At this point, its like beating a dead horse. I have talked about the Final Chapter of Facebook and how Facebook is dead. So why am I writing about Facebook yet again. Well, other than the fact that this is my blog and I can write about “What’s on my mind” 😆, I wanted to share about taking the next step in my Facebook journey which is actually the last one – Deleting it!
So here are the 3 reasons why I deleted my Facebook and perhaps you too should give it a thought.
1. Tracking you everywhere
Facebook tracks you even when you are off-Facebook. You read that right. Check out the ‘off-Facebook activity’ section under Settings and be surprised. Now I know it isn’t easy to find this section especially if you are on their app, so here’s the direct link – https://www.facebook.com/off_facebook_activity/activity_list. Now that you know the hundreds of websites and apps that Facebook has been tracking your presence on, your first step should be to clear the history. Secondly, you should also ensure that Facebook stops tracking you in the future. There is an option for that too.
If you are a total novice, Facebook tracks you everywhere so that it can show you relevant ads. Now if you’d rather see relevant ads than random ones, think about the data breaches that have happened in the past. If you aren’t concerned with data breaches too then take a look at something like Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal that exposed voter targeting.
2. Promoting Negativity and Hate
If there’s hate, negativity and toxicity on your entire feed, that’s because this has blended into Facebook’s business model. I talked about the steps in my podcast earlier (embedded below)
This is worse than you might think because you wouldn’t even realize when you become a part of an echo chamber. With every scrolling session, the Facebook algorithm gets to know you better. It gets to know the kind of posts you like and engage with so that when you login the next time you are served more of such posts that align with your current World view. Let’s say, based on your engagement, Facebook finds out that you are a dog-person and not a cat-person. From here on every time you login you will see substantial pro-dogs content from users and pages that are themselves pro-dogs. You will see ads that are pro-dogs. You will see promoted content which of course is pro-dogs! In no time, without you even realizing, you would become a part of the pro-dogs echo chamber. Anything outside this eco-chamber could potentially trigger you. That would mean, “oh you are pro-cats, UNFOLLOW!”, “oh you don’t like dogs, UNFRIEND!”, “oh you are not even interested in animals, how inhumane, BLOCK!”. You may start hating others for their choices, their eating habits, their clothes, their practices and anything else that doesn’t align with the narrative that the pro-dogs echo chamber has built around you. You would also start to look at content, buy products, follow celebs or vote for the political party that is pro-dogs. Now obviously this is just an example and may not be applicable to everyone but you get the idea of how the manipulation works.
Now of course other social media platforms are equally guilty of this but they are definitely not at the level at which Facebook operates. You may not even personally know people posting hatred on other social media platforms. They won’t be in your “Friends list”. Also, other platforms don’t have something like an “angry reaction”. They cannot promote anger-provoking posts as Facebook does as per the 2021 Facebook Leak.
3. Putting my money where my mouth is
When I bought a new phone in 2021, I installed apps when I needed to use them (and kept them on my phone) instead of bulk installing all apps on day 1. I never installed Facebook because I never felt the need to use it. Sure I used it on my computer but that was only to share links of my new blogs and videos. Links can now be shared on Instagram stories too (I am pretty bullish on Instagram Stories by the way). So for me sharing links on Facebook is substituted by Instagram stories and thus the time was right to take the next step by getting rid of Facebook.
Conclusion
For full disclosure, I must admit that I have deactivated my personal Facebook profile and not deleted it. I plan to continue using the public Facebook Page as well as some other Business Services that Facebook offers (for my project management website PMC Lounge). Moving away from my personal Facebook profile has helped me avoid mindless scrolling sessions, save time, free up some mind space and focus on stuff that is productive. You too should give it a try, at the very least, there will be one less feed to scroll 😊
How difficult do you think it will be for you to delete Facebook?
Nice initiative! I too feel that hate and negativity is too much on Facebook..and You tube does the same by showing same videos in my feed..most of the hatred in this world is due to social media only….Time to be more in Moment and Real World than Virtual…At the end it’s our responsibility not to be triggered by rumour posts and past , be more responsible as Humans..Kindness is the Key! ..Love is all we Need!!
All social media platforms are guilty of this. End of the day their goal is to make sure that we spend as much time on their platform as possible. But facebook is at a different level because this is now a part of their business model. I would also name two Netflix documentaries here, check them out if time permits – The Social Dilemma & The Great Hack. But yes totally agree, love & kindness is the only solution