So Facebook is collecting a bunch of data about my online behavior and using this data to guess my interests. They can sell this information as part of their ad network which offers the incredible, wonderful option to target consumers very specifically. Wonderful if you are an advertiser because Facebooks ads allow you to address a very specific audience.
That Facebook thinks I am illiterate regarding technology because I am still using an iPhone 5 is fine with me. I don’t care what Facebook thinks.
But what I don’t like is that Facebook decides what can I see in my feed and what not. It is weird when I like a post from a friend about some fish and the next day I get 20 posts with photos of people holding their captured fish into the camera.
In similar fashion, Facebook has bombarded me with posts about pregnancy (not pregnant), tattoo removal (I don’t have any), physics (Ph.D. in Chemistry), muscle cars (You haven’t seen my car) and posts criticizing today’s education (well, okay).
Facebook doesn’t understand me. It’s not Facebook’s fault; it is my fault. I don’t post. We don’t talk. There is nothing to say. I rarely like anything. We don’t see each other much. And that’s a good thing.
This way I stood clear of the fake news and remained outside the echo chamber-like bubble.
Enough reasons to not use Facebook. I was about 95% close to deleting my account.
And then just because I am who I am, I wonder if I should go all in? I am obviously pretty much a clean slate for FB. What if I like opinions that I agree with and those that I disagree with? Can I construct a balanced newsfeed if I like both sides? Can I get insights that I can’t get in the real world? This is not FB’s intended use, but maybe that’s exactly how we should use it moving forward?