I deleted my Facebook and Instagram yesterday and it felt great, like a huge relief. I had a lot of conflict at first since I’m an artist and I worry about being out there blah, blah blah, but I took a hard look at my “insights” on my posts in the last month and hardly any of my friends/followers were actually seeing them. What is the point of making billionaires richer and getting nothing in return but cute dog videos?
I also realized that I had posted a ton of scanned drawings on facebook like an idiot back in like 2015. All that work wasn't seen by "friends" or even potential customers/clients...It's just created AI slop now, probably...
I do sometimes post on Cara (basically an instragram clone), which claims to never sell data and never use users to feed AI software.
Social media hasn't done much for me as an artist, though. The vast majority of the money I've made selling work has been really old school and through galleries, public shows, etc. I also don't make a living as an artist; I need a normal job too.
I would really caution against looking to a Taylor Sheridan show's smug trolling as any kind of guiding light. That quote not only gives off major "Yet you participate in society. Curious! I am very intelligent" vibes, but also promotes the dual fallacies of the slippery slope (you may as well stop breathing air!) and the idea that one person's actions don't matter. It's also a really rocky analogy because giving up Facebook and Instagram are not the same as giving up driving cars or living in houses.
Who cares whether or not getting off these platforms will make a difference? It will make a difference for YOU. YOU are the one that benefits. Whether or not it strikes a blow for progress, sanity, or liberal democracy I have no idea or concern. The early/golden ages of social media were wonderful - we wrote so much to one another with such passion and good faith, in plain public sight. It was exhilarating to be part of what felt like unregulated global town squares. Those days are over. These are now mousetraps calibrated to harm, manipulate, and exploit you. Read the room and act accordingly.
Don't overthink it. Just delete your accounts. You won't believe how little you miss them. These people have taken so much from us and are showing us that they are about to take a lot more. We're about to enter a global era of chaos, cruelty, instability, and injustice, which most Americans remain unaware of. You do not need social media to amplify that misery or the obnoxiously shocked reaction to it which will inevitably come. Collect your actual friends phone numbers and get the fuck out of these voluntary prisons while you still can.
Look, have your own opinion is great and all, but this whole article just sounded a lot like a pile of anedoctal excuses not to deprive Facebook from mining your data because *check notes* memes!
I left Facebook last week; deleted my account. I did not do it to feel smug or self-righteous - I did it because the platform had become just overtly annoying to me in recent months. Sure, there were many nits before the past months that contributed to my overall disdain for Facebook; the $1M donation to the Trump Inauguration, the kowtow trip to Mar a Lago... tick tick tick... then came the acknowledgement that Meta was using AI generated accounts to "help engage communities!". I was wondering why my news feed had become flooded with "Groups you may be interested in!" and an hourly barrage of "People you may know!" (complete with profile backgrounds much like I had used).
Then for me, a final straw. I have watched very out, very LBGT+ community entrenched FB friends of mine come under attack on the platform over the years. There was a saving grace of some form of Meta governance, the protective shell against hate speech. When "Zuck" (rhymes with F*ck) decided to discontinue that function in favor of allowing the user community (read MAGA) to self govern, that really ended it for me. I let all 20 of my "Friends" know I was leaving the platform, how to reach me and good bye.
That was my personal choice. Again, not to feel smug or self righteous, but to feel... relieved. And I do. Much like I did two weeks into the toxicity of my (corporate) Twitter account (many years ago) when I deleted that against my CSO's will. I do still respect the people that I know who are so firmly entrenched in the Metaverse; good for them - I get it; the only way to keep up with relatives, check in on the Grandkids, provide content to a user community, etc. Hundreds if not thousands of followers. It is what it is; much like being welded to iOS or Windows - it's the foundation on which lives are lived and in some cases, income generated.
Facebook was just never a necessity for me. All I used it for was to post memes and occasional snarky missives. And for that, I have my own blog with (checks notes) 20 followers.
I keep thinking back to that episode of The Good Place about Doug Forcett. The guy who "figured it out". How to live a "moral" life. And his life was a disaster area. And he was still scheduled to go to The Bad Place. I don't think it's nihilism, but I DO think it's annoying AF that our crazy aunt's constantly posting on Facebook about finding the good where we can and finding ways to amplify it is... not the worst idea.
No. Quit Facebook immediately. You already said you get less than 1% internet traffic from it. You also said you quit Twitter and it didn't hurt you at all. Quitting Facebook is important. We must show these Silicon Valley shitheads who kiss Trump's ass that it is not OK. To not quit means you don't give a damn about what happens to women and minorities, it's as simple as that.
It's a good point. While FB is busy generating AI-driven profiles to try and drive engagement, the advertisers behind the scenes are paying attention to the REAL numbers of actual humans.
Quitting does matter. Not when 1 person does it, but when thousands do? When tens of thousands do? That matters. Because when advertisers understand that FB has become a bunch of trolls and AI bots jabbering at each other, they'll also leave, because neither of those sets of people buy the things they are selling.
Being realistic here but how else am I supposed to keep in touch with friends who don't live near by? I will, going forward, avoid interacting with the MAGA racists and homophones by making my posts only available to friends and I won't be commenting on anything other than my friends posts.
I'd love to boycott Facebook but it is too entrenced in my life. I rid myself of any Trumpers amongst my friends a long time ago so I've created my own happy little bubble. Is it hiding my head in the sand? Perhaps. But quitting does what, exactly? If I boycotted everything my fellow liberals suggested/demanded, I'd have to eliminate so many TV channels, actors, a whole lot of food, beverages, beer and liquor. And all these companies donated to Dotard Twitler. I feel like I'm expected to apologize but..
I'm not being an ass when I ask this in good faith but in what way are you unable to keep up with friends that live far away? Is it in the passive "I can see your updates but don't have to interact" social media way? Is it because of an international comms barrier?
Because in this day and age of technology, it seems like there are plenty of work arounds for that? But I'm interested to hear.
First of all, where do you get the "don't have to interact" from? Because interact with friends is pretty much all I do on FB. We comment, like, share stories and pictures, commiserate when things are tough. We do this together. And that's where they chose to be as well, I can't expect them all to join me on whatever platform I've decided is the pure and true one (and let's face it - pretty much every platform has venture capitalist funding). My family and I mostly interact on WhatsApp, but we are a smaller circle so it's easier.
First of all, easy there. I meant the very specific kind of friend interaction where introvert/neurospicy people like myself have engaged in in the past. It can be a relief to monitor but not have to engage sometimes. I'm not saying that is what this person is doing.
I was asking if that was what they meant by not being apple to keep up with friends without FB or socials.
Again: ASKING IN GOOD FAITH. No need to snark. If no snark was intended, then no problem.
Sorry, I didn't mean to snark. It's just been so many commenters acting as if relationships maintained via Facebook aren't "real" and that people are silly for not being able to do without.
I'm cool with a windy moral high road. Much nicer than that shitty swamp down below. The thing Sheridan got wrong (well, one of the many things) is it's not just one of us up there on that road.
I'm one of those "olds" who never got on social media. Like ... zero. At first it seemed lame. Then it seemed unapproachable. Now it just seems toxic.
Yes, i like cat videos. Yes I like "listicles" of funny things other people are posting.. Yes, I also understand that in the tiniest of ways that helps out the Roman Emperors of Silicon Valley (a turn pf phrase I'm absolutely stealing in the future) line their pockets.
But I'll be damned if I'll contribute directly and monetarily to their lives - or provide them with more cannon fodder to train what they are passing off as AI in order to design better ad serving algorithms..
Everyone seems to be saying good things about BlueSky as an "emperor free" social media site so far. It won't last, because end stage crapitalism eventually comes for us all, but for now, for those of you who need to have a presence, that seems like the best alternative
I suspect a lot of the people dramatically announcing they're quitting FB or Insta over these policies probably didn't use it that much to begin with or were simply not that invested in it so that its not that hard to extricate themselves. And those that can't do so as easily largely won't. It doesn't make you a "good" person if you loudly announce on social media that you are planning to ditch it and you're not a bad person if you don't, for whatever your personal reasons are
But we really don't need 100 thinkpieces on the topic. Sorry, but it really ISN'T that hard.....
We all make trade offs. In some respects, hypocrisy is practically part of our DNA. If you depend on Meta for your survival and wellbeing --financial or otherwise-- I don't judge. I can, however, absolutely choose not to join in. It doesn't make me a better person. As for the damage being wrought by the MAGA takeover, it just corroborates one of my favorite Twainisms: "The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog."
I can look around my house and see 5 things I bought on Facebook Marketplace that I originally sourced on Amazon. Whenever I find something in a closet I'm not using anymore, my neighborhood Buy Nothing is a great resource for getting rid of it without throwing it away. Last week I found a really great plumber through my neighborhood FB group. And, as I mentioned on the Pajiba post, the refugee aid group I do real limited work with is *entirely* administered through Facebook. FB is so much worse than it used to be - the scroll is mostly ad content being pushed at you from the benighted algorithm. But it still has value for me. I also still google things. In the world we live in, we all have to measure the value against the rot. And FB is a big old beast and people's experiences are different.
For me, wanting to quit IG is not so much about who owns it but the people who comment regularly and with gleeful cruelty. It’s not something I enjoy or think is funny. I don’t think this puts me on some moral high ground either. There isn’t much left on IG that’s just silly and fun that hasn’t been ruined by the comments section.
I made my account unpublic long ago. I only let people I know follow me, and I don't really follow any celebrities. So my curated space is free from that kind of toxicity.
You may not be able to see the data that's being mined from you nor properly understand how long and powerful of a lever it is for steering you and everyone around you in the directions the owner's want, but it's still happening.
The kids may be into it for the memes, but they'll stay for the outrage, and outrage always radicalizes over time.
I deleted my Facebook and Instagram yesterday and it felt great, like a huge relief. I had a lot of conflict at first since I’m an artist and I worry about being out there blah, blah blah, but I took a hard look at my “insights” on my posts in the last month and hardly any of my friends/followers were actually seeing them. What is the point of making billionaires richer and getting nothing in return but cute dog videos?
You will not be harmed as an artist for this choice. Well done.
I did the same.
I also realized that I had posted a ton of scanned drawings on facebook like an idiot back in like 2015. All that work wasn't seen by "friends" or even potential customers/clients...It's just created AI slop now, probably...
I do sometimes post on Cara (basically an instragram clone), which claims to never sell data and never use users to feed AI software.
Social media hasn't done much for me as an artist, though. The vast majority of the money I've made selling work has been really old school and through galleries, public shows, etc. I also don't make a living as an artist; I need a normal job too.
I would really caution against looking to a Taylor Sheridan show's smug trolling as any kind of guiding light. That quote not only gives off major "Yet you participate in society. Curious! I am very intelligent" vibes, but also promotes the dual fallacies of the slippery slope (you may as well stop breathing air!) and the idea that one person's actions don't matter. It's also a really rocky analogy because giving up Facebook and Instagram are not the same as giving up driving cars or living in houses.
Who cares whether or not getting off these platforms will make a difference? It will make a difference for YOU. YOU are the one that benefits. Whether or not it strikes a blow for progress, sanity, or liberal democracy I have no idea or concern. The early/golden ages of social media were wonderful - we wrote so much to one another with such passion and good faith, in plain public sight. It was exhilarating to be part of what felt like unregulated global town squares. Those days are over. These are now mousetraps calibrated to harm, manipulate, and exploit you. Read the room and act accordingly.
Don't overthink it. Just delete your accounts. You won't believe how little you miss them. These people have taken so much from us and are showing us that they are about to take a lot more. We're about to enter a global era of chaos, cruelty, instability, and injustice, which most Americans remain unaware of. You do not need social media to amplify that misery or the obnoxiously shocked reaction to it which will inevitably come. Collect your actual friends phone numbers and get the fuck out of these voluntary prisons while you still can.
Look, have your own opinion is great and all, but this whole article just sounded a lot like a pile of anedoctal excuses not to deprive Facebook from mining your data because *check notes* memes!
It is all good, it is really all good.
and because getting off of the doomscroll machine is a not-at-all-strained equivalent to deciding to live in a tent.
I left Facebook last week; deleted my account. I did not do it to feel smug or self-righteous - I did it because the platform had become just overtly annoying to me in recent months. Sure, there were many nits before the past months that contributed to my overall disdain for Facebook; the $1M donation to the Trump Inauguration, the kowtow trip to Mar a Lago... tick tick tick... then came the acknowledgement that Meta was using AI generated accounts to "help engage communities!". I was wondering why my news feed had become flooded with "Groups you may be interested in!" and an hourly barrage of "People you may know!" (complete with profile backgrounds much like I had used).
Then for me, a final straw. I have watched very out, very LBGT+ community entrenched FB friends of mine come under attack on the platform over the years. There was a saving grace of some form of Meta governance, the protective shell against hate speech. When "Zuck" (rhymes with F*ck) decided to discontinue that function in favor of allowing the user community (read MAGA) to self govern, that really ended it for me. I let all 20 of my "Friends" know I was leaving the platform, how to reach me and good bye.
That was my personal choice. Again, not to feel smug or self righteous, but to feel... relieved. And I do. Much like I did two weeks into the toxicity of my (corporate) Twitter account (many years ago) when I deleted that against my CSO's will. I do still respect the people that I know who are so firmly entrenched in the Metaverse; good for them - I get it; the only way to keep up with relatives, check in on the Grandkids, provide content to a user community, etc. Hundreds if not thousands of followers. It is what it is; much like being welded to iOS or Windows - it's the foundation on which lives are lived and in some cases, income generated.
Facebook was just never a necessity for me. All I used it for was to post memes and occasional snarky missives. And for that, I have my own blog with (checks notes) 20 followers.
Great outline, Pajiba. It tracks on all levels.
I keep thinking back to that episode of The Good Place about Doug Forcett. The guy who "figured it out". How to live a "moral" life. And his life was a disaster area. And he was still scheduled to go to The Bad Place. I don't think it's nihilism, but I DO think it's annoying AF that our crazy aunt's constantly posting on Facebook about finding the good where we can and finding ways to amplify it is... not the worst idea.
No. Quit Facebook immediately. You already said you get less than 1% internet traffic from it. You also said you quit Twitter and it didn't hurt you at all. Quitting Facebook is important. We must show these Silicon Valley shitheads who kiss Trump's ass that it is not OK. To not quit means you don't give a damn about what happens to women and minorities, it's as simple as that.
It's a good point. While FB is busy generating AI-driven profiles to try and drive engagement, the advertisers behind the scenes are paying attention to the REAL numbers of actual humans.
Quitting does matter. Not when 1 person does it, but when thousands do? When tens of thousands do? That matters. Because when advertisers understand that FB has become a bunch of trolls and AI bots jabbering at each other, they'll also leave, because neither of those sets of people buy the things they are selling.
Being realistic here but how else am I supposed to keep in touch with friends who don't live near by? I will, going forward, avoid interacting with the MAGA racists and homophones by making my posts only available to friends and I won't be commenting on anything other than my friends posts.
I'd love to boycott Facebook but it is too entrenced in my life. I rid myself of any Trumpers amongst my friends a long time ago so I've created my own happy little bubble. Is it hiding my head in the sand? Perhaps. But quitting does what, exactly? If I boycotted everything my fellow liberals suggested/demanded, I'd have to eliminate so many TV channels, actors, a whole lot of food, beverages, beer and liquor. And all these companies donated to Dotard Twitler. I feel like I'm expected to apologize but..
I'm not being an ass when I ask this in good faith but in what way are you unable to keep up with friends that live far away? Is it in the passive "I can see your updates but don't have to interact" social media way? Is it because of an international comms barrier?
Because in this day and age of technology, it seems like there are plenty of work arounds for that? But I'm interested to hear.
First of all, where do you get the "don't have to interact" from? Because interact with friends is pretty much all I do on FB. We comment, like, share stories and pictures, commiserate when things are tough. We do this together. And that's where they chose to be as well, I can't expect them all to join me on whatever platform I've decided is the pure and true one (and let's face it - pretty much every platform has venture capitalist funding). My family and I mostly interact on WhatsApp, but we are a smaller circle so it's easier.
First of all, easy there. I meant the very specific kind of friend interaction where introvert/neurospicy people like myself have engaged in in the past. It can be a relief to monitor but not have to engage sometimes. I'm not saying that is what this person is doing.
I was asking if that was what they meant by not being apple to keep up with friends without FB or socials.
Again: ASKING IN GOOD FAITH. No need to snark. If no snark was intended, then no problem.
Sorry, I didn't mean to snark. It's just been so many commenters acting as if relationships maintained via Facebook aren't "real" and that people are silly for not being able to do without.
Ok but how, exactly, are we holding Zuckerberg accountable here? I missed that part
I'm cool with a windy moral high road. Much nicer than that shitty swamp down below. The thing Sheridan got wrong (well, one of the many things) is it's not just one of us up there on that road.
I'm one of those "olds" who never got on social media. Like ... zero. At first it seemed lame. Then it seemed unapproachable. Now it just seems toxic.
Yes, i like cat videos. Yes I like "listicles" of funny things other people are posting.. Yes, I also understand that in the tiniest of ways that helps out the Roman Emperors of Silicon Valley (a turn pf phrase I'm absolutely stealing in the future) line their pockets.
But I'll be damned if I'll contribute directly and monetarily to their lives - or provide them with more cannon fodder to train what they are passing off as AI in order to design better ad serving algorithms..
Everyone seems to be saying good things about BlueSky as an "emperor free" social media site so far. It won't last, because end stage crapitalism eventually comes for us all, but for now, for those of you who need to have a presence, that seems like the best alternative
I suspect a lot of the people dramatically announcing they're quitting FB or Insta over these policies probably didn't use it that much to begin with or were simply not that invested in it so that its not that hard to extricate themselves. And those that can't do so as easily largely won't. It doesn't make you a "good" person if you loudly announce on social media that you are planning to ditch it and you're not a bad person if you don't, for whatever your personal reasons are
But we really don't need 100 thinkpieces on the topic. Sorry, but it really ISN'T that hard.....
We all make trade offs. In some respects, hypocrisy is practically part of our DNA. If you depend on Meta for your survival and wellbeing --financial or otherwise-- I don't judge. I can, however, absolutely choose not to join in. It doesn't make me a better person. As for the damage being wrought by the MAGA takeover, it just corroborates one of my favorite Twainisms: "The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog."
I can look around my house and see 5 things I bought on Facebook Marketplace that I originally sourced on Amazon. Whenever I find something in a closet I'm not using anymore, my neighborhood Buy Nothing is a great resource for getting rid of it without throwing it away. Last week I found a really great plumber through my neighborhood FB group. And, as I mentioned on the Pajiba post, the refugee aid group I do real limited work with is *entirely* administered through Facebook. FB is so much worse than it used to be - the scroll is mostly ad content being pushed at you from the benighted algorithm. But it still has value for me. I also still google things. In the world we live in, we all have to measure the value against the rot. And FB is a big old beast and people's experiences are different.
For me, wanting to quit IG is not so much about who owns it but the people who comment regularly and with gleeful cruelty. It’s not something I enjoy or think is funny. I don’t think this puts me on some moral high ground either. There isn’t much left on IG that’s just silly and fun that hasn’t been ruined by the comments section.
I made my account unpublic long ago. I only let people I know follow me, and I don't really follow any celebrities. So my curated space is free from that kind of toxicity.
You may not be able to see the data that's being mined from you nor properly understand how long and powerful of a lever it is for steering you and everyone around you in the directions the owner's want, but it's still happening.
The kids may be into it for the memes, but they'll stay for the outrage, and outrage always radicalizes over time.
I really want to support writers financially, but Substack has always been such a gross company that I just can't give it money