(no subject)
Dec. 21st, 2012 02:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
angledgeA few days ago, I deleted my Facebook account. I did so for a few reasons.
One, I don’t like the fact that I really don’t know what I’ve agreed to, privacy-wise, when I’ve clicked on “I have read and agree to the Terms & Conditions….” Button that we’ve all clicked on when setting up the Facebook account, installing the iPhone Facebook app, & responding to Facebook’s recent push to make us all think about this. I’ve tried a few times, but I still really don’t feel like I know what they can do with my data, photos, etc. I recently started following the hacktivist group @anonymous on Twitter (they have gone after Westboro Baptist Church after hearing their plans to picket the Sandy Hook funerals), & they posted this graphic:
I haven’t yet been able to fact-check the graphic (it’s for Android, not iPhone) but the fact that I wasn’t sure if I had given Facebook those permissions or not made me seriously stop & think.
Two, I waste immense amounts of time on Facebook. Thank God I’m no longer into any Facebook games (except Draw Something, which I actually play through its own separate app, also now un-installed). I was checking Facebook a dozen times a day. But when I looked through my posts, they were drivel – links to news stories, funny graphics – Interaction Lite. My friends posted a lot of the same: the same tired graphics from “I HATE DOUCHEBAG’S”, links to poorly-written, poorly-researched internet gabble, photos of their cats… and very occasionally, really cool updates or invitations to events. Those were the gold nuggets that kept me panning through all the tailings. But I have decided that it’s not a productive use of my time.
Three, I’m just sick of playing along with gigantic corporations of any sort. Facebook is Too Big to Avoid, like the banks that got Too Big to Fail. Well, I pulled my money out of the big banks, & now I’m pulling my social life out of Facebook. I’m sure LJ is evil in its own special way, but it’s a lesser evil.
I hope to spend more time writing longer, more thoughtful posts, as well as reading your longer, more thoughtful posts. I suspect I will still post links & photos of my dog (who is waaaaay cuter than any cat), but maybe I can do more than just those lowest-common-denominator kinds of things.
One, I don’t like the fact that I really don’t know what I’ve agreed to, privacy-wise, when I’ve clicked on “I have read and agree to the Terms & Conditions….” Button that we’ve all clicked on when setting up the Facebook account, installing the iPhone Facebook app, & responding to Facebook’s recent push to make us all think about this. I’ve tried a few times, but I still really don’t feel like I know what they can do with my data, photos, etc. I recently started following the hacktivist group @anonymous on Twitter (they have gone after Westboro Baptist Church after hearing their plans to picket the Sandy Hook funerals), & they posted this graphic:
I haven’t yet been able to fact-check the graphic (it’s for Android, not iPhone) but the fact that I wasn’t sure if I had given Facebook those permissions or not made me seriously stop & think.
Two, I waste immense amounts of time on Facebook. Thank God I’m no longer into any Facebook games (except Draw Something, which I actually play through its own separate app, also now un-installed). I was checking Facebook a dozen times a day. But when I looked through my posts, they were drivel – links to news stories, funny graphics – Interaction Lite. My friends posted a lot of the same: the same tired graphics from “I HATE DOUCHEBAG’S”, links to poorly-written, poorly-researched internet gabble, photos of their cats… and very occasionally, really cool updates or invitations to events. Those were the gold nuggets that kept me panning through all the tailings. But I have decided that it’s not a productive use of my time.
Three, I’m just sick of playing along with gigantic corporations of any sort. Facebook is Too Big to Avoid, like the banks that got Too Big to Fail. Well, I pulled my money out of the big banks, & now I’m pulling my social life out of Facebook. I’m sure LJ is evil in its own special way, but it’s a lesser evil.
I hope to spend more time writing longer, more thoughtful posts, as well as reading your longer, more thoughtful posts. I suspect I will still post links & photos of my dog (who is waaaaay cuter than any cat), but maybe I can do more than just those lowest-common-denominator kinds of things.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2012-12-21 09:32 pm (UTC)If the article linked to below is correct, there's a 14 day waiting period for the permanent deletion after you access the super-secret for real-real deletion URL. If you log in to Facebook during those 14 days, even if you do it accidentally by using your Facebook login to comment on another unrelated site, then your Facebook account with be re-activated.
http://www.groovypost.com/howto/security/permanently-delete-your-facebook-profile-account/
no subject
Date: 2012-12-22 06:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-22 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-02-22 07:41 pm (UTC)But one thing I miss is contact with friends far away (like you).
no subject
Date: 2013-02-22 08:41 pm (UTC)That said, I appreciated the points your friend made in his post. I'm also considering whittling my list down just to people who I want to maintain that kind of connection with, not my sister's friend's husband who I met one time. But then there's still the problem of the evil empire, and I do kinda think it is that. Ah well, things to ponder.
May I ask, is it the Yellow Rose for the foreseeable future for you all?
no subject
Date: 2013-02-22 08:54 pm (UTC)