In March, I went off Facebook.
But I recently heard from a person who had been very helpful to me. She wanted to hear from me, and the only way to contact her (and her preferred way) is through Facebook Messenger. So that's how I messaged her.
Also, I'm web editor for the Princeton Freewheelers. Some of our members use Facebook as a source of news about the club. My absence may be affecting club members and access to information.
And friends post useful information there. I may be isolating myself.
I've not heard that Facebook is doing any better on the misinformation issue; in fact, there are new lawsuits. More than one, apparently.
I've got to think more about this.
Yes, The Facebook has its problems, but as you noted your friends post a lot of useful information there.
ReplyDeleteBy punishing Facebook with your boycott you are also punishing yourself by missing out on updates from legit friends who use Facebook as their primary way of staying in touch, especially in these pandemic times when real life staying in touch is hard.
Facebook has roughly 2.89 billion monthly active users. They may not have noticed you dropped out. You on the other hand are missing out by isolating yourself IMHO.
One of the good things about Facebook is you can pick and chose what you see. If something that offends you comes up on your wall, you can scroll right by it.
As an old newspaper guy who was downsized several years ago, along with too many colleagues I am saddened that local newspapers no longer cover local news. Society is much worse for it. I depend on local community Facebook groups to know what is going on in my town and to let the local officials know we are watching them. It’s not as good a professional objective journalist being the watchdog, but it’s all we've got and I do believe it keeps our politicians somewhat in line.
You can stay laser focused on keeping up with friends and community while avoiding the nonsense. I would recommend that.
Thanks, Martin. More to think about.
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