Commentary
By Paul Fultz
When a friend and colleague told me a group we’re in now has a Facebook page, I couldn’t help being a little skeptical and more than a little sarcastic.
“We have a Facebook page?” I asked. “Is that a good thing?”
As it turns out, it is. But it’s not difficult to understand my skepticism: as popular and seemingly omnipresent as Facebook is, it has more than its share of detractors.
My friend George Taylor and I are part of the Louisville Cardinal Alumni Group, an organization of former University of Louisville students who worked for UofL’s independent student newspaper, The Louisville Cardinal.
The group’s members have varying opinions about Facebook. Some are avid users, some maintain accounts but don’t use them very often, and some have either never used the platform or are former users who’ve abandoned it completely.
That’s the reason the group’s primary means of communicating with members is email and our website at https://lcag.site. Unlike a Facebook page, the website doesn’t require you to sign up or provide any personal information, and there’s no chance you’ll run into your 10th grade girlfriend or boyfriend while scrolling through its pages.
And Facebook can be hazardous to your mental health. One alum recently got back on for the first time in years, using it to reconnect with old friends and exchange phone numbers and email addresses. Two weeks later he deactivated his account again, saying “I was spending too much time scrolling through my feed, and every time I did it was annoying and drove me nuts.”
Anyone who’s ever used Facebook can relate to that statement, at least a little. I certainly can. In many ways I enjoy it, but I’m well aware of the down side and have spent a great deal of time complaining about it. Why do I dislike Facebook? Let me count the reasons:
* Everything I’ve ever read about Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicates he’s a terrible person who would sell the entire human race out if he thought it might earn him an extra dollar. Which makes him no different than most billionaires, but that’s no excuse. Zuckerberg and his fellow tech bros have also spent a lot of time contributing money to and sucking up to America’s least favorite fascist dictator, Donald Trump. That alone is enough to make me want to shun Zuckerberg and everything he touches.
* And then there’s Artificial Intelligence (AI), which Facebook not only supports, but is determined to shove down everyone’s throats whether we like it or not. Every time I’m on Facebook I’m deluged with ads for AI products. Every time I see one I click on the X to make it go away, and a few minutes later it’s replaced by a new one. Anytime someone tries that hard to make you do something it’s always for their benefit, not yours.
The arguments against AI are well-documented, but I’ll summarize them briefly: it’s terrible for the environment, it takes away people’s jobs at a time when many are already struggling, and its supported by the same billionaires who are determined to end democracy.
I understand that many people who use AI have little to no choice in the matter. Many are required to do so by their jobs or their schools, and there’s not a lot they can do about it short of making the unwise decision to become unemployed and/or a dropout. I’ve also heard the argument that “AI is in phones, its in social media, if you use those you support AI!”
First of all, there wasn’t any AI in cell phones and social media when I started using them, and just because someone came along and put it there later doesn’t mean I’m going to stop using them. I’d prefer to just complain relentlessly until it’s taken back out.
* There’s a lot of fake news on Facebook, and much of it seems to favor right wingers. Which is no surprise given Zuckerberg’s political leanings. And many of us have experienced instances where we post something criticizing the right, only to have Facebook delete it and/or penalize us for posting it. Facebook’s rules about what one can and cannot post are wildly inconsistent and selectively enforced, to say the least.
* Even the non-political ads on Facebook are annoying and violate people’s privacy. We’ve all experienced a situation where we click on an ad we’ve never clicked on before and never click on again, but ads for that product then follow us around for weeks or even years. Facebook sells advertisers our personal data, allowing them to track us within inches of our lives to try to sell us crap we don’t need.
But if Facebook is so terrible, why would I ever use it? Why would anyone? On some days I’m still not sure, but I do remember why I started using it 17 years ago (gasp!) in 2009.
Once again all credit goes to my friend George, although any blame is entirely my own. George texted me and said something like “So you’ve heard of Facebook, right? I got on a few weeks ago and I’m really enjoying it. It’s a great way to reconnect with old friends, and then you can leave sarcastic comments on their page! I feel like it’s right up your alley.”
I responded by texting “Thanks for thinking of me, but I would, never, ever, get on Facebook. It’s a total violation of privacy. I’m going to volunteer my personal info so advertisers and everyone who’s ever known me can track my every move? No thank you. Not in this lifetime!”
A few hours later, I got the following text from a woman I’d dated a few years earlier: “How’s it going? I was scrolling through the contacts in my phone, saw your name and thought I’d see what you’ve been up to. Are you on Facebook? I just got on a few weeks ago and it’s really fun.”
Ten minutes later I had created a Facebook account, sent out dozens of friend requests, and texted her back: “My friend George was just telling me about Facebook. I just created an account!” Then I texted George: “It seems I owe you a big apology. It’s kind of a funny story . . .”
And sure enough, once I was on Facebook I found myself enjoying it. While I ran into more than a few people I’d just as soon have forgotten, I also reconnected with a lot of old friends I remain in touch with to this day. And George was right, I loved leaving sarcastic comments on people’s pages. And most of them didn’t even unfriend me!
It wasn’t all sarcastic comments, though. I also liked engaging in serious political discussions with my Facebook friends, most of whom are highly intelligent and have lots of insightful points. And I used to love arguing with idiots in the comments section who said things like “I’ve done my own research, and scientists are wrong about this” and “I bet you wouldn’t say that to my face. Unless I was working on my Camaro, because everyone knows I wouldn’t stop working on my Camaro just to kick your ass.”
It took me years to stop arguing with idiots in the comments section. I had long since stopped enjoying it, but I somehow felt compelled to continue trying to make my point. After all, I had logic and reason on my side. And sarcasm! But I finally realized that he who continually argues with idiots risks becoming an idiot. I still have occasional lapses, but for the most part now when someone says a deadly disease is best treated by drinking bleach, I stay quiet and just leave them to it.
One thing I like about Facebook is it allows you to share news and opinions with others, then receive instant feedback. As a former journalist who long ago left the field (first for pr/marketing, then IT), it scratches my occasional itch to publish something and have someone read it. And what Facebook user hasn’t posted something and then watched with glee as it quickly received dozens or even hundreds of likes? And who hasn’t posted something they thought was pretty clever, then watched with dismay as it got only three likes in 24 hours? Not me, I can tell you that.
Another great feature is you can join or even create pages to suit your interests, such as the alumni group page I mentioned. You just have to be aware that Facebook can censor or shut your page down at any time for any reason, and those reasons often make no sense.
I’ve been a member or administrator of several humor pages that were shut down for a series of jokes that were so mild they could have aired on what’s left of network TV. That’s why you have to be sure to make a list of group members and their contact info, so you can recreate the page under a different name if and when Facebook nukes it. Such is life in the digital theocracy that is social media.
Despite its disadvantages, for me the good parts of Facebook still outweigh the bad. As much as I’m tempted to stop doing business with any giant corporation whose actions and motives could be described as less than pure (all of them, basically), I realize that in order to do that I’d have to leave society and go live in a cave. And when I tried that the WiFi was terrible, so that’s not going to happen again.
So overall, I’m feeling pretty good about being on Facebook. If nothing else, it’s free and I’m bored. And the alumni page is working out great. Plus I’ve mastered a form of social media that is shunned by both the very young and the very old, which positively delights me. I’m happy to be socializing with other middle aged people, especially since I can do so while still sitting on my couch.
But just as I was basking in the glow of being a modern person who made the very progressive decision to continue using social media instead of going underground, I got a call from George, who said “So you’ve heard of Instagram, right?”
They tell me my scream could be heard half a block away. But once I explained to my neighbors why, they said they completely understood and all was forgiven.
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