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[PeaceWave]

This message was self-deleted by its author (PeaceWave) on Thu Mar 6, 2025, 07:03 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[elleng]

1. High school and college friends?

They amount to most of my fb 'friends'.

[piddyprints]

39. I found out pretty quickly

that there's a reason we lost touch with each other.

My real friends and I have had each other's address/phone number/email all these years. I didn't need FB to find them.

[Iggo]

2. You and me both.

No Facebook.
No twitter.
No tik tok.
And no whatever the next thing is.

I seem to get along just fine without ‘em.

[Think. Again.]

9. me too.

[canetoad]

3. Yeah, a heap of trolls

Countless tragics wanting to 'befriend' you and a shit load of AI and advertising. You don't know what you're missing.

[electric_blue68]

12. Uh, depends how you use it.

[canetoad]

14. There's no way to use FB

That doesn't benefit Zuck. That should be enough for you.

[electric_blue68]

17. Well, unless it gets really *nasty, and my people are staying wherein it might be way more...

difficult to have our group interactions I'll probably stay. Not giving up some valued 30 yr old connections that may not be sustainable in other ways.

If they (these peeps) plus fam & other friends figure something else then I will go w that with instead.

*excessive bots, trolls busting in (never happened on my feed ever), lots of trump supporting ick etc.

[Scrivener7]

20. You want it to get MORE nasty?

https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=19881568

You're supporting this.

[yardwork]

33. It's very easy to avoid any controversial or hateful content there.

In fact, I question whether there is much controversial happening on Facebook at all.

Younger people laugh at it. It's become a place for older folks like me who want to look at one another's cat photos.

I suspect Zuckerberg made this change partly in the hope that it might attract more controversy and activity. Facebook is on its way out as its users become almost entirely aging boomers. It's not a hotbed of hate language and I doubt this change will make much difference.

[Scrivener7]

40. It doesn't matter. Your use of it puts money in his pocket through

his ability to say, "XYZ number of people use my platform" and receiving revenue on that basis.

Also, he's selling your information without your permission to people you don't want to have it.

Finally, your own post confirms that you believe - I think accurately - that he's making these changes so the platform gets nastier. Specifically nastier to women. Specifically, by encouraging users to verbally abuse women.

It baffles me that people think it's OK to support things that are in direct conflict with their stated values.

[yardwork]

41. I respect your opinion and choice not to use it.

It's probably the rational choice. For me, it isn't that important one way or the other. Google uses and sells my data in ways I don't approve. So do my credit card companies.

I don't like the insurance companies I'm forced to choose among, the auto companies that make our cars, the oil companies and the electric companies, etc.

I know people who lead more intentional lives than I do and I respect that. At this point, I'm balancing my own needs with my expression of values. If I were going to lean into that, I'd go vegetarian before I started dropping social media.

[Scrivener7]

42. Most of those don't make a policy to say it's ok to refer to me as property.

[yardwork]

43. I buy books from publishers that publish worse than that.

I think it's a shame (literally) that greed and ugliness has taken over all our communication channels.

TBH, I'm more worried about the possibility of FB becoming a platform for promoting sexual abuse of children and trafficked victims than I am about reading some moron's comment about me being property.

Zuckerberg is missing out on the revenue Twitter gets being a sewer for the worst of human behavior. I guess he wants to catch up.

[Scrivener7]

49. .

"TBH, I'm more worried about the possibility of FB becoming a platform for promoting sexual abuse of children and trafficked victims "

But why would you support them, then?

[electric_blue68]

55. Yes, I saw this. It's hedious, disgusting.

[travelingthrulife]

26. Just try to have a revolution to end rampant unregulated capitalism in this country.

Folks are still too comfy.

[Historic NY]

4. Not really I manage 3 accounts...

Zuck Meta wants me to buy ads . They drive me nuts. Mostly I deal with people that are clueless on how to use Facebook. They don't know enough to click on a photo to get the description, or they don't read the comments. I'm trying to figure out to de-platform, but unfortunately there are over 9000 photos on one of them,

I don't use my personal one much beyond family and thats sparse too.

[LuckyCharms]

23. I *think* there is a way to download all of your Facebook info before deleting.

I never downloaded anything, but I think it is explained somewhere on the site how to do it.

I deactivated my account about 8 years ago.

[RockRaven]

5. Brain rot, misinformation, emotional manipulation, and engineered habit formation.

[unblock]

6. If you haven't seen an old classmate in ages and were wondering what they had for dinner last night, Facebook is for you

[yardwork]

44. That's pretty much the Facebook experience, in a nutshell.

[Think. Again.]

8. Me too, and I'm glad for that...

...never had an account, the only thing I might be missing is facebook's 'marketplace' which is like the old craigslist for buying and selling things, but I also know a LOT of magats use that so I don't really think I need it that bad.

[Think. Again.]

13. Yeah, for some reason they are reaaaallllyy into it. So I'd rather stay away from it.

[CentralMass]

10. I use it to keep in contact with a small group of family and friends.

Since l live alone and am a bit if a loner it helps me keep in touch with people, most of whom are on the other side of the country. FB, at least up to now, has a feature that asks if you want to see more ore less if "this type of content". I always say no if I get any pro tRump or rw nutjob post and as a result, I don't really get any. I have a few right wing "friends" on there but I generally politely excoriate them if they post right wing or pro tRump bullshit.
However. if they drop those filter, I'll drop Facebook.

[jmbar2]

15. OK, this discussion is reassuring

I was on FB for about a couple of hours, and was thoroughly creeped out at the thought of my life being so public. Bailed out and never looked again.

When I was working, I always wondered if prospective employers would find it odd that I didn't have much of a social media trail.

[electric_blue68]

16. I use FB to partly keep up with family and friends outside of my immediate area, to clear across the country, and..

occasionally Europe.

It's easy to share photos. Get on quickly if something is happening. I've given quick heads up on certain events, or problems. I have certain friends I haven't seen in years, but we share some common interests, and a certain larger group of people.

I hardly ever do politics. My friends, and family know what I am.

I don't get any MAGA stuff.

Plus I have a bunch of interest groups.

Not been on for several months bc of a phone # change. Couldn't get back to my original account.

It seems someone spoofed me w my real name (I use a different last name) However i didn't realize that back then.
When a friend pointed it out I totally stopped using it. Almost 5 + months?

Trying to get my original # back if i can.

If my people are staying on there, I'm probably staying.

[thebigidea]

18. Helped me meet and collaborate with tons of folks in comedy, music, and film

From legends to lunatics. It's been good for work.

[Skittles]

19. I've never used it

and I have managed to "keep up" with friends and relatives just fine

[Midnight Writer]

21. I've never used it. Nothing to do with my principles, I just don't like putting information about myself online.

I also find that relationships I had in the past and did not maintain are best kept in the past. The last thing I want is for someone I worked with 50 years ago or some classmate from 70 years ago to contact me.

[Hugin]

22. Nah, the golden age of Farce Book was over a decade ago.

It’s gotten to be more trouble than it’s worth to maintain my very tiny soap bubble of sanity there. No way would I start anything new.

[Johonny]

24. Not really

We good 10 to 12 years ago for catching up on old friends. Mostly use it to post kid pictures for my parents. Twitter was actually the better product. But Twitter is dead to me.

[Johnny2X2X]

25. I keep up with family

That's it.

As far as old friends, it gives a false sense that you still know people when you don't really know them. If you don't speak to soemone at least on the phone for years, you don't really know them anymore.

[Lunabell]

27. Not really.

I am deleting mine today.

[City Lights]

28. You are missing nothing of value.

I used to have a FB account, used mostly to play stupid games, but Zuckerburg ticked me off so much that I deleted it years ago. I don't miss it at all.

[Happy Hoosier]

29. It depends...

A lot of groups I'm in use it to stay in touch, organize events, etc.

Makes it easy to stay in touch with family that otherwise we aren't in contact with.

[Gore1FL]

30. I've enjoyed catching up with people from my past.

It's not the devil.

The problem is there are people who are willing to take un-verified news and believe and share it. That happens on other platforms too; including DU. The problem is the size of the user base willing to spread bullshit.

It's a tool. It probably needs regulation.

[yardwork]

31. I have an account but almost never post anything.

In other words, I lurk. I stay in touch with old friends from high school and some local friends, but it's a superficial connection. I click "like" or "sympathy" on their posts, like on DU.

Some people like to post everyday. I've unfriended all the Trumpsters so it's mostly a benign parade of photos of get-togethers, vacations, and wildlife or sunsets outside their window. I find it soothing in a way similar to watching people's vacation slides decades ago, only now I can do it in bed at 11 pm.

Also, there are now a ton of groups dedicated to special interests, sort of like old-fashioned newsletters. I follow groups who post photos of moss gardens, native plants, antique glassware, etc. I also watch clips of road rage incidents and bridezillas. I know I'm being manipulated but it's mesmerizing.

I doubt the new fact-checking rules will affect my experience, which I've curated to be a controversy-free bubble of blandness.

[Cattledog]

32. It was actually pretty good in the beginning

but has been slowly getting worse but now it's gonna be a toxic hell.

[claudette]

34. No

[pamdb]

35. not really

My husband dropped his I think back in 2016. I only keep mine because I have one niece and a couple of his brothers who sometimes post pictures of their kids. And, when I want to sell something, I can post it on Marketplace. That's it.I keep thinking, one of these days...

[Diamond_Dog]

36. I have never used or signed up for Facebook, Twitter, TikTok or the like.

I seem to be getting along just fine without them.

[murielm99]

37. I have never done any of this.

[Unladen Swallow]

38. You have missed nothing

[Elessar Zappa]

45. I like it.

I’m a member of several hobby groups where we talk about things, compare items, stuff like that. I don’t see objectionable material.

[Kaleva]

50. Same with me

I belong to a variety of groups covering home canning, dehydrating, chickens, meat rabbits, homesteading and such

[EX500rider]

46. Very worthwhile for me

Besides keeping up with friends & family around the country...

I am a member with many groups that give me tons of stuff to do...dog park meetup groups, local city stuff to do coming up, interest groups for many hobbies I have, school reunion groups, various car & motorcycle & work truck groups with lots of help on fixing & getting parts etc (the last one has been a life saver, my work truck is a 1977 Chevy C-60 & finding parts would be really hard without the group help)

[Kaleva]

52. You base that on a few replies in a single thread in one forum?

I suggest you instead look for reputable sources that have actually researched this.

[karynnj]

48. It was at one time one of the easiest ways to have a private group

I come from a very close family where I was one of nine kids. Once the nine of us started to have kids, my parents subsidized a yearly 5 day reunion starting in 1985. It was very important to them that the grandkids, growing up all over the country would really know each other. We have had reunions every year except for 2020.

Even though they accomplished many things during their 72 year marriage until they both died at 93, they always spoke of the close knit group of cousins (and their kids too) as something they were proudest of.

At a reunion in 2007, a group of the cousins, then college students, showed Mom and Dad the private group they set up for our family and got them to join Facebook and the group. My mom was obviously emotional and very happy that the kids had this connection. All the grandkids "friended" mom and dad. For us parents of these college and high school kids, we realized that in addition to staying close to each other, this group really kept them from posting anything questionable knowing their parents, their aunts and uncles, and their grandparents would see it.

[sdfernando]

51. No. /nt

[Groundhawg]

53. Facebook groups are great. One of my favorites in a whiskey group.

[doc03]

54. It is nice to commuicate with your friends other than that a waste. nt

[Ms. Toad]

56. It depends.

For me, it is useful.

I am a member of lots of "tribes." The tribe I was born into - multi-generation farming family in Nebraska. The tribe of my growing up community - farming community in Nebraska. My college tribe. The tribe I married into - more recent immigrants from recent Europe in Ohio. The tribe of former students (a few high school, and a lot of former law students). The tribes of multiple work-places (three of which I'm in regular contact with). My FLGBTQC+ tribe. My faith tribe. My Alzheimer's tribe (spouse has some form of mental impairment). The tribe of folks connected to my daughter's disease (a rare disease, so I know a couple hundred - most of whom live hundreds of miles away). My theater tribe. I'm sure I've missed some - and some tribe-adjacent folks have found me as friends of friends. So I have a very loose tribe of people I've never even met in person.

Because the members of my tribe are far flung (including several outside of the US, and likely some in each state), keeping in touch is much easier through facebook. I would have (and did) lose contact with most of my high school classmates over the years - but thanks to facebook I was able to return to my 50th class reunion this summer. Because both I and my family moved from my hometown, I missed several intervening reunions - but between the 40th and 50th I had been back in touch with a dozen or so, so they found me and gave me details.

Politics are, as you might imagine from the description of my tribes, all over the board. While it is extremely painful to read the posts of a beloved high school teacher who is solidly MAGA, other contacts across political boundaries are more productive. I am not secretive on my facebook page - so anyone paying attention knows I'm married to a woman and a progressive. We don't always explicitly talk about our differences - but we do sometimes. And in my conservative farming community high school reunion, no one batted an eyelash when I brought my wife of 40+ years to the reunion. Whether or not they approve of my life, none were critical to my face - and several who I'm sure would vote my marriage out of existence welcomed her into our group. Not only that, but everyone was respectful about my trans high school sweetheart, and tried very hard to use her name and correct gender when they asked me about her.

I can easily ignore the ads/sponsored stories - the same as I do commercials on TV or radio. I can't even begin to count the number of times my daughter or spouse have commented on a commercial - and my response is, "huh"?

For me, at least until the recent changes, it definitely enriches my life. Whether it will continue to do so - time will tell. If enough are chased away because of an increase in blatant MAGA posts and insults - maybe not. But as long at it serves my purposes, I'll keep spending time there.

[legallyblondeNYC]

57. A lot of misogyny. For those who remember ...

Facebook's original purpose was to rate young women attending Harvard. It was a slam book - always.

I once had an account for about 10 minutes. I quickly realized that to suggest "friends," it was reading my email. To me, it was just creepy. VERY CREEPY.