Is Facebook killing freedom and liberty?

[Tero]

I can sort of track a thing or two in FB. It gives you notifications. As I set up all forums not to send me email, I have no way to track some of them. Reddit and twitter, I don't know where stuff goes.

Other than blocking undesireables, FB has no advantages.

[Hermit]

I've put my big boys' knickers on because I'm going to be brave here, and admit that I'm overwhelmed by Facebook. It asks too much of me all the time, there's all these flashing things demanding your attention down the side, along the bottom, popping up to nag you about completing your profile or to fill out another bizarre survey, and that bit in the middle swishes by, peppered with ads and filled with random stuff that I have trouble hanging a context on. Basically, it gives me the heebees, the opposite of the dopamine rush which I'm (apparently) supposed to get form being so intimately connected to an algobot's mapping of the 'narrative' of my life.

Adblock + and uBlock work marvellously well. Also, I get no reminders to fill in my profile details and I don't click on "Page Stories You May Like" or things that are "Trending". I do click on some of the links from sources on my "like" list. They include SBS, ABC (the Australian broadcaster), The Sydney Morning Herald, The Grauniad and of course the First Dog On The Moon.

Also, when I got onto Facebook (because my daughter made me join) nine or ten years ago I decided to limit my contacts list to people I have met in meatspace, so it consists chiefly of most of close family and some friends. Keeps things uncomplicated and even less stressful than interacting with the same people face to face.

[pErvinalia]

I've put my big boys' knickers on because I'm going to be brave here, and admit that I'm overwhelmed by Facebook. It asks too much of me all the time, there's all these flashing things demanding your attention down the side, along the bottom, popping up to nag you about completing your profile or to fill out another bizarre survey, and that bit in the middle swishes by, peppered with ads and filled with random stuff that I have trouble hanging a context on. Basically, it gives me the heebees, the opposite of the dopamine rush which I'm (apparently) supposed to get form being so intimately connected to an algobot's mapping of the 'narrative' of my life.

Adblock + and uBlock work marvellously well. Also, I get no reminders to fill in my profile details and I don't click on "Page Stories You May Like" or things that are "Trending". I do click on some of the links from sources on my "like" list. They include SBS, ABC (the Australian broadcaster), The Sydney Morning Herald, The Grauniad and of course the First Dog On The Moon.

Leftist scum!

[cronus]

Deleted it. Anyone knows me can find other means of communication if they want. I don't have many facebook friends, and relatives are even more anti-social than I am. Changed my name on it as a parting gift to mess up any of those dumbfuck algorithms. Extra two or three hours a week to do my own thing with.

[Hermit]

I've put my big boys' knickers on because I'm going to be brave here, and admit that I'm overwhelmed by Facebook. It asks too much of me all the time, there's all these flashing things demanding your attention down the side, along the bottom, popping up to nag you about completing your profile or to fill out another bizarre survey, and that bit in the middle swishes by, peppered with ads and filled with random stuff that I have trouble hanging a context on. Basically, it gives me the heebees, the opposite of the dopamine rush which I'm (apparently) supposed to get form being so intimately connected to an algobot's mapping of the 'narrative' of my life.

Adblock + and uBlock work marvellously well. Also, I get no reminders to fill in my profile details and I don't click on "Page Stories You May Like" or things that are "Trending". I do click on some of the links from sources on my "like" list. They include SBS, ABC (the Australian broadcaster), The Sydney Morning Herald, The Grauniad and of course the First Dog On The Moon.

Leftist scum!

Non-sequitur. You're a liar, 42.

The SMH is solidly right of centre, the Grauniad is liberal, SBS sells Volvos, the ABC is in the process of being castrated and First Dog On The Moon is just off the planet.

[Scot Dutchy]

I really do not understand the antipathy. As I've said elsewhere I just use it to stay in touch with family and friends. Handy for sending photos making arrangements and the like. It doesn't have to take over your life - though I know it does with some.

They have a handle on you. IP address? It is not just you but all the people you talk to and send stuff to.

[pErvinalia]

Knowing your IP address doesn't tell them anything, not least because most IP's aren't static.

[Scot Dutchy]

Knowing your IP address doesn't tell them anything, not least because most IP's aren't static.

Mine is and so are many others. It is all the stupid quizzes they ask people to fill in apparently as well.

[Scot Dutchy]

Worth a read.

‘A grand illusion’: seven days that shattered Facebook’s facade

Revelations about the depths of Facebook’s failure to protect our data have finally pulled back the curtain, observers say

Dumb fucks.” That’s how Mark Zuckerberg described users of Facebook for trusting him with their personal data back in 2004. If the last week is anything to go by, he was right.

Since the Observer reported that the personal data of about 50 million Americans had been harvested from Facebook and improperly shared with the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, it has become increasingly apparent that the social network has been far more lax with its data sharing practices than many users realised.

[Rum]

So much fuss. I use it like a computer based telephone with pictures. I use an ad blocker and I have all my privacy options on full. No problem for me - and I haven't had the secret police knocking on my door.

[Scot Dutchy]

You dont know and that is the problem.

[Rum]

I think I do. But you don't either if it comes down to it.

[Scot Dutchy]

That is why I dont do social media. Been a programmer and databaser too long maybe. I appreciated data. I knew its power for changing government policy who I worked for.

[pErvinalia]

You just need to anonymise yourself. My facebook name isn't my real name. I use uBlock and Ghostery which remove facebook (and Google and everyone else's) trackers from third party websites. There's no trail to follow. All that facebook knows is what i've put on their platform directly, and that's all under a false name. Selling it would be largely useless, and if they did, there'd be no way to tie it back to the real world me.

[Scot Dutchy]

Good luck with that. There is always one person who thinks he has beaten the system (not).