct, but do see people spread less overtly political

stuff. Think it's a fine art for GOP to make their smears appear more like "yikes, is this true?". Saw Cruz do it to Beto.

[Nature Man]

38. I imagine user experience

will vary with the quality of people in ones life.

[OneGrassRoot]

37. I've lost a handful of dear friends...

who always avoided "politics."

Now, because of living on FB during this pandemic and the conspiracy theories flying, they slid down the dark hole and are now in the QAnon cult. It was shocking to witness.

[Blasphemer]

39. It's like Amazon at this point....

Like online shopping, social media is now a fixture of contemporary life. And FB and Amazon have become the dominant forces in their respective areas. It would be hard to shift people. But, with the current conversations going on, it may be possible for someone to successfully launch an alternative to FB, especially if it is minority owned.

[Ron Green]

40. It's the same reason we don't quit driving cars.

It’s the world we made, and we just live in it.