Have You Deleted or Will You Delete Your Social Media Accounts?

[Felis Leo]

It is by no means breaking news that there is a problem with social media. It has made the political climate in our country worse; it has exacerbated existing ideological divisions; it has given us purely left-wing and right-wing media bubbles in which people can be hermetically sealed into ideological echo chambers more effectively than ever before while online without ever having to encounter differing viewpoints online; it has allowed foreign interference in our political processes from hostile nations; it has made it so that the worst human beings in our societies have an easier time finding one another and communicating with each other and planning acts of terrorism, from techno-savvy Sunni Jihadists such as ISIS to murderous Neo-Nazis in Christchurch.

But even without touching on the political side of the issue, the way social media presently works is filled with perverse incentives. These free social media platforms and applications as we have learned are anything but free. Most of us already know that the owners of these platforms constantly harvest user data and sell them to advertisers, of course. But the problem is that it does not end there: Companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube also engaging in processes to make their platforms addicting and then engage in subtle and widespread behavioral manipulation and modification. I can only imagine that things on social media platforms will only get worse and worse as we draw close to the 2020 Elections.

For those of you who are interested in looking into the issue further, and are doing your dishes or taking a long car ride, I would encourage you to listen to the podcast in which Ezra Klein of Vox Media interviews Silicon Valley luminary Jaron Lanier about the negative effects of Social Media, and why you probably should delete your social media accounts:



So my question to those here is: Who here has deleted their social media accounts? Why did you delete yours? And for those who did not, what makes you wish to keep it?

For those reading my poll on their cell phones, the options are as follows:

1. I have deleted my social media accounts, or intend to do so

2. I have not deleted my social media accounts nor do I presently intend to

3. I have never even made a social media account in the first place

4. I cannot decide whether to delete my accounts or keep them right now

5. Other

EDIT: And yes, I understand the irony of posting a video/podcast hosted on Youtube (a social media platform) on a poll decrying the use of social media.

 

[Lutherf]

I have no plans to delete my social media accounts but, in all fairness, I hardly ever use them. In the past 10 years I think I've made 5 tweets and posted maybe 10 things to Facebook...half of which were wishing someone happy birthday.

 

[Cardinal]

Nope. I need it for my business.

 

[Mach]

Never had any.
Tried to delete linked in when an employee created my company, they said "we own it, you can't delete it", that ensured I never patronized any social media.

It's all so backwards. Making personal web pages and having them all linked together is trivial. We could have that, for free, without people stealing, selling, and otherwise rifling through our private data for eternity, if we wanted it and if people had a clue.

 

[Moderate Right]

It is by no means breaking news that there is a problem with social media. It has made the political climate in our country worse; it has exacerbated existing ideological divisions; it has given us purely left-wing and right-wing media bubbles in which people can be hermetically sealed into ideological echo chambers more effectively than ever before while online without ever having to encounter differing viewpoints online; it has allowed foreign interference in our political processes from hostile nations; it has made it so that the worst human beings in our societies have an easier time finding one another and communicating with each other and planning acts of terrorism, from techno-savvy Sunni Jihadists such as ISIS to murderous Neo-Nazis in Christchurch.

But even without touching on the political side of the issue, the way social media presently works is filled with perverse incentives. These free social media platforms and applications as we have learned are anything but free. Most of us already know that the owners of these platforms constantly harvest user data and sell them to advertisers, of course. But the problem is that it does not end there: Companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube also engaging in processes to make their platforms addicting and then engage in subtle and widespread behavioral manipulation and modification. I can only imagine that things on social media platforms will only get worse and worse as we draw close to the 2020 Elections.

For those of you who are interested in looking into the issue further, and are doing your dishes or taking a long car ride, I would encourage you to listen to the podcast in which Ezra Klein of Vox Media interviews Silicon Valley luminary Jaron Lanier about the negative effects of Social Media, and why you probably should delete your social media accounts:



So my question to those here is: Who here has deleted their social media accounts? Why did you delete yours? And for those who did not, what makes you wish to keep it?

For those reading my poll on their cell phones, the options are as follows:

1. I have deleted my social media accounts, or intend to do so

2. I have not deleted my social media accounts nor do I presently intend to

3. I have never even made a social media account in the first place

4. I cannot decide whether to delete my accounts or keep them right now

5. Other

EDIT: And yes, I understand the irony of posting a video/podcast hosted on Youtube (a social media platform) on a poll decrying the use of social media.

Social media is nothing but an addictive narcotic creating mindless drones. That by itself is reason not to have it in the first place.

 

[Redress]

As with any other tool, you can use social media constructively or destructively. I use Facebook to keep up on my hobbies. Why would I need or want to delete useful tools because some people can’t handle them?

 

[Mongidig]

I have no plans to delete my social media accounts but, in all fairness, I hardly ever use them. In the past 10 years I think I've made 5 tweets and posted maybe 10 things to Facebook...half of which were wishing someone happy birthday.

I don't even wish people happy birthday anymore on Facebook because they may be dead.

 

[noonereal]

It is by no means breaking news that there is a problem with social media. It has made the political climate in our country worse; it has exacerbated existing ideological divisions; it has given us purely left-wing and right-wing media bubbles in which people can be hermetically sealed into ideological echo chambers more effectively than ever before while online without ever having to encounter differing viewpoints online; it has allowed foreign interference in our political processes from hostile nations; it has made it so that the worst human beings in our societies have an easier time finding one another and communicating with each other and planning acts of terrorism, from techno-savvy Sunni Jihadists such as ISIS to murderous Neo-Nazis in Christchurch.

are you sure you are talking about social media and not Fox News?

 

[noonereal]

As with any other tool, you can use social media constructively or destructively. I use Facebook to keep up on my hobbies. Why would I need or want to delete useful tools because some people can’t handle them?

Frankly, I think it moronic to delete such great platforms because some folks are dolts.

 

[Mongidig]

As with any other tool, you can use social media constructively or destructively. I use Facebook to keep up on my hobbies. Why would I need or want to delete useful tools because some people can’t handle them?

I use it mostly to creep on hot women!

 

[Bodi]

The only social media account i have is dp. I use the phone for my other communication.

 

[<alt>doxygen]

My only real social media involvement was FB for a few weeks not long after it took off as a platform. I was uneasy about it since I had a security clearance to maintain. Also, since I worked it tech it was pretty obvious to me that all of the personal info people were gleefully sharing could be harvested and monetized. I wanted no part in it.

 

[Dittohead not!]

It is by no means breaking news that there is a problem with social media. It has made the political climate in our country worse; it has exacerbated existing ideological divisions; it has given us purely left-wing and right-wing media bubbles in which people can be hermetically sealed into ideological echo chambers more effectively than ever before while online without ever having to encounter differing viewpoints online; it has allowed foreign interference in our political processes from hostile nations; it has made it so that the worst human beings in our societies have an easier time finding one another and communicating with each other and planning acts of terrorism, from techno-savvy Sunni Jihadists such as ISIS to murderous Neo-Nazis in Christchurch.

But even without touching on the political side of the issue, the way social media presently works is filled with perverse incentives. These free social media platforms and applications as we have learned are anything but free. Most of us already know that the owners of these platforms constantly harvest user data and sell them to advertisers, of course. But the problem is that it does not end there: Companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube also engaging in processes to make their platforms addicting and then engage in subtle and widespread behavioral manipulation and modification. I can only imagine that things on social media platforms will only get worse and worse as we draw close to the 2020 Elections.

For those of you who are interested in looking into the issue further, and are doing your dishes or taking a long car ride, I would encourage you to listen to the podcast in which Ezra Klein of Vox Media interviews Silicon Valley luminary Jaron Lanier about the negative effects of Social Media, and why you probably should delete your social media accounts:



So my question to those here is: Who here has deleted their social media accounts? Why did you delete yours? And for those who did not, what makes you wish to keep it?

For those reading my poll on their cell phones, the options are as follows:

1. I have deleted my social media accounts, or intend to do so

2. I have not deleted my social media accounts nor do I presently intend to

3. I have never even made a social media account in the first place

4. I cannot decide whether to delete my accounts or keep them right now

5. Other

EDIT: And yes, I understand the irony of posting a video/podcast hosted on Youtube (a social media platform) on a poll decrying the use of social media.

Facebook is a great resource for connecting with family and friends. I just ignore all of the political bulls.... i mean commentary that gets posted and shared there. At least 99% of it is false anyway. IMO, Facebook is not a place to discuss politics. This forum is a much better option for that.

 

[Jack Fabulous]

It is by no means breaking news that there is a problem with social media. It has made the political climate in our country worse; it has exacerbated existing ideological divisions; it has given us purely left-wing and right-wing media bubbles in which people can be hermetically sealed into ideological echo chambers more effectively than ever before while online without ever having to encounter differing viewpoints online; it has allowed foreign interference in our political processes from hostile nations; it has made it so that the worst human beings in our societies have an easier time finding one another and communicating with each other and planning acts of terrorism, from techno-savvy Sunni Jihadists such as ISIS to murderous Neo-Nazis in Christchurch.

But even without touching on the political side of the issue, the way social media presently works is filled with perverse incentives. These free social media platforms and applications as we have learned are anything but free. Most of us already know that the owners of these platforms constantly harvest user data and sell them to advertisers, of course. But the problem is that it does not end there: Companies such as Google, Facebook, Twitter and Youtube also engaging in processes to make their platforms addicting and then engage in subtle and widespread behavioral manipulation and modification. I can only imagine that things on social media platforms will only get worse and worse as we draw close to the 2020 Elections.

For those of you who are interested in looking into the issue further, and are doing your dishes or taking a long car ride, I would encourage you to listen to the podcast in which Ezra Klein of Vox Media interviews Silicon Valley luminary Jaron Lanier about the negative effects of Social Media, and why you probably should delete your social media accounts:



So my question to those here is: Who here has deleted their social media accounts? Why did you delete yours? And for those who did not, what makes you wish to keep it?

For those reading my poll on their cell phones, the options are as follows:

1. I have deleted my social media accounts, or intend to do so

2. I have not deleted my social media accounts nor do I presently intend to

3. I have never even made a social media account in the first place

4. I cannot decide whether to delete my accounts or keep them right now

5. Other

EDIT: And yes, I understand the irony of posting a video/podcast hosted on Youtube (a social media platform) on a poll decrying the use of social media.

Is Debate Politics and sites like it considered "social media"?

 

[Redress]

Social media is nothing but an addictive narcotic creating mindless drones. That by itself is reason not to have it in the first place.

You do realize that all social media is is a variant of internet message boards, right?

 

[Skeptic Bob]

I logged off FB about 1 1/2 years ago and haven’t been back on. It has its uses but for me, personally, I found it to be a net negative on my life rather than a net positive.

 

[Felis Leo]

As with any other tool, you can use social media constructively or destructively. I use Facebook to keep up on my hobbies. Why would I need or want to delete useful tools because some people can’t handle them?

Well, let me put my thoughts down via crude analogy. I live in Central California where we have a lot of dairies, but I think this will suffice to make the illustration. People who use social media are like cows being herded into a milking parlour. When you are on social media, it is as though you are being hooked up to the milking machines. Now, the cows do get to socialize with their herdmates, and communicate with one another in the manner that cows and other herd animals do, but that is not the purpose of the milking parlour. They were made to get milk from the cows, whether the cows have a good time socializing or not. Likewise, you get to socialize and gather information from your social media platforms, but that is not what social media platforms were put in place for. They are meant to harvest your data and manipulate your behavior in subtle ways for the purpose of marketing you products and services from companies paying the social media platforms for your data.

Of course, where my analogy breaks down is at this point: the cows do not have a choice whether they can go into the milking parlour or not. They are herded in regardless. We have a choice whether to go into the social media milking parlours. And the social media companies achieve this constant feedback loop by making the use of the platform, if not addictive, highly compulsive. As Lanier explains in the above-posted podcast, social media companies use the same psychological behaviorist techniques that casinos do to addict gamblers.

 

[Felis Leo]

Is Debate Politics and sites like it considered "social media"?

In a way, yes. But the major difference is that our data on DP is not being used to curate content back to us for the sake of advertising sponsors and to manipulate our behavior. Unless I am radically mistaken and Google is harvesting DP's data as well (which it might be).

 

[Daisy]

I opened a FB account years ago just to see what all the hoopla was about...looked around...thought it was stupid and deleted it...never looked back...:2razz:

 

[fredmertzz]

I have a social media account that is used solely for the messenger service, to be conveniently in touch with friends and family. I literally haven't posted for years and only use the messenger on my phone. I have no intention deleting social media. Use it right and there is no need to delete it. But I understand that it has an addictive nature for some, and brings out the worst in some as well. So I have no ill-will against those who delete theirs.

 

[Dittohead not!]

Is Debate Politics and sites like it considered "social media"?

The difference here is that we aren't in an 'echo chamber" where everyone agrees. Here, hardly anyone agrees with anyone else, hence the term "debate." Not only that, but we use psuedonyms here, so are unlikely to meet someone in the real world who thinks we're evil due to our political beliefs.

 

[Moderate Right]

You do realize that all social media is is a variant of internet message boards, right?

What was the OP talking about?

 

[Cardinal]

I've said it before, but as long as you use social media with the full knowledge that you are the product and not the consumer, it's generally less harmful. If you go into it thinking that any amount of privacy is a component of social media, then you're gonna get hurt.

 

[Lursa]

I control my social media, it doesnt control me.

 

[Rogue Valley]

I've never had any social media accounts and never intend to.