I have been considering for a few months now the idea of closing my Facebook account; here I share my main reasons.
Lost of original purpose
Facebook made a lot of sense in 2009 when I joined, because for several years I had made friends in different parts of the world and I live far away from my family. The idea of being connected and share a bit of our lives, the little and big things of our daily routine was a great idea not to get lost in time and distance.
Facebook does not work like that any more; it has become (for me) mostly a gallery of articles and information (sources that needs always to be verified). It would seem that today everybody has something to say and needs to be heard no matter what, and when everybody talks, nobody listens, this is not right. There are platforms like Whatsapp or even the archaic email that still do the job.
The way in which Facebook is designed provides an infinite carrousel of information and the level of saturation is unbearable. I am subscribed to several newsletters from trustworthy sources that I don’t read anymore and the main reason is the time spent in Facebook. I know, this is not necessarily a problem of the platform, is more my lack of organisation and will.
Algorithms and people segregation
When you are in a conversation and you find that your interlocutor thinks completely different from you, generally there is certain civility and respect, no one wants to immediately engage in an open and aggressive confrontation; words complemented with body language, tone, etc. and the rhythm on which a conversation is held allow to an appropriate communication of the message and a flux of ideas.
Most of the topics published in Facebook are just too complex to be discussed in just written form and in the rhythm in which is imposed.
After some frustrating experiences, and knowing that no one convinces other person of anything in social media, we ended up by removing from our group people who don’t think like us. This is extremely dangerous and unhealthy.
If on top we add the algorithms that Facebook sets and the discrimination of information that we receive is decided by a small group of people in California, gives as a result a brutal segregation of people and information; where partiality and lack of rigour and proper debate simply polarizes and perpetuates the ignorance of the people. This is particularly terrible in this moment of human history where more than ever we need precisely the opposite.
Information, privacy, centralisation of power and sustainability
“When the services is free the product is you”
One of the most interesting things I learned when reading about biology is that a system, the more diverse it is, the more resilient and healthy it is. Therefore, better chances of survival. The idea that a very small group of individuals in an office in California has access to a gigantic quantity of information from more than TWO BILLION PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD, and that group is leaded by a 34 year old human being takes us far away from that biology principle. The world is loosing diversity and resilience, evidently this is not only because of Facebook, but its influence and growth in number of users makes it the perfect tool to continue the trend, we should be more critical and less lazy if we really care for a better future.
The information manipulation and centralisation is, and it will be every time more, a dangerous topic the more we digitalise our lives and environments. Don’t get me wrong, I am not calling for a regression on this development, I call for a smarter design, more egalitarian, progressive and sustainable.
Waste of time
At the end each uses the service as sees fit, has you can or you are allowed to (conscious or unconsciously). It would be very useful to do an honest and sincere exercise, even measured if possible, what is it that Facebook gives and what takes away? I did it; it takes a lot of time and is not giving me what I am expecting from it. Adding to this the fact that I expose my self and contribute to a series of behaviours, situations and tendencies that as I mentioned before I think are deeply negative.
I will use other media, because at the end, keeping contact with friends and family is the only thing that truly interests me. Nothing as good as a conversation in front of a coffee or a beer, or at least over the phone.
Friends, you know where to find me.