We already assumed the ass holes of the world were data mining our information so Cambridge Analytica wasn't a surprise, but absolutely KNOWING they've been doing it is relevant and important. I'm glad it leaked. Using Facebook isn't free, in fact it's at the expense of your privacy, your dignity, and your data. You are giving them the right to surveil you just so you can play Words With High School Frenemies. I mean Words With Friends, sorry.
There seems to be more arguments on Facebook than anywhere else other than say, Twitter. It just seems to attract drama. Also, isn't it a little disconcerting when they suggest you might want to be friends with that girl you dated 10 years ago? Like once. How did they know that exactly? Those suggestions tend to be a little TOO accurate if you ask me. It's creepy. And as I said, the platform specializes in arguments and relationship ending diatribes and idiotic political discourse that seems to demonize rather than actually listen to, or learn from each other.
These days there IS no subtlety. There ARE no gray areas. There is no reaching across the isle anymore. Even someone like me who suggests that BOTH parties are purposefully pitted against each other and controlled by the same force; that argument is blankly ignored. There are no friendly debates or respectful disagreements anymore. This is the curse of social media. "ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA" is more like it.
Every time you speak, you're making an announcement to hundreds or even thousands of people. It's not natural. When I post on Steemit, I'm posting something I've thought about and wanted to put into a public forum. But with Facebook, it SEEMS comfortable and insulated; there's a false sense of security. Inevitably, you end up letting your defenses down and shit posting all your thoughts and emotions like verbal diarrhea. We've all done this. I know I have.
Every post on Facebook is a pubic speech. Every picture of a meal, every announcement of where you're located, who you're with, and what you're doing becomes a speech on the floor of Congress, so to speak. Every little ensuing comment is a public speaking tour.
It's like you've suddenly become the Town Crier with every bit of minutia that you post. "Hear ye, Hear ye! Good people of my Facebook feed, I say to thee! This Mexican food and ensuing Margarita hath been more than delightful and QUITE approved by a multiplicity of not only I, but also said friends, as you can see here in this blurry, red-eyed selfie!" And then the proverbial: "Please notice my announcement and approve of it immediately, to satisfy my unquenchable desire to be liked and/or respected with your imaginary thumbs; thank you, and good day sir!"
Every time you speak, it shouldn't be a god damn speech. It's not normal. It's too public, too accessible, too vulnerable and often too reactionary. And it starts to feel slowly but surely like pressure. No one is reacting? "I bet they are being passive aggressive and silently judging me and laughing" one might think. Too many people are responding? "I feel bullied and pressured into changing my opinions" one might say. And it goes on and on. But that's what FB REALLY is lately, a bunch of crazies yelling out about the coming Messiah on the street corner, just lazier.
It's a HUGE time waster. I think social media can be great if you love the platform and enjoy the interaction and it helps you achieve other goals like quitting that slave job and starting your own business! But a lot of times it conjures anger, frustration, loneliness, fight or flight triggering, mean spirited trolling, and totally irrelevant and unnecessary conflict. Plus it just adds more time in front of a computer screen burning your eyes out, making your life goals blurry and distant instead of walking through nature, writing that book, making that album, building that studio in your back yard, or hanging out with friends in PERSON. Member that thing called "real life?" Member?!
It becomes an addiction. We know that dopamine is released with every blip and bloop and swipe. It's like a video game combined with a casino in terms of addicting "feel good" chemical reactions in your body. This leads to obsessive compulsive behavior and emotional outbursts and feelings of anxiety and depression and comparing yourself to others. It was created to be an addiction so that full spectrum control surveillance would be FUN and easy to join! There has to be incentives to get your data after all. But like all other addictions, it doesn't end well.
It's a bunch of fake, shit posters trying to jockey for position and gain irrelevant social brownie points. It has also become a mine field full of vomit inducing, sappy Virtue Signaling. It's gross. It's an ego-led competition where people pretend to be something they're not, while acting as if their lives are fun and dynamic literally EVERY moment of every day to make you feel shitty about yourself by comparison.
There are millions of exceptions of course! There ARE nice people in the world; and some of those people have Facebook accounts. But God Damn it; you KNOW what I mean here. In fact you know EXACTLY what I mean. I'll bet you can see their smug, smiling face in your mind right now right? You know the one.
Censorship and a pushed, political agenda is in full effect. If you engage in "wrong think" or if you don't have the "correct" opinions about everything, you'll be shadow banned, throttled, ghosted, thwarted, cast aside, and little Facebook gremlins will get you in one way or another. This passive aggressive, covert gas-lighting is so unbelievably cowardly, and yet effective nonetheless. Censorship is being rolled out across platforms. It's TIME! No, I'm not doing my best Bruce Buffer impression. It's time for us to get out and go to Steemit, Minds, Gab, and other places that appreciate cognitive liberty. What else IS there when you really think about it?
How fast has this agenda been rolled out? How crazy has this gotten in almost no time? This is peer pressure, Political Correctness and obvious cultural programming, social conditioning and yes, LITERAL mind control. This is a clear agenda being rolled out as a shiny, new, tech savvy Big Brother in sunny Silicon Valley, which is looking more like the "Uncanny Valley" with every passing day.
There are a few other issues that could make the list but I think this is plenty. Just my two cents. I have to admit, it's been a guilty pleasure watching the Facebook stock value drop. A while back, I did the "delete permanently" option and it just felt right. I pretty much stick to YouTube and Steemit, but YouTube has arrived as the latest Platform to sell out their creators and users. That's next on the chopping block.
I think I'm coming to the conclusion that with VERY few exceptions, I'm pretty Anti-Social Media. I think going back to basics and creating your OWN website, just like those starry eyed, innocent times back in the earliest stages of the Internet, will become popular again. We need to Re-Humanize and remember who we are: powerful, creative, and empathetic. Meanwhile, we do the best we can. Much love and visualize peace.
If you'd like to delete your Facebook Account for good, just click on this link and follow the instructions:
https://www.facebook.com/login.php?next=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fhelp%2Fdelete_account
Check out my consciousness music, handcrafted Mysterium Orgonite, and my original art here on my OWN site: http://geoffbyrd.com/