How many other DUers never joined Facebook?

[malaise]

I pissed off everyone in the family by refusing to sign up years ago.
Now they all want to leave.
I usually avoid anything that looks too good.

[hlthe2b]

1. NEVER... and, yes some family did not get it...

[MotownPgh]

31. Also never.

Guess we missed out on something but noone has explained to me what. I have always kept in touch the old fashioned way I guess.

[the nelm]

89. Ditto...n/t

[dutch777]

2. I joined with dead email and a burner phone and only use it for Marketplace. Social on there is sick.

[sunflowerseed]

64. Thank you, i use marketplace

But I'm getting off fb f that fer!

[SheltieLover]

3. I've never had any soc media accts.

It was obvious the shitbags were data mining.

[malaise]

5. Ditto

That said I did get useful info from links others provided

[SheltieLover]

11. Same here, Malaise

I'll never forget reading (here on DU) Tweets during covid lockdown.

Many thanks to those with strong stomachs who take one for the team.

[AZ8theist]

62. I never saw the need, myself...

I always thought sites like Fascist Book were stupid. Why would I give a rat's ass what you had for lunch??

Anyway, I did join Bluesky and am finding it pretty interesting. Especially now that Xitter is a Nazi wasteland and Zuckerberg thinks it's OK to call women household furniture on Fake Book.

[Emile]

4. Me

[bucolic_frolic]

6. I joined to follow 3 groups

All of which should now leave, but they won't. Find an alternative. Texting? Most people's phones would buzz all day.

[Intractable]

7. I'm a never-facebooker.

I seem to be in good company.

[Timeflyer]

8. Never.

[Solly Mack]

9. No Facebook, no Twitter/X, no Instagram, no nothing. No desire.

DU and email. That's it.

[displacedvermoter]

29. Me the same

Hate everything about all of it!

[Solly Mack]

42. Not my thing mainly.

[Think. Again.]

37. Me too.

I don't even have a bank app, I try to avoid all apps as well as social media (except DU), but I do subscribe to a ton of independent and non-profit newsletters.

[Solly Mack]

43. I get a few newsletters/essays/reports. Educational mostly.

[House of Roberts]

10. I joined to look at photos of a friend in Oregon.

I used my real name, as I didn't mind this person knowing it. Two weeks later Think Progress changed their comment system to Facebook based IDs, and I had to create a second one with my screen name. I never could get the comments to show to anyone but me, so I abandoned the accounts, created a Hotmail account, and was able to use that to get on Think Progress. Now I can't use any of them, as they were created with Comcast e-mail accounts, so they are dead to me.

[Midnight Writer]

12. It's not for me.

[pdxflyboy]

13. Nope. Never did.

Friends mentioned to me before I retired that I should join it to keep in touch with friends. Hey, I love you all very much, but not gonna do it.

[Tanuki]

14. I never joined Facebook. I did join Instagram when my niece's

little daughter was terminally ill and had an Instagram account that was set to "private" and only accessible if one had an Instagram account.

[getagrip_already]

15. I set up several sm accounts for work, but never use them

I just established the accounts because it was expected. Hiring managers want to see them. Clients want to be able to see a professional space.

But i never really used them.

I finally gave up on my facebook account a couple of years ago when they kept locking it because someone was trying to hack into it. It can be a real pita to unlock.

I just finally left it locked. F' em.

[Emrys]

16. I never fancied its terms and conditions

By not joining, I know I've missed out over the years - others in my wider circle of friends are members and keep in close touch via it, my partner's a member and updates me on anything interesting that involves her account, but a while back I nearly missed out on being informed of a school 40-year reunion (which I chose not to attend anyway) as many old schoolmates assumed I'd died because there was no identifiable trace of me online as far as they were concerned.

Also, at times freelancers working for some of my clients have set up Facebook groups to exchange ideas, observations and solutions to problems. I've no idea whether I'd have found them helpful, and no employer insisted I join up.

For all the fuss about Twitter etc., I've always seen Facebook as far more insidious because of its lax attitude to personal information and the way it's entwined with members' everyday lives, sometimes very intimately, making it easier for misinformation to sneak through.

If I'm interacting online, I prefer it to be via a persona I choose, like this one on DU.

[delisen]

17. No Facebook. I use Reddit occasionally.

I avoid giving up my information for free. I also avoid Facebook users socially. I do not want to have my photo appear on Facebook in a group photo and thereby feed the beast. We need to own our information and should be paid for its use.

I also know how easy it is to be negatively affected by propaganda without realizing it is happening.
Facebook was I believe involved with interfering with the 2016 election and against democracy.

I believe that Democrats who maintain active Facebook accounts and make excuses for their lmembership are addicted

Facebook and Meta are antisociety and anti democracy. The proof is staring at us right now.

[superpatriotman]

18. I'm on here and Reddit

That’s it for my personal socials. IG for business only.

[BlueKota]

19. Question

Will you still be allowed to block people and content you don't want to see? There are a few groups I follow on there like fellow German Shepherd owners, book recommendations, and entertainment stuff that I wouldn't like to loose. But if I can't block Maga assholes I will quit.

[malaise]

24. I have no idea

Never joined

[BlueKota]

26. That's okay.

The articles I have read also aren't really clear on the specifics.

[eppur_se_muova]

20. I was so turned off by the dehumanizing name I never even developed any curiosity about it.

When it first began, it seemed like it should have been named "Hey Everyone Look At Me!" because that's what seemed to drive most of the posters.

Then it started having huge security breaches, and I was even less interested.

A number of things have made me less interested over the years; none has ever made me more interested.

[Mike Nelson]

21. I like it...

... I know and understand the general DU feeling, but I do use FB. It's interesting, to me, that FB is viewed as too "leftist" by people over there (the opposite of people here). I have two ultra-right family members - cousins - who quit FB because they feel it was too "liberal" and anti-Trump. They deactivated their accounts and I don't keep in touch with them anymore. One of their big reasons was "censorship" - they shared posts that were removed and they felt they were being "censored" - they did not even create the posts - just shared them!

... They also did not like their Trump posts being replaced by a "fact check" block. Again, these are things they shared. They were very upset... when they repeated, they got a block they called "Facebook Jail" and they could not post for a number of days. I'm in a Dem group and we also have "fact check" blocks and removals. Usually, pages like "Occupy Democrats" will make sure a post is 100% accurate. When you have the current crop of Republicans, you only need to tell the truth - even though it's usually unbelievable!

[MotownPgh]

33. Facebook has announced no more

fact checking so I imagine they'll be back.

[Lars39]

22. Wasn't even on my radar,

especially after I found out about facial recognition for photos posted.

[SARose]

23. Not me

Not on Xitter, Instagram, Tik Tok nothing! I have better things to do than compare myself with make believe.

[La Coliniere]

25. Never

[Unladen Swallow]

27. I don't use social media

unless you're one of the ones who considers youtube and message groups social media. No FB here, no twitter, no blue sky, no instagram nada.

[LAS14]

28. Does it count if I joined years ago, never friended anyone and dropped membership a few months later? nt

[Vogon_Glory]

30. I never did. I like what privacy I have

I saw no reason to give Facebook access to all the groups I’m interested in.

And I feel that I’ve been given even more reason not to sign up.

[Luciferous]

32. I made a fake account years ago so my

kid could play Farmville on it lol

Deleted that one years ago

[sinkingfeeling]

34. Was on for a month and then canceled.

[niyad]

35. Me. No facebook, twitter/x, anything.

[Think. Again.]

36. I never have. And never will.

[marked50]

38. Never bought into any social media stuff. -n/t

[Demnh2fl]

39. Never joined never will

[murielm99]

40. Never.

[sop]

41. Never on FB

[remo ymor]

44. Never

Never

[Mr.Bee]

45. What's a facebook?

or instantgram
or a tictok?
or a meta?
or a MAGA!

[malaise]

105. Bwaaaah

😀

[HariSeldon]

46. Not me (info security)

My life is overconstrained as it is, no need to waste time on being someone's product. Also, I am very guarded with information I reveal about myself, even on this site, so a place to share with the world? No, thanks. When I want to share, I have GitHub.

[NNadir]

47. Never did it; nor twitter/x. My entire exposure is here.

[chia]

48. Never. One of the best (minor) decisions of my life. No regrets.

[Clouds Passing]

49. Z wanted my ID to sign back in many years ago. I said nope.

[surfered]

50. I usually avoid anything that looks too complicated.

My wife joined to keep up with her former students, but there became too many posts of friends of friends, unknown to her.

It was helpful after evacuating a hurricane, when the posts were no longer bout someone was having lunch somewhere, but actual useful information about the conditions after the storm and requirements for re-entry to our town.

[endless summer]

51. I joined

for a few months about 12 years ago and quickly decided it wasn’t for me. My now deceased cousin was sharing posts about the virtues of putin.

[SocialDemocrat61]

52. I work in advertising

and 20 years ago I met with a sales rep from Facebook. The level of data mining they were proposing completely horrified me, so I never joined.

[Oopsie Daisy]

53. Oh, I enjoy Facebook very much. I won't be leaving.

I know how to moderate my use and control the environment. I can easily ignore ads (and idiot family members) that bug me. I enjoy being able to check-in on loved ones who share photos, and I like the messenger app and the ability to have group chats and share photos and news (much more easily than group texts and trying to share photos in texts messages.)

I think that my leaving facebook would be cutting off my own nose in spite. It would make my life less rich and feel more empty... and it would have zero noticeable or meaningful effect on Mark. It would hurt ME more than it would hurt the platform.

[Mark.b]

91. I resisted, but two organizations I'm part of use it

As a primary means of communicating to members. And when I wasn’t using FB, I was missing out on announcements and info. Plus, other group members used it to interact socially. Before I joined, I found myself ‘out of the loop’ quite often.

But, it’s not difficult at all to set things up where I can limit my feed only to people and things I care about. X is the same.

[BannonsLiver]

94. But you missed the opportunity for sanctimony by not joining!

(In all seriousness I’m with you. I moderate my use as well.)

[Oopsie Daisy]

96. You're right. There's always a price to pay and I get to enjoy that privelege.

Thank goodness that others are willing to step up to the plate and show us how it's done.

[BeyondGeography]

54. Raises hand

Never gave joining Fakebook a thought.

[SamKnause]

55. Count me as a no Facebook, no Twitter.

[Ocelot II]

56. I joined years ago to follow a situation

involving the disappearance of a friend's daughter (sadly, she was never found) but otherwise I've never had much involvement with it - I haven't posted on my account in ages. I also used to manage the account of a performing group I'm involved with, but someone else has taken over that task - aside from having become a cesspool, FB has also gotten really complicated to manage. Unfortunately it's a major means of communication for a lot of nonpolitical organizations and charities, so I hope something else will arise to take over that function.

[magicarpet]

57. Never joined up here....

... out of concerns about invasion of privacy issues. And being bombarded with political propaganda of no interest to me.

It is like television and cable, I unplugged them from the wall electric socket back in 2000 during Bush II/Cheney. The constant stream of propaganda was too nauseating.

[liberalla]

58. Nope. Not for me.

[claudette]

59. Long ago

signed up to help build a family tree. When done. I left. I hated it. Nothing is private

[Beck23]

60. I got off it years ago.

[kacekwl]

61. Never

None

[cyclezealot1]

63. only because my wife thought its a means to connect to friends.

I never used it until recently. I find it a way to post countering the propaganda much of our media calls news . Just to be a thorn in their side and hopefully give balance from my readings outside of their orbit.
The same goes for Twitter. I have not abandoned them completely for Blue Sky. Why. I post stuff that would annoy the Musk and wait to see if he will ever kick me out of his orbit. . Good strategy or Not?

[malaise]

73. Welcome to DU

😀

[usonian]

65. I avoided it when it was the rage for kids, when it was for seniors and when it is for nazis.

Zuck Fuckerberg.

Actually, since time immemorial.

Prudes at The Atlantic redacted it.
unredacted below.

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/05/report-zuckerberg-called-facebook-users-who-trust-him-dumb/345598/
They left the good part un-paywalled.
Full version: https://archive.md/QBaVA

Now Business Insider has published a chat conversation from Zuckerberg's Harvard days, in which he calls users who trust him "dumb [fucks]." Though BI warns that it could be just "silly dorm-room chitchat," Facebook did not refute the IM's authenticity in its response to Business Insider. Here's the conversation followed by some reactions:

Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard

Zuck: Just ask.
Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS
[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you manage that one?
Zuck: People just submitted it.
Zuck: I don't know why.
Zuck: They "trust me"
Zuck: Dumb [fucks].

[Coventina]

66. Never joined. Never will. n/t

[benfranklin1776]

67. Never did.

I recognized it for what it was: a giant corporate information vacuum machine to sweep up and commoditize the most sensitive personal information about your life that you would never otherwise voluntarily reveal to complete strangers. I’m glad their charade of pretending to be a “responsible corporation” which made obscene wealth off people’s data and undermined our democracy for dollars has been revealed to all to be as phony and repellent as Agent Orange’s hair. 🖕🏼em. We lived without them for most of human civilization. All of us, including its former users, will thrive without its pernicious effects on our lives and our culture.

[2naSalit]

68. I didn't...

Not interested in signing up for things and I don't have time for social media.

[TommieMommy]

69. No I never joined.

[Rebl2]

70. Did for

a couple weeks in the early 2000’s. Didn’t like it and got rid of my account.

[k0rs]

80. This was me as well...

I joined a decade or more ago when a friend lay dying in a hospital in AZ. His son was giving updates via FB and I wanted to be able to read them. It didn't take long to realize the MO there. As another noted, simply data mining. It took only a couple of weeks to realize how intrusive the scam was. As I remember it was a major pain to cancel my account and it took weeks. They really didn't want me to leave. As it turns out it was the only social media account I ever had, unless DU counts.

[Scrivener7]

71. Me. DU is the only social media I have ever belonged to.

[Dave Id]

72. Didn't piss them off,

but told them I had no interest in joining any propagada spreading social outlet, that included twitter (X) or whatever it's going by today.

[cbabe]

74. Never. No 'social media'. Didn't trust boys with tech toys from the beginning. I knew them well.

[MiHale]

75. Signed up using my dogs info...

Hardly go there…grandkids picture events…about it.

[hatrack]

76. Almost, but when they "needed" a scan of my passport to sign up, that was it.

Being online is enough of a time sink already without adding Fakebook to my life.

[cbabe]

92. Passport?! Excellent stolen identity opportunities.

[Elessar Zappa]

97. That sounds like a scam.

I’ve been on Facebook 15 years and they’ve never asked me for a passport scan.

[hatrack]

99. This was just a couple of years ago . . . ..

[Festivito]

77. Joined once. Looked around for 10 minutes. They banned me for a month.

Looked around. Opened back up after two hours. Never did find out why they banned me. I did not post anything. Something about possibly a breaking a rule to be found in somewhere in pages and pages of rules.

Never went back.

[julmur]

78. Social media

Never participated in any social media platforms, I could sense where it would all end up & here we are, billionaires controlling it all

[sdfernando]

79. I did at one point have a FB account

I used it VERY infrequently and completely deleted it years ago. I don't have ANY other social media accounts....not shitter, not untruth social....not even Mastodon or BlueSky, but might reconsider those two at some point.

[OldBaldy1701E]

81. Nope, never did.

The business use is negligible for me. I am not seeking the limelight (anymore).

Everyone in my family is on it. They were never interested in anything I said or did before, and I doubt anything has changed. I just don't need it. It puts money into some rich pockets and they, in turn, create even more disarray and delusion which harms people like me and you.

I am not saying that it can't have positive uses. It used to. Folks on here seem to use it for family communication and conferences. (Emails would also work I suppose, but the greedy platform owners did remove the ability to send large files in emails, so again, I understand why some here use the platform.)

I am saying, at this point, the platform seems to be way more about ego and mass attempts at programming and grift than an actual message board for folks to stay in touch. Like everything, the capitalistic greed of our society cannot leave anything popular or useful alone without trying to corrupt it so that they can grift a buck from it. We can't seem to help ourselves.

[LakeArenal]

82. Never. Mr Lake is using it to keep up with his large family.

But never responded or posted anything until our dog was lost. The dog was found and returned.

Mr Lake back to just reading stuff.

[haele]

83. Kinda did. Back in 2010 or so to keep track of teen daughter.

Only made the account. Never used it. I can't even log in anymore if I tried.
Never signed up for Instagram.
Haele

[KY_EnviroGuy]

84. Never have joined any social media accounts including FB and Twitter.

I'm so old-fashioned, I've never added data service to my cell phone. That device will always be just a phone.

I don't need a smart phone to be more dumb. I'm dumb enough already...... .......

[Old Okie]

85. S&M

Never been member of any social media although I read reddit posts; tough now with the grandkids since they are all on instagram or snapchat. They don't respond to emails.

[Diraven]

86. I'm still on but I never login

The whole place has been taken over by fake accounts trying to sell scam stuff with AI-generated fake celebrity endorsements. The few real people mostly just post about the latest propaganda and conspiracy theories they've fallen for. It's a garbage fire.

[area51]

87. Me. n/t

[peggysue2]

88. Never did Facebook

Never trusted it. Turns out my instinct was correct.

[Martin68]

90. I still find FB to be an excellent way to keep in touch with people I met while living abroad. I lived all over the

world until settling in the US at the age of 40. I also enjoy sharing photographs in very informative groups related to interests of mine such as plant, bird and insect ID, Geology, and others. Like computers in general, it is just a tool that can be used in specific ways that are very constructive. Memes like FB serving as a place to tell your friends what you had for breakfast are just plain stupid. If FB isn't for you that's fine with me, but if you've never been on FB, then you don't have rounds for criticism.

[CTyankee]

93. I never really did Facebook. I'm old and out of touch ya know.

Now I'm glad!

[gab13by13]

95. Never Joined

[Zorro]

98. I created an account under my dog's name

I log in sporadically to see what my relations are posting.

[planetc]

100. Nope. When FB was picking up steam, I heard that you could protect your privacy, but ...

only after delving deep into layers of options and pressing all the right buttons. I realized that I would not have time to do this until I retired from the job I was then doing. Also, I'm an addictive personality, and certainly didn't need a new one of doubtful value. I did join Twitter shortly after I retired, but never participated because I didn't have a smart phone to follow it on. All of this non-joining has left me with even more time to do other stuff that I have enjoyed all my life, and that also has some social value. (If you think reading and Spelling Bee have social value.) I feel that I am maintaining older traditions that go back to the nineteenth century and beyond, just in case anyone ever needs them again.

[Xoan]

101. Me too

[GreenWave]

102. Mark (no puni ntended) me down as another "Nevah!"

BTW in Latin America Z is pronounced like an S, so his last name sounds like:
Suckerberg.

[spooky3]

103. Never. Nt

[malaise]

104. Hey you

😀

[spooky3]

108. Hiya buddy! Nt

[northoftheborder]

106. Never did-----never will---- join any social media.

[fierywoman]

107. Never. Happy to see the new tribe I wasn't aware I was a member of!

[malaise]

109. Ha

😀

[DET]

110. Nope

My life isn’t that interesting, and even if it were I have no compelling need to tell people all about it. But I do occasionally look at other people’s postings.

[rsdsharp]

111. Never been on Facebook, or Twitter or anything else. DU is as close as I get to social media.

[SupportSanity]

112. I never joined Facebook. I saw it as a Trojan Horse. Personal data was NEVER going to be private.

This wasn't a tough call.

If you know the story of Zuckerberg and the Winklevoss twins, it's an easy decision to not join.

[AllaN01Bear]

113. came out of old my space because everyone was migrating there . said good by a few years ago .

[B.See]

114. Twitter, Tweet, Facebook, Myface, I

never joined any of that sht, I'm PROUD to say.