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Thank God Facebook is down (Original Post) Sympthsical Oct 2021 OP
Wouldn't it be awesome if we all went back to MySpace? Polybius Oct 2021 #1
I was okay with Fido Net. nt Xipe Totec Oct 2021 #3
We could just put our pictures in albums and send letters again. Irish_Dem Oct 2021 #15
But digital has it's purposes Polybius Oct 2021 #19
Good points. But my cloud is full. Irish_Dem Oct 2021 #20
Yep- on the cloud, they can just Thtwudbeme Oct 2021 #24
That's why you should have two clouds Polybius Oct 2021 #31
We could also use a horse and buggy instead of a car or train. But I don't want to. Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #58
Yep. I will take a pass on the horse and buggy! Irish_Dem Oct 2021 #66
save democracy....kill fb! PortTack Oct 2021 #2
and a place where many connect with friends and family, elleng Oct 2021 #4
And a place that many- including DUers -- rely on for their businesses onenote Oct 2021 #5
Ditto!!! Ferrets are Cool Oct 2021 #21
I use Facebook marketplace quite a bit. Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #59
But at least frogmarch Oct 2021 #8
posted from my twitter account lolol nt msongs Oct 2021 #6
It's a tool. Nothng more. Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #7
Oh, I use FB Sympthsical Oct 2021 #11
Hard to tell around here - Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #14
I agree. Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #65
Well said. nm New Breed Leader Oct 2021 #16
Facebook is less a tool that can be misused as the people using it and the information they give ColinC Oct 2021 #23
That may work for you, Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #25
It has nothing to do with us. It has to do with the irresponsibility and malfeasance of the company. ColinC Oct 2021 #26
Stop shaming people for whom facebook is an invaluable tool. Period. Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #27
I'm not shaming anybody. I'm simply pointing out they are not the only way you can ColinC Oct 2021 #28
Right. n/t Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #29
Do you deny that Facebook is not the only way you can interact with people? ColinC Oct 2021 #30
There are also alternatives convenience stores for food for poverty stricken inner city residents. Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #32
Comparing apples and oranges to well, facebook... ColinC Oct 2021 #33
You are confusing the platform with the need. Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #36
facebook does not sell anything that is needed to live. ColinC Oct 2021 #37
You clearly have no experience Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #38
Nobody is shaming anybody. ColinC Oct 2021 #39
It is your ignorance speaking, Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #43
Fair enough ColinC Oct 2021 #47
Well said Ms Toad. Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #62
Try doing Armenian genealogy without Facebook LeftInTX Oct 2021 #34
Interesting! ColinC Oct 2021 #35
And where else am I gonna find out about what's going on with hydrocephalic cats..LOL? LeftInTX Oct 2021 #40
I choose to use Facebook for that purpose and it is not your business to tell me or anyone Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #61
I never told you not to. ColinC Oct 2021 #76
Maybe we could, but I don't want to...a better approach would be to learn how to use it to our Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #78
Yep ColinC Oct 2021 #80
Facebook did not try to overthrow the government. It was a tool used for this purpose. Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #60
There appears to be considerable documentation suggesting their gross malfeasance ColinC Oct 2021 #77
Regardless what you or others think Facebook should have done to confront the risk...they Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #79
Nobody is saying they were part of a conspiracy. ColinC Oct 2021 #81
But given its well-known issues.... AngryOldDem Oct 2021 #51
Be my guest. Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #55
FB has fomented political extremism for profit. AngryOldDem Oct 2021 #68
There are so many things which need our attention Ms. Toad Oct 2021 #73
Very clever GusBob Oct 2021 #9
LOL Just_Vote_Dem Oct 2021 #10
Post removed Post removed Oct 2021 #12
Hey, it gave YOU a break from... ret5hd Oct 2021 #13
I was right!!! ret5hd Oct 2021 #17
Lol asiliveandbreathe Oct 2021 #22
For the past month FB has been pushing lots of ultra-RW pages ThoughtCriminal Oct 2021 #18
Yes! oh my lord - it has been relentless. OhioBlue Oct 2021 #41
Interesting. I wonder if they are also targeting liberals ThoughtCriminal Oct 2021 #42
I'm very political on FB. I don't have that issue LeftInTX Oct 2021 #45
I don't have that problem... LeftInTX Oct 2021 #44
yes - I know they are data mining and that is why I don't comment on them. OhioBlue Oct 2021 #46
I just read, "suggested for you" is based on your friends' interests. LeftInTX Oct 2021 #52
Thank you. NurseJackie Oct 2021 #72
I'm not telling you about something I heard from another person OhioBlue Oct 2021 #82
I don't receive the RW crap (yay), and I make a political ... electric_blue68 Oct 2021 #48
I don't either...I'm pretty active...Politics is probably my number one thing... LeftInTX Oct 2021 #49
I guess politics is in my top five or six... electric_blue68 Oct 2021 #53
I know your post is mostly tongue-in-cheek AngryOldDem Oct 2021 #50
September 26, 2006 Celerity Oct 2021 #56
It is not facebooks fault. It. And if facebook didnt exist, there would Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #63
I don't use FB. LuckyCharms Oct 2021 #54
Great post. Life is about choices. Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #64
I don't use it, either. AngryOldDem Oct 2021 #70
I know what you mean about the exclusion/luddite thing... LeftInTX Oct 2021 #74
And another thing: LeftInTX Oct 2021 #75
+1 Roisin Ni Fiachra Oct 2021 #71
I like facebook. Keep up with the family. Lots of pictures. I don't do Demsrule86 Oct 2021 #57
GOD HATES FACEBOOK! NurseJackie Oct 2021 #67
Lol, ok! USALiberal Oct 2021 #69

Polybius

(15,235 posts)
19. But digital has it's purposes
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 02:54 PM
Oct 2021

Fire or flood can destroy photos, but not if they're uploaded on a cloud service.

Irish_Dem

(45,616 posts)
66. Yep. I will take a pass on the horse and buggy!
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 07:03 AM
Oct 2021

And I would be the first to scream to high heaven if I didn't have my iPhone or MacBook at my side.
I often wonder how we functioned before these communication devices came into our lives.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
7. It's a tool. Nothng more.
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 02:22 PM
Oct 2021

If you feel like you can't restrain yourself from using a knife to stab your neighbor, don't pick it up. But I find that knife darn useful in making salads and I'm not about to to back to tearing my carrot into small chunks with my bare hands because some people are unable to control their evil urges when they pick up a knife.

Sympthsical

(8,925 posts)
11. Oh, I use FB
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 02:30 PM
Oct 2021

Friends and family stuff once a week. No politics. Pictures of kittens.

I'm just enjoying the current moment. Celebrating a social media giant is down . . . while on a social media giant.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
23. Facebook is less a tool that can be misused as the people using it and the information they give
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 04:20 PM
Oct 2021

If we don't think facebook is a trustworthy entity, then we might be better off finding more responsible means of interacting with family, friends, and sharing cat videos. I personally do that with text message. Anybody outside of a reasonably sized text chain shouldn't be knowing my business anyways, quite frankly.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
25. That may work for you,
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 04:34 PM
Oct 2021

But it doesn't work for a lot of us.

We have two very rare (and fatal) diseases in our family - diseases rare enough that most of the research on the diseases consists of case studies. One has some treatments, the other has no medical treatment (beyond symptom management). When my daughter was diagnosed with the one which has no medical treatment, the sum total of the information available on the internet was symptom management & 10-years to death or transplant. We have friends in this community who are on their 5th transplant - because even transplant is not a cure.

Those of us with such diseases, and our familes, find facebook an invaluable tool for limiting our isolation, communicating how to survive, sharing information that we can then pass on to our doctors, and providing the safety net for those newly diagnosed. So, just a tad more important than the patronizing and dismissive "cat videos" comment you made.

So if you can't restrain yourself from grabbing that knife and stabbing your neighbor - I guess yo know yourself better than I do. But please stop shaming people who find knives invaluable tools.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
26. It has nothing to do with us. It has to do with the irresponsibility and malfeasance of the company.
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 04:40 PM
Oct 2021

And the fact that they have already lost 1.5 billion profiles and the information they contain to hackers -which could include your own. They are complicit in the attempted overthrow of our government, the continuing unraveling of our social fabric -and they are not the only means in which you can interact with people on. Google plus is one alternative that could prove invaluable to networking. I imagine there are plenty of ways you could do the things described above without facebook, and if what has happened today is any indication, it appears that folks should start looking for those alternatives.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
27. Stop shaming people for whom facebook is an invaluable tool. Period.
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 04:57 PM
Oct 2021

You want a different tool - build it. It may be that people will migrate to it. But blaming people living under the threat of death or with severe disabilities, who often can't find anyone else witin a 100 mile radius living with the same condition, and can't find doctors who have even treated the condition before, for accessing the existing support communities on facebook is like blaming impoverished inner city residents for their poor diets because they are too "lazy" to go search out better alternatives.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
28. I'm not shaming anybody. I'm simply pointing out they are not the only way you can
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 05:01 PM
Oct 2021

Do the things you describe. The site has been down for quite a while, and it isn't unreasonable to look for alternative ways to keep in touch with people at this point

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
30. Do you deny that Facebook is not the only way you can interact with people?
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 05:06 PM
Oct 2021

Is it not possible to find an alternative? I shame Facebook for being the equivalent of a criminal organization that takes advantage of people.it can be used for lots of good, but unless it becomes highly regulated to prevent the horrifying level of disinformation and haven for right wing extremism, it is better for it to be gone.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
32. There are also alternatives convenience stores for food for poverty stricken inner city residents.
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 09:55 PM
Oct 2021

Do you suggest that they figure out how to transport themselves to those other alternatives, find the extra time in the day it takes to ride the bus (often hours) to get to a healthier, more economical alternative? Or that they build new stores in their neighborhoods because convenience stores are calorie-filled nutritional wastelands.

If you haven't seen it before, educate yourself about the impact of living with a limited supply of spoons.

https://butyoudontlooksick.com/articles/written-by-christine/the-spoon-theory/

So while it is theoretically possible to find an alternatve, it takes more spoons than we have to spare. And frankly we have a lot better things to spend our limited supply of spoons on than tossing a functional tool that provides a home for the supportive community and finding/creating a replacementmerel because someone who is clueless about living on a limited supply of spoons, and the need for the communities that exist on facebook, can't figure out how to restrain their impulses to use th tool for evil.

Facebook is the primary location for most medical support groups. Until that changes, it is where communities for people with rare disease need to be. Finding support and information when you are newly diagnosed with a disease that only a few thousand, or even a few hundred thousand, have is nearly impossible. Prior to facebook there were other listservs where people knew to go for medical support (or which came up on search engines). Those have largely all vanished or migrated to facebook. Providing a safe landing space for those newly diagnosed is critical, and making it harder to find that safe landing space is unacceptable.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
33. Comparing apples and oranges to well, facebook...
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 10:03 PM
Oct 2021

Social media is not and never actually was a necessity to live. It is a technological convenience that we lived thousands of years without. That is not the case with food.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
36. You are confusing the platform with the need.
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 10:18 PM
Oct 2021

Stores are not a necessity to live, either. They are merely the primary current platform to distribute food (which is the necessity).

Medical support communities are a necessity for those of us with rare, chronic, and deadly diseases. Facebeook is merely the platform that that allow us to connect with the few others around the globe in the same condition.

But for these medical support groups, several people I know would have died for lack of a transplant (cadaver organs are in short supply, my daughter's disease makes her appear healthier than her organ actually is, and the organ can be transplanted from a live donor - several of which have connected via medical support groups; I was tested as a donor for a young man about my daughter's age because he was close to transplant than my daughter - and by the time she will need an organ I will be too old to donate.);

many children I know are stlll living with their original organs - rather than being on their second or third transplant - because of an accidental medical discovery that puts their disease in remission a discovery that was spread among parents largely by word of mouth via medical support groups.

Most of the research on my daughter's disease now recruits participants through the medical support groups. There are so few in any one medical practice - EVEN one as large as Mayo or the Cleveland Clinc - that there is no other way to gather enough particpants for medical trials.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
37. facebook does not sell anything that is needed to live.
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 10:20 PM
Oct 2021

Stores sell food, which is needed to live. Yet, people did just fine without socializing on the internet long before the internet ever existed. If stores shut down, millions would starve. If facebook shut down, you would be just fine. Inconvenienced, but fine. It is not the same as not having access to food.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
38. You clearly have no experience
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 10:25 PM
Oct 2021

with chronic, rare, deadly diseases.

Count your blessings, and stop shaming thoe of us who do about the tools we use to survive.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
39. Nobody is shaming anybody.
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 10:30 PM
Oct 2021

And no, I don't have any experience with rare, deadly diseases. But it still sounds incredibly far fetched if you believe that you will die without social media. That might just be my ignorance speaking, but still...

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
43. It is your ignorance speaking,
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 11:46 PM
Oct 2021

and you are both shaming and ridiculing the critical role medical support groups play in the lives of those of us with chronic, rare, and deadly diseases, by trivializing it as "social media" as it is the "cat video" aspect of social media I've been talking about. So you should just stop.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
47. Fair enough
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 01:22 AM
Oct 2021



But I am not shaming nor do I think it is wrong for people to use the platform themselves, regardless of what I think of the company that owns it. Again, I am shaming the company, not you.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
34. Try doing Armenian genealogy without Facebook
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 10:08 PM
Oct 2021

Just try it!

I don't live near an Armenian community. The moderators are always sharing resources. That's where everyone goes who has family who has perished from genocide. There are very few to no records prior to the US. All records were destroyed. I have my great grandfather's book. Other Armenians have books their families have written. You don't know what it's like

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
35. Interesting!
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 10:11 PM
Oct 2021

Although, as many folks mentioned -facebook is a tool, not a necessity. Although in this case it sounds like it can be a very valuable tool. Thank you for sharing.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
40. And where else am I gonna find out about what's going on with hydrocephalic cats..LOL?
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 11:12 PM
Oct 2021

It popped up in a cat group I'm in. So I follow it out of morbid curiosity. They post about once a day. They're a rescue group who rescues hydrocephalic cats and I had been a pediatric nurse. I'm like WTF is this? Cats? Shunts, brain surgery?

The internet never fails to find something that I had never heard of before. Gosh, they spend $$$$$$ to rescue those cats and they all die or have horrible neuro issues. The cats can barely walk. They also can't poop and require enemas (They have to get the enemas under anesthesia, they do not show the enemas) It's so weird.

Then, there's a lady in Romania who takes care of crippled cats. They're all in beds and wrapped up and swaddled like babies.

I guess you could find this stuff on Youtube too...

Demsrule86

(68,347 posts)
61. I choose to use Facebook for that purpose and it is not your business to tell me or anyone
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 05:09 AM
Oct 2021

what to do or how to live our lives. You don't like Facebook then don't use it.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
76. I never told you not to.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 03:12 PM
Oct 2021

To paraphrase, I have been saying "you can live without it," as I assume we all did for the few hours it was gone.

Demsrule86

(68,347 posts)
78. Maybe we could, but I don't want to...a better approach would be to learn how to use it to our
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 05:17 PM
Oct 2021

advantage because if you think folks are going back to writing letters...they are not. Time marches on...the good and the bad.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
80. Yep
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 05:20 PM
Oct 2021

And that is plenty okay. My issues with Facebook being a terrible company in no way reflects how I feel about it's users.

Demsrule86

(68,347 posts)
60. Facebook did not try to overthrow the government. It was a tool used for this purpose.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 05:07 AM
Oct 2021

I like facebook and honestly am not interested in all of this hysteria about ending Facebook. We live in a Republic ( if we can keep it).We can't 'end' private companies or free speech for that matter. It is a useful tool. Lets make it work for us.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
77. There appears to be considerable documentation suggesting their gross malfeasance
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 03:32 PM
Oct 2021

whether intentional or not. Lifting their rule enforcement right before January 6 is suspect -and knowing their platform was utilized for such a thing without enforcing their own rules in the matter, is also suspect. I understand that companies and people are protected by free speech to an extent. Free speech, however, is not a free pass to say whatever you like. Organizing to overthrow the government or yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre are two examples where speech is no longer protected. And where a platform does knowingly allow people to break their rules through organized terrorism, it should be held accountable.

While I agree facebook is a useful tool, strong regulations in how it conducts itself can and should be implemented to prevent its' users from causing serious damage.

Demsrule86

(68,347 posts)
79. Regardless what you or others think Facebook should have done to confront the risk...they
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 05:19 PM
Oct 2021

were not part of any conspiracy, and to suggest otherwise is wrong...malfeasance is a word with no meaning really.

ColinC

(8,227 posts)
81. Nobody is saying they were part of a conspiracy.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 05:23 PM
Oct 2021

Intentional neglect that leads to violence or destruction can be a criminal act. You don't need to be part of a conspiracy to still be liable of others' actions.

AngryOldDem

(14,061 posts)
51. But given its well-known issues....
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 02:40 AM
Oct 2021

Can’t we at least acknowledge and try to address them, as we also recognize the benefits that Facebook may provide to some people? Facebook. obviously, is not going anywhere, so making this a zero-sum game is folly. But that doesn’t mean we ignore the damage it has obviously done.

AngryOldDem

(14,061 posts)
68. FB has fomented political extremism for profit.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 07:41 AM
Oct 2021

I’m tired of the “hands-off” attitude people seem to have toward Facebook. Yes, it’s good for certain communities and for keeping tabs on people, but that’s not the issue. Regulating algorithms that direct people to incendiary rhetoric that can adversely impact the political climate is the issue. Anything can be abused — thus the reason for oversight and regulation, which FB has avoided. It is not your job, nor mine, to do change it — it’s FB’s, and I hope today’s hearing is a good start.

I know I’m not going to win this argument with you, so be well.

Ms. Toad

(33,915 posts)
73. There are so many things which need our attention
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 09:58 AM
Oct 2021

That no one can do everything that needs to be done. Each of us has to pick and choose where to spend whatever activism energy we have. If reforming Facebook is where you choose to spend yours, have at it. It's just not even close to a priority for where I spend mine.

But it is a tool that I find useful for a variety of things (including having some very productive conversations on political matters with people with whom I would be very unlikely otherwise to talk with about politics), so I'm not going to ignore the frequent shaming on DU directed at people who use Facebook.


GusBob

(7,286 posts)
9. Very clever
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 02:23 PM
Oct 2021

How much Twitter bullshit is posted on DU?

Trumps every tweet was spread here not just daily, but multiple times a day



Response to Sympthsical (Original post)

ret5hd

(20,433 posts)
13. Hey, it gave YOU a break from...
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 02:38 PM
Oct 2021

Your vaccine “research” and opened up a time-slot to vent some poutrage! Think how much richer your life is now! Pizza is sure to be delivered soon!

ThoughtCriminal

(14,009 posts)
18. For the past month FB has been pushing lots of ultra-RW pages
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 02:52 PM
Oct 2021

I block at least a dozen of their "Suggested for you" every day and they keep coming. They will NEVER run out of wing-nut sites to "Suggest". There are many thousands, maybe tens of thousands, and probably most are hosted by Russia and other Eastern European troll farms.

Considering that the only political pages that I might comment, follow, or like are strongly liberal, it is an interesting insight into their algorithms.

I am a 60+ white male (not sure if they actually know my race, but it probably would not matter). The gender and age knowledge is probably sufficient to be targetted for right-wing outrage, hate, and fear-mongering. Plus, I do follow a few aviation history sites that are also popular with the "Gravy Seal" wannabe demographic.

As for the memes from these pages themselves, Good Lord they are lame! These people think Ben Garrison is spot-on hilarious.

OhioBlue

(5,126 posts)
41. Yes! oh my lord - it has been relentless.
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 11:17 PM
Oct 2021

I screen shot dozens of them and finally quit because, what was I going to do with the screen shots? But it has been insane. Every time I log on, it seems every other post that I see is either an ad or a "suggested for you" and 90% of those are RW nut sites with horrible memes.

There is no way the algorithms are accurately suggesting this for me. I interact very little outside of liberal groups or nature/photography/camping type groups. I don't have my race or age on FB, I don't take any quizzes or respond to any of the question posts (the ones that ask your favorite food or "do you remember", etc.)

ThoughtCriminal

(14,009 posts)
42. Interesting. I wonder if they are also targeting liberals
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 11:46 PM
Oct 2021

with this in hopes of triggering "Engagement"

It is always tempting to post replies to this nonsense, but I always just block. Making me mad is part of the strategy.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
45. I'm very political on FB. I don't have that issue
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 12:04 AM
Oct 2021

I have political posts, I'm friends with local Democratic politicians etc. I'm not friends with any Republicans, except just a few. I have about 500 FB friends.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
44. I don't have that problem...
Mon Oct 4, 2021, 11:58 PM
Oct 2021

I get the annoying ones like, "favorite food", "do you remember". Many of those are sponsored pages and are data-mining gimmicks. I'm actually quite political on FB.

OhioBlue

(5,126 posts)
46. yes - I know they are data mining and that is why I don't comment on them.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 12:09 AM
Oct 2021

I actually have stopped interacting much at all on FB outside of a few groups and a work and a non-profit site that I admin.

But I get a ton of "suggested for you" posts that as the previous poster indicated are likely from troll farms. Liberal Wackadoodles, Conservative American Patriots, The Republican Post, Anyone BUT a liberal, etc. They are all disgusting memes.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
52. I just read, "suggested for you" is based on your friends' interests.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 03:05 AM
Oct 2021

When you see an ad or suggested post click on "i" or three dots in the upper right hand c and you will see, "Why am I seeing this ad?" You can then hide the ad and also request to see, "less ads like this".

NurseJackie

(42,862 posts)
72. Thank you.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 08:08 AM
Oct 2021

I've done the same thing (not for political reasons, but for repetitive ads of things I have zero interest in).

My experience is nothing at all like the ones I "hear about" on DU... complaining of NONSTOP and AGGRESSIVE ads for RW sites.

I truly have a difficult time at taking all these claims at face value. It always sounds like an exaggerated repetition of the "I know someone who told me their hairdresser's daughter's mother-in-law said".

I just choose my FB friends wisely. And for the occasional odd FB relative that I've "friended" as a courtesy only... I just hide them and "unfollow" them and "see less" of them. Eventually I forget they're even there. They don't interact with me, and I don't interact with them and I don't see the crap they post in their own curated reality.

OhioBlue

(5,126 posts)
82. I'm not telling you about something I heard from another person
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 11:04 PM
Oct 2021

I am telling you what my timeline looks like at times over the last couple of months. I say "at times" because it isn't always like this. For instance, I just logged on and probably scrolled through 50 posts before one came up:



And, don't you see the problem with FB suggesting these meme factory pages based on your friends preferences? It is a constant propaganda stream for people in rural areas. Even if they unfollow or ignore people that constantly share political memes, they get "suggested for you" right-wing propaganda in their feed.

"Curating your own reality" is also a problem. The more people live in a bubble of information or disinformation and propaganda, the more likely they are to be swayed to not only vote against their own best interests, to not realize the dangers of Trumpism but to act in ways that harm themselves and society like the irrational outrage and paranoia against vaccines and masks.

electric_blue68

(14,598 posts)
48. I don't receive the RW crap (yay), and I make a political ...
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 01:27 AM
Oct 2021

comment here, and there.

It's family, friends, Art Making, Crafting, Science, beautiful landscape photos, Music, SF, and 🥰 kittens, and puppies.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
49. I don't either...I'm pretty active...Politics is probably my number one thing...
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 02:10 AM
Oct 2021

I even created my own "page"...xxxx Democrats. It's got about 200 followers...Mostly Get Out the Vote Stuff.

I belong to several Democratic groups, also a bunch of left leaning groups...I'm friends with alot of local Democratic politicians...
I'm also in: Genealogy groups, (Armenian and Mexican...the Mexican group could be a full time endeavor), numerous DNA groups, lots of gardening groups, a hiking group, a Texas photography group, a Mississippi River photos group, a cat group, a public education group.....My feed is too busy with my groups and friends posts (I have about 500 of them) ..Heck it gets bombarded with their birthdays, anniversaries, deaths in their family, prayer requests for sick people in their families, prayer requests if they have health problems etc etc. We 're often at events and then there are those pictures, or if my friends are at an event, their pictures. My FB feed is just too darn busy. I'm constantly seeing posts from friends and the groups I'm in. I do get a few of those, "Sponsored link things"

The strangest targeted ad that I got on FB was: Pink 2 Purple Pig Hydration...Yep for pigs..LOL

I have very few Republican friends. With the exception of one, they know better.

electric_blue68

(14,598 posts)
53. I guess politics is in my top five or six...
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 03:06 AM
Oct 2021

My dad had me going around our apartment building with him slipping local, and state political flyers under our neighbors' doors by the time I was 12 or so. 😄

I've done volunteer work for campaigns, and various single issues off & on for about 53(!) years.
Four memories
1) I was riding around with others on the back of a flatbed truck with a band in front all decked out in R,W & B and campaign photos for Humphrey going down 5th Ave handing out buttons etc.
2) The last of the massive rallies (in general for politics) for McGovern. I have 2 photos (grainy b&w bc very blown up) from it.
3) Being on the decorating committee at the Sheraton Hilton (NYC) at their big ballroom for Clinton/Gore '92.
Then we got to stay and watch them win. It was sooo
exciting!
4)Being at MSNBC's Election Center in Rockefeller Center's plaza in '08 & '12 for Obama/Biden's win. Fabulous!

Good on you for your GOTV stuff. 👍
When I had access to a computer, design software, and a printer I wrote and designed (sometimes added drawings) letter sized posters I'd put up in my neighborhood, and at one of the biggest University's in Manhattan for 2 maybe 3 Presidencial Campaigns.

The reason I joined DU was a U2 site with a off-topic political etc sub forum had gotten fairly quiet, and I needed more interaction during the '20 election! I remembered seeing DU back in ?00, 01 while at a Net Cafe (no net at home). I remembered the name in June '20 and found it.

Mexican and Armenian - interesting combo! One of these months I'm going to do the geographical ancestry stuff.

Gardening is an endeavor I admire, and have read some stuff on particularly organic vegetables. I love flower gardening as well, as well as garden design itself.

I can see from your description your FB feed is busy, busy, busy. I've added more interest groups. I love besides the people I know chatting with others from all over the USA, and the world.

A pig ad!? Ha! Any farming region near you? Funny!

AngryOldDem

(14,061 posts)
50. I know your post is mostly tongue-in-cheek
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 02:15 AM
Oct 2021

But I was glad to see this today, and I was glad to see that Zuckerberg lost a shit-ton of money as well. Facebook is a pox on this society and on the democratic process. It has played a huge role in getting us to the state we’re in, and I don’t see how Congress can put any meaningful limit on it. It’s too late. Instagram is just as bad, only on a more personal level.

Facebook has instigated many hurtful and polarizing political arguments within my own family. I am proud to say that I have never had an account, not even when I’ve been told it would make it easier to get event or organization updates. Nope. Not getting sucked into that sewer.

Fuck Facebook. If people think it’s great, that’s fine. But I’ll continue to take a very hard pass.

Celerity

(42,633 posts)
56. September 26, 2006
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 04:07 AM
Oct 2021

The day Fuckerberg opened pandora's box and made FB available to all people 13 years old and up. Before that you needed an approved institution email to join.

Twitter's full version was introduced publicly on July 15, 2006. The tipping point for Twitter's popularity was the 2007 South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference March 9th to March 13th. During the event, Twitter usage increased from 20,000 tweets per day to 60,000.

Then, the enabling event, the iPhone (and thus all its eventual competion) launched the age of the truly mass market, tech laden smartphone on June 29th, 2007.

The 2007-2008 US election campaign was the first one that had real social media effects on it (Obama team especially) but it was still a fraction of what it is now.

Much later, October 6, 2010, the Instagram iOS app was officially released through the App Store.

You now have all the giants launched (obviously the launches of YouTube on April 23, 2005 and Reddit on June 15th, 2005 already existed) and smartphones to drive them. MySpace was never truly weaponised, and was crumbling to dust by 2009 anyway (due to FB).

Social media combined with near absolutist implementations of the 1st Amendment, plus a complicit federal government caught in the throes of regulatory capture, have been, are, and will be synergistically combining to form a cyber national suicide pact I well and truly fear.


Facebook Expansion Enables More People to Connect with Friends in a Trusted Environment

https://about.fb.com/news/2006/09/facebook-expansion-enables-more-people-to-connect-with-friends-in-a-trusted-environment/

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Sept. 26, 2006 — Facebook, the Internet’s leading social utility, today announced that it has expanded to enable everyone to connect with their friends and the people around them. People can now join one of more than 500 regional networks to share information with other people on Facebook and take advantage of the site’s industry-leading privacy controls.

Previously, a supported “.edu,” “.com,” “.org,” “.gov” or “.mil” email address was needed to register on Facebook. While prior expansions enabled more people from schools, companies, non-profits, and government entities to register for Facebook, this latest expansion makes it possible for anyone with a valid email address to join Facebook and interact with their friends and people in their region. New users are still required to prove affiliation to access an existing college or work network, and are also asked to validate their mobile phone number to verify their account.

“We are expanding to respond to the requests of millions of people who want to be part of Facebook, but haven’t been able to until today,” said Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO, Facebook. “About one-third of Facebook’s college users have already graduated and are now interacting with more people outside of their schools and work environment.”

Consistent with Facebook’s unique network structure, people’s profiles are only accessible to other people in the same network and to confirmed friends. Facebook has launched additional privacy controls with this expansion that allow every user to: • Block other users in specific networks from searching for his or her name. • Prevent people in those networks from messaging, poking and adding him or her as a friend. • Control whether his or her profile picture shows up in search results.

Demsrule86

(68,347 posts)
63. It is not facebooks fault. It. And if facebook didnt exist, there would
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 05:15 AM
Oct 2021

have been some other tool used.

LuckyCharms

(17,281 posts)
54. I don't use FB.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 03:47 AM
Oct 2021

However, that's my own preference because I do not really have a solid, legitimate reason to use it.

I can, however, see how it can be useful tool for people. It's actually a shame because the founder could tilt his company to the side of good, but he's not doing that in any serious way. For my own personal circumstances in life, the bad aspects of Facebook far outweigh the good. It is the opposite for many other people though, for legitimate and sound reasons.

I'm not going to criticize people who use it. Everyone has their reasons. I don't walk in anyone else's shoes, and they do not walk in mine.

Unless and until I have a need for it, I will continue to stay away from it. Even if I absolutely had to use it, I would hold my nose while doing so, because I believe most social media is a major reason why the entire world seems fucked up in ways that I could never have previously imagined.

AngryOldDem

(14,061 posts)
70. I don't use it, either.
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 07:55 AM
Oct 2021

And I wish people and organizations would stop assuming that I’m on it. Information should be available outside of FB, so that I’m not made to feel excluded, or like a Luddite. (This actually happened to me with a club I had just joined.) I have almost next to no social media footprint, which is exactly how I want it. I have no choice but to use the Internet; I do what I can to limit its impact on my life.

And you are right — social media, from making kids feel shitty about their appearances to posting extremist and violent political tropes, is a huge reason why things are so fucked up, and I wish its defenders would stop using their innocent and worthy experiences of it as a way to deny that simple truth. Almost any innovation — with obvious exceptions, of course — is inherently good. It’s what it’s possibly used for that is the problem.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
74. I know what you mean about the exclusion/luddite thing...
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 01:13 PM
Oct 2021

Facebook is a real simple medium/free platform for organizations to use. It's much easier than having a webpage. I have both a webpage and a FB page for my volunteer work. However, Google now removed all the Google Classic webpages and now I'm stuck with the new style and it's clunky and extremely time consuming to update. Both FB and Google sites are free, but it's a real pain and lot of work to update a website. Any small business is going to have to invest some money to host a webpage.

Running a FB page is free. Lots of small businesses, such as bakeries and food trucks only have FB pages, no website.

Actually the people who have just FB pages without websites are the real luddites...LOL...Websites are a ton of work...

FB pages are updated with a few clicks..."Hey we're having a sale this weekend"...FB: Create a post, include a map, cut/paste a photo and done..Create an event, so that with one click, it's becomes part of a user's events list.
Webpage: Remove other content, decide where you want to put the sale on your site. Do you want to put a page on top of your page? How do you want people to view your site, so that they can see the sale? Do you need to create a new page. You can spend 5 hours updating a webpage with an event. You can create a FB event with less than 1/2 hour of work.

LeftInTX

(24,541 posts)
75. And another thing:
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 02:36 PM
Oct 2021

Over the last 10 years, websites have gotten more complicated and cumbersome

It used to be, clubs, small business, small organizations etc: Create a free webpage...AOL Hometown, Angelfire, Geocities..cheap, easy free, shows up in search engines..URL's are easy to remember too.

2008: Free DIY websites options such as AOL Hometown, Angelfire, Geocities are disappearing. I create my first free website on Google Sites. Google Sites has a monopoly on free, but no one really notices. Google Sites are easy.

2015: Google Sites starts a mirror, "New Sites"

2018: I try to create a site with the "New Sites" and it's a PITA. It is also not search engine optimized. URL's are clunky and can't be remembered. Unless you are super tech savvy, the only way anyone can find your new site is if they have the URL memorized!
I keep my Classic Site, because it is search engine optimized.

2019: Google announces it will phase out Classic Sites

2021: Google removes Classic Sites: https://workspaceupdates.googleblog.com/2020/08/transition-classic-to-new-google-sites.html
https://9to5google.com/2020/08/06/google-sets-timeline-for-deprecating-classic-google-sites/

Users are encouraged to purchase their own domain etc. Clubs, food trucks, yard sale groups, families etc can't afford this.

So this is where free websites are going.

Demsrule86

(68,347 posts)
57. I like facebook. Keep up with the family. Lots of pictures. I don't do
Tue Oct 5, 2021, 04:58 AM
Oct 2021

politics on Facebook except during election years where I promote Democratic candidates. But maybe I should start sending positive messages about the good things Democrats want to do, Facebook is a tool and can be used to get your message out effectively. We need to learn how to use it properly. What are you going to just hand it over to the GOP? Really?

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