Facebook.
So many different things come to mind upon hearing that word. I got a Facebook when I was in the eighth grade. How do I remember that? Because I still have the same password that I did eight years ago. Shhhh, don’t let anyone hack me. It might be easier than you think. There have been many jokes about how Facebook makes you love people that you don’t like in real life… and hate the ones that you actually do know personally. Why? Personal status updates. Too many selfies. Political debates. “Look how cute my baby is!” We’ve all seen it. We’ve then inadvertently avoided ‘liking’ their post. Which thankfully in this case, Facebook actually takes note of.
So many different things come to mind upon hearing that word. I got a Facebook when I was in the eighth grade. How do I remember that? Because I still have the same password that I did eight years ago. Shhhh, don’t let anyone hack me. It might be easier than you think. There have been many jokes about how Facebook makes you love people that you don’t like in real life… and hate the ones that you actually do know personally. Why? Personal status updates. Too many selfies. Political debates. “Look how cute my baby is!” We’ve all seen it. We’ve then inadvertently avoided ‘liking’ their post. Which thankfully in this case, Facebook actually takes note of.
In this article posted from www.wired.com, a
man actually liked every single thing he saw on Facebook for an entire 48 hours, regardless of whether he actually liked it or not. He found that within the
first hour, his news feed was basically ‘devoid of human content.’
Advertisements and news articles and links to other external sites
became the only thing Facebook wanted him to see, because he was showing an
interest in it. And also, these things perpetuate money for the company. This
made me realize how inexplicably unaware we are of the target advertising that
our online social media has control over. Like one of our guest speakers said
in class, Facebook messenger has control over our microphones. It says it right
there in the fine print. WHAT. That way, when it hears certain things in our
daily life… it can customize what type of ads and posts are then linked to our
news feed. What in the world. There were a plethora of articles I found that
outlined the privacy risks of Facebook, just like this one.
Considering the overwhelming amount of users that this
online mogul has, over 1 billion, should we stop and take into account how it
is actually affecting our lives? Whether it be subliminally or right there out
in the open. It definitely has more power than we realize.
That is so interesting about the guy who liked everything on his feed for 48 hours! Its crazy how much Facebook has changed over the years-there are so many ads now! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI remember when I first got my Facebook as well. My mom actually had one before me which is kind of embarrassing. I really enjoyed the part about the guy who liked everything on Facebook. Plus the other link in your article was fun to read and very informational.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I like how you brought up how long you’ve been in the Facebook community. It really gives you credibility on how it all works and how it has transformed over the years. I myself have only been on Facebook for about a year now, but I can now see how it can be a distraction/intrusion sometimes if I keep it unchecked. Great Job!
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