Do You Facebook?
The Midweek Conversation
The revelations coming out about Facebook are shocking, but also not really. They continue to confirm the worst suspicions of many, that in a drive for profit at all costs Mark Zuckerberg has pursued a policy that harms health and safety, broadly defined. From stoking hate, to undermining democracy, to spreading lies about Covid and vaccines, Facebook has played a key role in making our world more dangerous. It appears that the alarm bells for what was happening were ringing loudly from inside the company, as employees saw algorithms built to maximize engagement pushing users to increasingly extreme, lie-filled, and rage-inducing content.
Facebook has been a vital tool for many of us. It provided this aging reporter with a platform to share my views widely about the important news of the day. However, the more we have learned about the social media giant, the more conflicted I and I know many others have become. In recent years, I also noticed that many of our more thoughtful posts on the website seemed to be getting less reach. Was that the algorithm at play or less interest from our readers? We hadn’t changed what we were doing substantially.
One of the reasons we came to Substack was to find a place for long-form content that wasn’t controlled by Facebook, where we could communicate directly with our readers. So a big thank you to all who are subscribing and supporting our effort.
But I still maintain a Facebook account to share what I do here with those (presumably including some of you) who follow me there. We constantly question whether we should continue to do so. But for now, we do not want to leave behind those who find us on Facebook.
So the question for us today is what is your approach to Facebook?
Were you ever on it?
Are you still?
If you quit, when did you leave and why?
If you are still using it, have you changed how you engage, and how frequently?
What do you hear from friends and family in our social group about their uses of Facebook?
As always, we love to read the discussion in the comments. So please respond to each other, with courtesy of course.
I am....reluctantly....still on Facebook only because I can’t figure out how I can stay in touch with out of state family & friends if I delete it. That said I have gradually culled my “friends” list more & more & have my privacy settings locked down pretty far (I think). Wishing there was a good alternative out there!
I am still on Facebook, but have modified a lot of how I use it. I have unfollowed and blocked many people who used to be allowed on my newsfeed, as well as become a big fact checker over the past 3 to 4 years. I rarely argue anything with someone who has posted on facebook, but I am quick to block people who post untruths or hateful remarks.