Facebook has been criticized in the past for giving away data, but many still choose to remain tied to this privacy monster. Most people I speak to sound as if the are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome syndrome; no one wants to leave Facebook despite what it is doing to their privacy and the privacy of their friends and family. Everyone I ask tells me a combination of factors but the most common are these: they are scared to lose their memories, this is their go to place for news, this is how they keep in touch with friends and relatives. With all the forms of communication today, I find this hard to believe. There may be no alternatives to actual Facebook, but there are solutions to keep your privacy from being sold and still keep your friends and family in the loop. Facebook is a Monster
Way before the Cambridge Analytica scandal, it was suspected that Facebook was directly working with either the FBI and CIA, and in recent years, this has come to be common knowledge. Even if your family members aren’t on Facebook, the pictures you post, the things you say and the fact you log into Facebook on your phone, means they are using your contacts and the information contained on your phone to see their information. If you give them access to your contacts, now Facebook has your Nana’s number and address too. Maybe you don’t think that’s an issue though, and I can certainly respect that. Yet, how about the fact it has cause civil wars in other countries? Facebook has caused a civil war in Myanmar as the Asian Times reported a few years ago, where people there were urging the government to shut the social media giant down because it was causing a genocidal war within the country. I found that upsetting, but who cares about other countries, right? Well, how about the fact it’s been studied and peer reviewed that it makes you depressed. There was a study done that people who go on Facebook are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. Watching other people have the time of their life is definitely not as great as the social giant made it out to be. Maybe the darker side of the social media giant will frighten you. Several of the darkest posts have featured animal abusers that posted their bloody kills (2 kittens). Pedophiles have been recently using the service to trade photography of naked and sexually tortured children. There was a study done which outlined the spike in child abuse and pedophilia because of the network’s messenger service. The privacy of personal messages gives abusers the ability to share without the hassle of the critical outside world. Nazis and white supremacists also call it home. They share memes and posts with the freedom of their private group settings. Facebook has had its share of scandals over the years. There comes a point when you have to wonder if the service is more of a negative platform than a positive one. Staying in Touch Sure, you might bring up the fact that the only way Aunt Sally stays in contact with you is through Facebook. It is good for staying in touch, but look at it this way, back when Facebook started, phones didn't have the ability to group chat, and pictures were terribly frustrating to send out. In today's world, all that has changed. Facebook has become one more app on our phone we don't need. Do you really need 300-1000 strangers or acquaintances knowing about you daily? You can do the same thing on a group chat message with a few close friends and at least they will actually care. The News Side of Facebook News on the site at the beginning was great, but the amount of misinformation made it a big issue. I have started moving on to Reddit for my news or even Apple News. At least on Reddit, if it's false, 3,000 people will fact check it and tell the person posting. Unlike reddit, Facebook usually has 3,000 people sharing some horribly gullible story. Breaking Up is Hard to Do So you are convinced you want to delete it, but you have 8 years worth of memories. It's ok! Facebook has an archive feature! That's right, before you say goodbye, you can opt in to download all 8 years in one nifty and tidy zip file. You can open it up at any time and relive the memories. It's in your General Settings page. I have all my old profiles backed up in the cloud for safe keeping. It's fun to go back and unzip the files and take a look. It's like paging through a diary. All my photos, comments, and posts are there. Nothing is ever lost. It's just a few clicks away on my DropBox. So What Now? Everyone left MySpace back in 2009 and I suspect that Facebook will go in this direction soon also. Honestly, I have been dreaming of this day for years. The only reason I ever went back is because no one would leave. Maybe now we can get back to the people that truly matter and stop trying to act important to 400 people. No one cares what you did yesterday, or today or tomorrow. What they care about is gossip. It's those of us who cut the cord that will be on the winning side. At least we can finally interact better with our family. Who knows, maybe we will finally all start hanging out in person again. Here's to hoping....Â