Social media

[StephenMcK]

I wonder what use contributors on here make of social media, be it Facebook, Twitter or Instagram?

My own experience is I have always stayed away from Twitter. From the start it always struck me as a malignant soundbite forum, not remotely suitable for proper debate. A mudslinger for the digital age.

Facebook brought with it more promise. It has become a great boon for keeping in touch with distant family and old friends. For politics and the like though, in such a short space of time really, it has become such a toxic and unreliable environment.

For years, TV dramas were predicting the manipulation of it by rooms full of slave botters trolling here, there and everywhere. Unfortunately, we didn't quite take that seriously until it actually became a thing.

Perhaps we were unwise to laugh at the growth of flat earthers and moon landing deniers, but social media has been hugely influential in propagating such schools of thought and a zeitgeist that presents passionately held beliefs as truths.

These platforms are Animal Farm come through, but did no one think to design a reset button?

[greenilex]

This message board is as far as I go with social media. I have never regretted my boycott.

[Pulcinella]

This message board is as far as I go with social media. I have never regretted my boycott.

Same here.
That said, I can see some benefits to a local Facebook group, such as we have here on our estate, where information about our heating and internet can be posted, for example. I rely on a neighbour for information.

[Serial_Apologist]

All that said, there are some (to me) wonderful facebook sites, several for example on aspects of jazz that link to other, related areas. And to be honest, the left-wing sites enthusiastically updating on the latest political gossip, and posting tit-bits as well as important background info on some of the protagonists, helped keep my pucker up during the pre-election period, supplying significant indicators as to how much leftist thinking had broadened since the time of my activism in the 1970s and early '80s. But, like others here, I wouldn't touch twitter with a bargepole.

[pastoralguy]

I left Facebook about 18 months ago and haven't regretted it. Well, apart from a few contributors who posted photos of areas of Edinburgh being built including one of my house under construction! So yes, I do miss that but having taken early retirement I was bombarded with requests from ex-colleagues to be 'friends' with them. Bearing in mind they never spoke to me whilst I was at work I wondered what their sudden interest was now I'd left!

[Petrushka]

I left Facebook about 18 months ago and haven't regretted it. Well, apart from a few contributors who posted photos of areas of Edinburgh being built including one of my house under construction! So yes, I do miss that but having taken early retirement I was bombarded with requests from ex-colleagues to be 'friends' with them. Bearing in mind they never spoke to me whilst I was at work I wondered what their sudden interest was now I'd left!

You too! I've recently retired and no-one really believed I'd do it but when the penny finally dropped, colleagues appeared to take more interest in me than in all the years I was there! I'm only in a local closed group on Facebook but hardly bother with it. Can't understand those people who put every tiny detail of their daily life on there. All a bit odd if you ask me. Don't bother with Twitter and have no idea what Instagram is.

[LMcD]

This message board is as far as I go with social media. I have never regretted my boycott.

Same here!

[StephenMcK]

The thing that is moving me closer and closer to quitting is the prevalence of 'sponsored' posts that appear in my feed.

Facebook provides no filtering to allow you to control what appears, so my feed is dominated by evangelical Christian groups and throughout the height of the Brexit sturm und drung I was being assaulted by leave propaganda.

Now, I'm a gay atheist, so that makes me doubly useless as a potential convert to the religious stuff and I continue to be ardently Remain.

Yes, you can go into each post and individually report them as not being to your liking which I generally do by ticking the 'false news' window, but what I find very concerning now is the proliferation trend. You know, there are elements out there who somehow have funds sufficient that they're going to bombard me anyway; and what's more, I believe they intend to keep it up.

[Richard Barrett]

The thing that is moving me closer and closer to quitting is the prevalence of 'sponsored' posts that appear in my feed.

You need to use the FB Purity browser extension, which will magically make all such things disappear. Highly recommended. (Not by Mark Zuckerberg of course.)

[muzzer]

There’s a lot of stuff out there which is very interesting but it’s extremely time consuming sorting the wheat from the chaff, and thoroughly depressing seeing how much meaningless blather is generated by mankind. To which I have just added.

[Serial_Apologist]

The thing that is moving me closer and closer to quitting is the prevalence of 'sponsored' posts that appear in my feed.

Facebook provides no filtering to allow you to control what appears, so my feed is dominated by evangelical Christian groups and throughout the height of the Brexit sturm und drung I was being assaulted by leave propaganda.

Now, I'm a gay atheist, so that makes me doubly useless as a potential convert to the religious stuff and I continue to be ardently Remain.

Yes, you can go into each post and individually report them as not being to your liking which I generally do by ticking the 'false news' window, but what I find very concerning now is the proliferation trend. You know, there are elements out there who somehow have funds sufficient that they're going to bombard me anyway; and what's more, I believe they intend to keep it up.

Not a lapsed Catholic by any chance, are you, Stephen?

[StephenMcK]

Gosh! I didn't know there was such a thing. I thought I was having my legged pulled.

[Serial_Apologist]

Gosh! I didn't know there was such a thing. I thought I was having my legged pulled.

[kernelbogey]

I have amended the thread title to reflect the broader issues of social media being discussed here; and to avoid any accusation of racism on the forum.

[Old Grumpy]

I have amended the thread title to reflect the broader issues of social media being discussed here; and to avoid any accusation of racism on the forum.

Or cultural appropriation?