Who no longer trusts or uses Facebook?

[Pierre]

Freedom from Facebook

of course you could just delete your account

I never had a Facebook account and I don't think I ever will but I would suggest Wechat as an alternative.

http://www.businessinsider.com/wechat-h ... 018-3?IR=T

Nope - - I've neither a Facebook or a Wechat Account - - Don't Need One.

[Bolle1961]

I never had a Facebook account and I don't think I ever will but I would suggest Wechat as an alternative.

You must be joking. Read this https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-new ... 1480351590

[GS3]

You must be joking. Read this https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-new ... 1480351590

It's behind a paywall so I can't read it. At any rate, the title is

China’s New Tool for Social Control: A Credit Rating for Everything
Beijing wants to give every citizen a score based on behavior such as spending habits, turnstile violations and filial piety, which can blacklist citizens from loans, jobs, air travel

So, it seems they are trying to do what the USA have been doing for quite a while now. Credit ratings for loans, jobs, fly lists ... the USA has them bigger and better. ... and secreter.

Personally, having dealt with both the American and the Chinese governments, I will say that, again, in my personal experience, the American Government is more controlling and more evil. In China I always have the feeling that as long as you do not go explicitly looking for trouble you will be fine. In America trouble can easily find you even if you are minding your own business. So, if I have to choose I would much rather the Chinese government have my information because they are infinitely less likely to abuse it and to botch it up than the Americans. And if you have no plans of ever going to China why would you care anyway? What is the Chinese Government going to do with the knowledge that this guy in Chicago likes 4-1/2 stations pizza? Deny him a loan to buy an apartment in Shanghai?

I would rather withhold as much information as I can from Wechat than from Facebook. I am much less likely to end up in a Chinese no-fly list than in an American no-fly list.

[jameskga]

It's funny that you admit to not reading the article, and then respond only to the headline, using information you imagine is contained in the story. This is typical of [insert whatever generation you belong to]. So you don't bring much to the conversation worth responding to. But I will offer two clarifications:

1) The social credits thing they're referring to is not credit like we have in the West. There's an episode of Black Mirror where people rate each other stars based on their impressions of that person. Metrics are based on arbitrary things like showing propriety and courtesy, bringing the right gifts to parties, etc. and the episode explores the unfairness of that system. The Chinese model discussed in the article you didn't read is more akin to that episode of Black Mirror, as opposed to the passive model we are used to, of denying people homes based on credit, or putting them on no-fly lists because their social media accounts were flagged by an algorithm or AI, but not yet cleared by human agents.

2) You say you'd rather have China in control of a data set but not the US, or something along those lines. It's an interesting oversight a lot of people make. The idea that because the States have our dataset, others must not. Actually, the US has our dataset, China has it, Russia, Bulgaria, Latvia, freakin' Sweden -- you name it. My point is all countries have access to roughly the same scope of data, because the corporations that engineer and hock the software that scrapes and presents that stuff don't just sell it to their nations of origin - and not JUST to the highest bidder (although there are Playstation exclusives!) - but to anyone who's buying because they're in the business of selling Big Data technology.

I know this because I don't just read the headlines. I write them. Buy a newspaper, and keep investigative journalism alive.

[rado84]

I still use it but I'm getting tired of the fascists running Facebook and I don't know when I'll have enough of them. Groups, posts and images with open racism are left intact while things from the daily life are removed and their authors banned for a month, sometimes even longer.

[HaveaMint]

Facebook? Is that when you read a book and get really tired and your face hits the book when you fall asleep?

[alexa9]

Facebook started out as an easy way to get laid in college. Now it's a social comparison ego shrine that pits people against eachother. Same with Instagram. I have a few family members that are total InstaSloots. I am sure it has increased travel to Greek Islands, Hawaii, Thailand, and Macchu Picchu because I see that most people have stereotypical snapshots there.

I deleted mine and realized I'm not that good of friends with my high school buddies and don't have a lot in common with them not to mention all of the frenemies I was friends with that I barely even remember anymore.

I feel much more comfortable speaking my mind anonymously on forums specific to my interests and getting good feedback.

[jameskga]

wow, alexa9. i 100% identify with everything you just said. you summarized our life experiences as accurately as it was succinct! you're pretty cool. we are probably both about the same age, but i also strongly identify with your perspective and how you were introduced/de-introduced to online elements

[Portreve]

I still have a Facebook account, but I'm going to close it as of August 1. Here's why...

Back in June or July of 2014, I was really starting to get burned out with Facebook and the never ending barrage of pop culture stuff and some of the onset of what would become the nastiest season in American (and other countries') politics in many generations, and everyone's projected self-importance. I had already created a Twitter account, but had really never used it. So, I decided to do a couple different things. The first was to "switch" from Facebook to Twitter and/or Google+ (depending on what I found I liked the best). The second was to try and use what influence I had with friends and others on FB to get into some other form of communication (this is in reference to IM, not social media). Basically, I felt like I was trying to help break the kind of Facebook dominance that we all previously had gone through with AOL.

I announced then that I was going to close my account out by January 1, 2015, and I did my darndest to get people to establish new conduits of communication. I brought up what we had then learned thanks to folks like Edward Snowden, the fact that social media seems like an amplifier for a very negative mindset, etc. However, I only got a couple people to show interest, and in the end, I didn't close the account. I had, however, effectively stopped using Facebook. Of my total use of social media, FB dwindled to probably like 5%, Google+ increased to 5%, and the other 90% became Twitter. To this day, that hasn't changed.

Then, the 2015-2016 era of American politics happened. British politics happened. European politics happened. The whole thing effectively turned social media, and as we are to this day learning Facebook in particular, into the worst s***-show we've probably ever seen. Because of how Twitter is set up and how I make use of it, that means I (quite fortunately) missed the absolute worst of it.

Between 2014 and today, I have just barely moved the needle on getting friends to have other mediums of contact and communication, which now covers the bare minimum core of who I consider legitimate friends and actually want to stay in contact with. Anyhow, a couple days ago, I finally decided that I'd really had enough of FB. I've had enough of a few other (and unrelated) things, and so I'm closing it down. I have a few other folks that I'm not already otherwise able to communicate with that I'm giving one last heroic effort to to try and get to set something else up, but that's it. I figure that if two more weeks is not sufficient, then it's time to cut the cord.

[Moem]

Anyhow, a couple days ago, I finally decided that I'd really had enough of FB.

Good for you.

[xenopeek]

A major life event. Normally you'd have posted in on FB. Now what are you supposed to do?

[majpooper]

the 2015-2016 era of American politics happened. British politics happened. European politics happened. The whole thing effectively turned social media, and as we are to this day learning Facebook in particular, into the worst s***-show we've probably ever seen.

This is what did it for me - I am far from apolitical but both sides, at least in American politics are strictly partisan to the point of being ridiculously hypocritical. All you get is one-sided distortions and flat out lies - God forbid we have a civil discussion with some one who might have a different opinion from the party line. It would be a joke if the consequences were not so serious. And that is all I was seeing on my FB from family and friends was hyper political vitriol - and then a bunch of inane posts about what someone had for desert with a pic at some restaurant or a video of a dancing dog or some stupid quiz that we all found out later were far from innocent. I deleted my account but still get emails that it's so and so's birthday which I auto send to junk mail folder.

[Portreve]

Good for you.

Thanks, Moem.

A major life event. Normally you'd have posted in on FB. Now what are you supposed to do?

Go back to doing what we used to do: talk about it with people you really know IRL.

Y'know, at the end of last year, I made a decision that this year was the year I was going to take my health back and my life back. I've effectively done the former; now is time to do the latter. I'm going to be taking two weeks' vacation time starting the 20th, and I've got a fair few things on my list to accomplish.

I really wish I could travel, but for financial reasons it just isn't in the cards right now. Next year, however...

This is what did it for me - I am far from apolitical but both sides, at least in American politics are strictly partisan to the point of being ridiculously hypocritical. All you get is one-sided distortions and flat out lies - God forbid we have a civil discussion with some one who might have a different opinion from the party line. It would be a joke if the consequences were not so serious. And that is all I was seeing on my FB from family and friends was hyper political vitriol - and then a bunch of inane posts about what someone had for desert with a pic at some restaurant or a video of a dancing dog or some stupid quiz that we all found out later were far from innocent. I deleted my account but still get emails that it's so and so's birthday which I auto send to junk mail folder.

Yep. In broad terms, social media in general and Facebook in particular were used to hyperstimulate people's existing radicalized ideologies. I've tried my level best to get people to think about why things are as they are — I do this when I write occasional how-tos here, so it's not purely political, theological, or philosophical — but all that has been going on is this hyper churning of the muck.

Eventually, as is obviously the case with you, too, it just got to the point where I couldn't stand it any longer.

[lsemmens]

I log into faceache only rarely to see what my kids and grandkids are up to. They all talk to me on the phone regularly, so it is only to see pictures or the like. In this day and age it is a necessary evil that is best avoided.

[Citizen229]

Isn't Facebook the softwarez that broke peoples neck? Their heads are stuck in a downward position. I cannot wait for the EMP. People will have to lift their heads and talk to people again.

[thx-1138]

Twitter and Facebook may be around for 75 years. They may even become so important to American society that, should they have financial trouble, they will be "too big to fail", and given a bailout.

...regardless of any theatre of so-called 'political' pressure (heh!...), Facebook will NEVER go away -
it's data mining mechanism is just too precious: http://fortune.com/2018/07/06/facebook- ... son-world/

[BG405]

There is a documentary on UK Channel 4 now. Very, very disturbing. In fact, I wouldn't advise watching unless you have a stronger stomach than I do. Afraid I can't without muting the sound & using the subtitles. It's that bad.

[Vierling]

What's that documentary called, BG405? I guess I'm just too curious. lol

[Alexiy]

I started using Facebook because someone from my university group invited me there. Never really liked it. And as of last times, it's just a platform for showing off your ego. I have "friends" and classmates there, but I don't find anything to talk about with them. In addition (I don't know if anyone has this) my pre-login page always shows that there is one notification, when in fact there isn't. Facebook is disgusting, and probably this shows that it is losing something. And I don't feel sorry for them.

[BG405]

What's that documentary called, BG405? I guess I'm just too curious. lol

Inside Facebook: Secrets of the Social Network: Dispatches goes undercover in the secretive world of Facebook content moderators. Available on catch-up TV. Again: WARNING very upsetting.