I have always hated the idea of it since i first heard about "my space" and other things like that, iv never owned an account in any thing twitter/facebook/instagram or any of those sort of things, i personally simply don't like them. Yes its probably because im anti social lol, but any way i also just don't like the way a whole entire generation of old and young have decided typing messages on a screen has wiped out alot of the family structure and what it naturally generally consists of, like the fact there's alot less actual real life meetings resulting in less actual knowledge of one and other that you would get a proper understanding of in a face to face talk.

So yes its got pros, but the big picture says over all it is causing anti family future where people are more separated and less knowledgeable of their people.




Any way i dont want to get in to a big debate or any thing really, but i will just make a poll and see whats going on.

I was a Facebook slave for 11 years, and before that I had a MySpace. I deleted my Facebook last year, for a bunch of reasons. Personally I think phones are the problem. They allow 24/7 access to such sites. When I only had a dumb phone I was fine as I'd go online on the computer in the evenings, but now everyone just sits on their phones at work and no one talks to each other.

Yeah you’re also the only person who likes a plain cup of black coffee, not like these decadent cappuccino drinkers.

Yeah it’s a thing. These days they are very closely tailored to be a compulsive habit, as any company would they want you to spend as much time with their product as possible and give them as much data, while keeping you away from their competitors. One of the common phrases among people who are interested is “intensely online” that is people who keep a significant amount of their social and intellectual capital on twitter and youtube especially.

The problem as usual is t computers, it’s neo liberalism. Most people really do benefit from being able to send a cat picture to their real life friends, or read an article shared by a colleague of a friend. That’s not what social media companies are of course, because it’s not the postal service and you didn’t buy a stamp to mail that cat picture, actually it was you who was sold by that company to a vast complex of erectile dysfunction drug vendors and energy industry lobby groups, and to keep you sweet they made as mindless and sensational an experience as possible.

I do however use Instagram. Its good for seeing some fantastic painters and modellers, and you tailor the content you see by who you follow. It's a lot easier to avoid BS on there.

does whatsapp count ? ... if not then no, I only have facebook for easy login to twitch and other services that require (for god only knows why) it for reasons.

if yes, then the WA groups I'm in take up a good 60% of my day reading memes and the latest cheese list someone in group found.

I'm going to vote no because I use my insta purely for hobby reasons overall.

I have a facebook account that I use to follow some pages and send PMs to stores/companies. Sadly for some of them it's the only way to do it.

Facebook(and zuckerberg) is definitely a gargantuan behemoth in most peoples lives now. I just accepted that some things would have to be sacrificed for me to be free of it.

Look at all the scandals lately. and Zuckerberg just ignores the people asking him to answer questions on the issues, not that I blame him really, if the governments really had an issue they'd open a proper investigation. But then it should really be common knowledge that if you share info on facebook then its basically public property, and you're a fool if you think otherwise. The whole reason facebook is free is that its not a product, You (the fb population) are the product, and the ad companies are the customer.

90% of my Facebook time is hobby related. Either scouring trade pages, organising games in the weekly gaming club and catching up with upcoming tournament info or model news.

Very little is the usual "OMG I had a banana for brekkie!!! 11!1" silliness you very often see. And even that is me wishing someone happy birthday if I physically can't contact them any other way or out of politeness - people can get tetchy if you don't acknowledge it apparently...

I took about 3 years off of Facebook but went back on when I had to start administrating pages for academic departments/associations. Though I don't post on it a great deal myself, I quite like being back on it. So much easier for keeping on top of gigs and other events happening locally and for keeping up to date with friends.

I've been on Facebook for quite a while, never really post anything besides the odd photo of a model to a 40k group. We have a Twitter account for the company I work for that I manage, but even then I try to stay off it, some rather benign topics can really become quite toxic rather quickly so I avoid all other forms.

No. There are so many more productive uses of time.

 LordofHats wrote:
No. There are so many more productive uses of time.

I think it legitimately saves me time. Lots of stuff I used to spend a fair bit of time and effort to actively seek out just appear in front of me. Highly variable depending on what you actually do with it, I suppose. I didn't miss it when I took years off, but I did have to spend more time on things.

Well you use an online forum, so IMO you do use Social Media...

Wouldn't posting on dakka be described as "social media" though?

I lurk on twittah...

However, I'll repeat what another stated...there are many businesses that communicate on Facebook only, so I may have to breakdown and get one.

nfe wrote:

 LordofHats wrote:
No. There are so many more productive uses of time.

I think it legitimately saves me time. Lots of stuff I used to spend a fair bit of time and effort to actively seek out just appear in front of me. Highly variable depending on what you actually do with it, I suppose. I didn't miss it when I took years off, but I did have to spend more time on things.

I think that's fair.

For you certainly. When you're managing lots of information it makes complete sense, but that's less "social" and more "work" in a way. If I had a job where it was useful I'd probably use it, but that would be for work. For actual social interaction there are other formats I find much more productive.

Online forums are definitely a form of social media, so anyone who answers no is just lying to themselves.

I have a Facebook, mostly because my friends and family are scattered all over the county. Also, once upon a time they had an app called Speeddate. I met the Mrs. on it

 AduroT wrote:
Online forums are definitely a form of social media, so anyone who answers no is just lying to themselves.

DakkaDakka isn't a network linked into dozens of other websites, and it's not a place where you'll get solicited for conversations you're not interested in or give up information you don't want to give up.

It's social sure, but it's also obviously not what's being talked about when talking about "social media."

I too would argue there is absolutely no meaningful difference between modern social media precursors such as forums(Dakka) and modern ones like Facebook. The argument that the business model and administration is different is pretty weak sauce - that's like arguing the OTzone or BOLS aren't wargaming forums because they aren't owned by or administered by Dakka. The intent, use, and purpose is identical.

I do have a facebook account. Saying if you use facebook you are the product is a pretty groundbreaking idea but really, that's the nature of any given number of things and always has been, including any television program with advertisements - ie, all broadcast TV, ever, along with the radio.

Yes, Facebook is an awful company run by a lousy dude, but so are pretty much all of them. I don't think it's possible to live in the first world and avoid interacting with terrible companies. The advice to assume everything you do is public is accurate, but otherwise, a lot of this is just "old man yells at clouds" material. Most of the time I am on facebook I am talking with my family and friends who no longer live near me since we're all adults now. I don't know how that exactly has degraded my family structure.

The rest of the time I spend on Facebook I spend exactly the same as I do on Dakka - discussing hobbies. I have gotten incredible amounts of useful information on 3D printing from Facebook groups that I don't believe there is another avenue from, and at this point I get better and more useful feedback from my Facebook groups on hobby stuff than I do from the Showcase section of this site when I post them (that's a pretty recent trend).

If nothing else, they are amazing resources for the h-h-hobby.

I have some profiles that I rarely visit. I can find many old friends only there, especially foreiginers. But I do not understand what you can do there all the time. Liking meaningless posts? All day? Pfffff

I think key is "everything in moderation".

I uninstalled Facebook the app off my phone but check FB on my computer at night.
I also do not like them getting access to my contacts off my phone all the time with the app: it is none of their business.
I found even setting the various notification options to the minimum, FB was still very intrusive.

Emails, texts or old-school phone calls are sufficient levels of "escalation" to get hold of each other.

FB feels more like a "game" that keeps wanting you to push that button to get your pellet: I do not like being gamed on human addictions.
The constant advertising and interrupted videos for advertising has made me move-on.
I keep feeling this false sense of urgency, people wonder if you are 'ok" if you did not respond to their post for over a couple hours... nevermind a text.

I have been able to leave my phone by accident at home and not get the shakes.
I was an early adopter of technology for ages from the good old BBS's to the original Palm Pilot and keep finding ways to best use my tools, not have them use me.

I used to be very active on social media (Facebook and VKontakte) when I was a kid. Stopped using it completely some years ago. I have much more free time now (which I then very wisely decide to waste on internet forums).
I used to find Facebook and such very handy to keep in contact with friends who live far away, but nowadays I just use Whatsapp for that (which I guess is also a form of social media).
Whatsapp is pretty much a necessity if you want to have any sort of social life. I sometimes turn it off for a few days because I do not feel like talking to anyone, but sometimes I really miss a lot because of that.

 LordofHats wrote:
No. There are so many more productive uses of time.

Pretty much this, for me. While I do use and post on several forums, I don't really use any of the sites/apps that are what one usually thinks of as "social media". I do have a Facebook account that I created solely for the purpose of entering a contest, but I've not used it since (and I promptly set it to as closed off and private as I could). Apart from checking a local business's Facebook or Twitter page to check on things like holiday hours and whatnot, I don't use them. I already spend enough time on DakkaDakka, the BBQ Brethren forum, and YouTube.

Although, I do acknowledge the benefits that social media has brought to the older generations in being able to more easily locate and communicate with family members and old friends.

I don't have time, which is fortunate as I have no interest. When I DID have a FB account, it was a battleground over Southern Baptist family members and atheist friends, with a side helping of ex girlfriends who couldn't take "I'm married now" as an answer. I'm SO much happier without it.

I deleted all my accounts awhile back for all the reasons everyone does. Too much of a time suck, giving data to marketing, endless ads, bastion for passive aggressive behavior, trash culture, etc.

If I were to ever step into that arena it would be strictly to promote a business venture. I see no reason to maintain a constant stream of unconscious vomit for no profit.

I don't have and haven never used any of the traditionnal social media platform like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, 4chan or others, but I do use and comments on forums like this one and a few others linked to history and atheism. I do read some blogs on Patheos once in a while too.

there are definitely positives to facebook, and things that I miss. there were often funny posts that I now no longer see, and people who I could only contact through that site.

but it was the multitude of negative things that convinced me to delete mine.

The data scandals were one, how much access it had to everything on your phone, the tailored adverts etc. Then there was the pure banality of a lot of peoples posts and content, the amount of time I spent mindlessly scrolling down the page taking in absolutely nothing. The fact you couldnt engage anyone in decent debate on any article without it devolving into s**t slinging. the political/societal echo chambers suppressing civil discourse of any kind.. the list goes on and on.

The kicker for me was the day I looked up from my phone and realised my baby daughter was doing and discovering new things under my nose and I was missing it because my eyes were glued to my phone. I deleted my FB account that day and never went back.

The modern paradox: if you don't use social media, how to smugly tell people that you don't use social media?

 Polonius wrote:
The modern paradox: if you don't use social media, how to smugly tell people that you don't use social media?

Smoke signals?

I suspect this forum is going to be enriched for a population who do not particularly like social media, or we would be on facebook.

I hate it, it stresses me out and always has done, but that is just my own quirk. No judgement on people who get benefit from it, but fora are just more my speed.

 Polonius wrote:
The modern paradox: if you don't use social media, how to smugly tell people that you don't use social media?

By semaphore of course. A great way to lose weight too.

 LordofHats wrote:

 Polonius wrote:
The modern paradox: if you don't use social media, how to smugly tell people that you don't use social media?

Smoke signals?

Wargaming forums?

It's not that I want to be able to smugly proclaim that I don't use social media. I really want to use social media because there's lots of people within those sorts of places that I would like to communicate with that can't manage to do so using reasonable methods that are relatively private and decentralized like email. The problem is that everyone else that I don't want to communicate with use it, and there's more of them that I don't want to communicate with than there are that I do.




Automatically Appended Next Post:
Oh, but I don't even own a tv, btw.

 Ouze wrote:

 LordofHats wrote:

 Polonius wrote:
The modern paradox: if you don't use social media, how to smugly tell people that you don't use social media?

Smoke signals?

Wargaming forums?

Only in the non-wargaming related sections, obviously

Forums like Dakka are social media as well. Anyone here is by default engaging in social media use.

That said, it's almost impossible not to engage in some form these days. I pretty much keep most of my FB existence to just using event organization features and chat rooms with pals, I never make public posts really, but FB often is the only way to interact with certain things (often specialist companies).

Twitter is my personal pet peeve however. Twitter is the internet equivalent of shouting at a street corner, and just as annoying for the passerby. For some things, like emergency alerts or information, bands announcing tomorrow nights gig, bars letting people know its happy hour, etc, that's fine, that's what I expect to be yelled from a street corner. If you're trying to make a political statement, argue policy, tell a story, have an actual conversation, etc, then get the everloving feth off Twitter and onto a real discussion platform because all you're doing on Twitter is yelling at another person on another internet street corner. I generally associate Twitter usage inversely with intelligence and personal value.

MessageBoards are to Social Media as Telegraphs are to Telephones.

Well you're all great for the intense feedback and discussion and really making me feel better knowing its not just me. I don't want to debate any thing as i said in OP i just wanted to see whats up since i dont really know.


Thank you all.

 Ouze wrote:


I do have a facebook account. Saying if you use facebook you are the product is a pretty groundbreaking idea but really, that's the nature of any given number of things and always has been, including any television program with advertisements - ie, all broadcast TV, ever, along with the radio.

The difference is that those medias don't have unfettered access to every single bit of information on their target market.

I bought a simple Doro phone to be WITHOUT features. No regrets.

No Twitter, no Facebook.

True, i have never owned a smart phone, i like the old ones with buttons, i hate the idea of gimmicky useless annoying touchscreens lol. Any way this is going off topic so lets not talk about phones any more please

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:

 Ouze wrote:


I do have a facebook account. Saying if you use facebook you are the product is a pretty groundbreaking idea but really, that's the nature of any given number of things and always has been, including any television program with advertisements - ie, all broadcast TV, ever, along with the radio.

The difference is that those medias don't have unfettered access to every single bit of information on their target market.

Well, technically, Facebook has tons of information on people that aren't their target market, too . For example, I am sure they know who you are, where you shop, and so on and so forth whether you have a profile or not. This is more of a "Facebook" problem than one shared by all social media as a feature of social media. Twitter can't even seem to figure out what a hate tweet is on their own platform.

I use it for three things. One for quick messaging, and two to network with other developers and people to get projects started. Then third I use it for testing social media engagement for companies to see how it can create more revenue for the company.

 Easy E wrote:
MessageBoards are to Social Media as Telegraphs are to Telephones.

Very much this. The social media I'm aware of (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) may allow users to be essentially anonymous but function around accumulating likes and shares. There is also no good method for back and forth dialogue between people. It's essentially just a post and reaction. Yes, people can discuss things in comment chains, but the functionality there is not designed for any meaningful level of discourse. You can also add in that of those three I mentioned, none are really moderated outside of the removal of hate speech and certain levels of restrictions on sexually explicit or violent content.

 Stormatious wrote:
True, i have never owned a smart phone, i like the old ones with buttons, i hate the idea of gimmicky useless annoying touchscreens lol. Any way this is going off topic so lets not talk about phones any more please

It is surprisingly relevant if you want to stay off social media.
Modern phones plug you in whether you want to or not.

No they don't.

You have to provide login credentials for each and every account. That's assuming the relevant app is even pre installed, if they're not then you're a further step removed.

I mean, you could even disable data and wifi if you wanted.

The only way a "modern" phone is logging one into social media is one's own lack of willpower.

I don't have twitter, Instagram, or snapchat. I do have a Facebook account, but am not that active on it. I use it to keep in touch with groups that are not geographically close.

I have a group of former High school associates that I only talk to once every 5 years when a reunion is coming.

I have a couple 40k related groups for hobby ideas or organizing games.

A couple groups about combat robotics.

other than that I have about 15 "friends" including family.

I suppose it all comes down to whether or not you run a business or company or have a social life. If you have one of those then i guess "thats just the way it is, things will never be the same, thats just the way it is ohh yeaaahhh" ( song lyrics sorry cant help it ). But still the fact remains that the future seems to be very overall less face to face communication, which is a discussion for another thread not this one.

 Polonius wrote:
The modern paradox: if you don't use social media, how to smugly tell people that you don't use social media?

You can call a blogger who will do stuff like "a lawyer dropped everything and became wood hermit by refusing technologies" "help him on this e-wallet to see new series"

 Freakazoitt wrote:

 Polonius wrote:
The modern paradox: if you don't use social media, how to smugly tell people that you don't use social media?

You can call a blogger who will do stuff like "a lawyer dropped everything and became wood hermit by refusing technologies" "help him on this e-wallet to see new series"

Don't really know what you mean but, are you saying in someway some one who refuses technology turns in to a hermit?. And also are you saying Social media is a technology?


Thank you, Storm.

Don't really know what you mean but, are you saying in someway some one who refuses technology turns in to a hermit?

There are many “enlightened” who wanted to show the world how they abandoned the world imposed on them, but at the same time they became just another media project.

And also are you saying Social media is a technology?

Why not?

 Azreal13 wrote:
No they don't.

You have to provide login credentials for each and every account. That's assuming the relevant app is even pre installed, if they're not then you're a further step removed.

Yes they do. Social media starts as a handy convenient feature, then it exploits the user.

 Azreal13 wrote:

I mean, you could even disable data and wifi if you wanted.

The only way a "modern" phone is logging one into social media is one's own lack of willpower.

But that is the problem, social media is addictive, and some social media, particularly Facebook is designed to draw you in. It was a stated design intention.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/08/06/its-no-accident-that-facebook-is-so-addictive


The problem here is that the source of the draw is linked with a portable, normally always on tool. One that might even be mandated for work,

 Orlanth wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
No they don't.

You have to provide login credentials for each and every account. That's assuming the relevant app is even pre installed, if they're not then you're a further step removed.

Yes they do. Social media starts as a handy convenient feature, then it exploits the user.

 Azreal13 wrote:

I mean, you could even disable data and wifi if you wanted.

The only way a "modern" phone is logging one into social media is one's own lack of willpower.

But that is the problem, social media is addictive, and some social media, particularly Facebook is designed to draw you in. It was a stated design intention.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/08/06/its-no-accident-that-facebook-is-so-addictive


The problem here is that the source of the draw is linked with a portable, normally always on tool. One that might even be mandated for work,

Why are you ignoring his points?

I have had smartphones since they came out, and not one yet I've owned came with Facebook preinstalled.

it may be different in the states, but here in the UK every smartphone I've had in the last 6 years has had facebook installed, and it encourages you to log in (to all social medias, twitter, insta etc, aswell as encouraging you to link them all together) as you go through the initial phone set up.

social media and phone companies have a vested mutual interest in promoting one another, as one fulfills the need for the other.

I think a big difference between social media and message boards is the main topic.
Dakka is about miniature games. That's the focus of the posts, and people who come here come to talk about it.
Social media is about the users. Facebook is about your everyday life (what you did today, the things you like etc.), Twitter is supposed to be about your opinions etc.
Message boards are about something, social media sites about someone.

Obviously in practice there is some overlap, but at its core that's the difference. You even see it in the way things are organised. On dakka, posts are divided according to their topic (40K, AoS, modelling etc.). On facebook posts are arranged by users: you see what you friends post, and facebook emphasizes posts from your closest relations above the others. It's not about the relevance of the content, but about the relevance of the other user with respect to you. That's why if you see a picture of some random dumb stuff, you'll "like" it/comment on it if it's from someone you like/want to interact with, but ignore it if it's from someone you're not close to.
I believe that's why many of us don't care for it: a lot of the content doesn't have value in itself, its value is only in the interactions that it can trigger. And if you don't consider typical facebook interactions ("like" button, replies like "omg soooo cute" etc.) worthwhile, then it feels like a waste of time. There is always that distant person you want to keep in touch with, and feel like saying a couple words on one of their posts once in a while helps maintain some interaction, but personally I don't think it's worth the overall time investment.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
it may be different in the states, but here in the UK every smartphone I've had in the last 6 years has had facebook installed, and it encourages you to log in (to all social medias, twitter, insta etc, aswell as encouraging you to link them all together) as you go through the initial phone set up.

social media and phone companies have a vested mutual interest in promoting one another, as one fulfills the need for the other.

It depends here. Many phones are bundled with crapware like Facebook, and more insidious is the fact that you can't remove a lot of it even if you try. Google's Nexus / Pixel lines don't, or at least didn't when I got my 6p. Typically that requires you to buy the phone upfront, but that's a good thing because that's what you should be doing. No one should be leasing a phone under contract. I pay about 55-60 USD a month for my cell service. For TWO people, and $10 of that is an insurance plan that covers accidental damage, even when it's your fault. Almost everyone else I know pays at least double that, and are stuck doing so for a few years.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
it may be different in the states, but here in the UK every smartphone I've had in the last 6 years has had facebook installed, and it encourages you to log in (to all social medias, twitter, insta etc, aswell as encouraging you to link them all together) as you go through the initial phone set up.

Really? I've never gotten a phone with Facebook (or Twitter or Instagram) pre-installed. The last three have been two iPhones and one Galaxy, all on the Three network.

nfe wrote:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
it may be different in the states, but here in the UK every smartphone I've had in the last 6 years has had facebook installed, and it encourages you to log in (to all social medias, twitter, insta etc, aswell as encouraging you to link them all together) as you go through the initial phone set up.

Really? I've never gotten a phone with Facebook (or Twitter or Instagram) pre-installed. The last three have been two iPhones and one Galaxy, all on the Three network.

Seconding this. I got a new Samsung a couple of months back and it was totally clean. It was a pain actually getting everything installed.
Personally speaking I can't fault FB as if I didn't get it originally I would never have met my fiancé.

maybe its just my sonys then.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
maybe its just my sonys then.

Maybe. I wonder if there's a parent company relationship in there somewhere. Whether between manufacturer or maker.

regardless, I think the rise of the social media giants is something to be concerned about. it wont be long before these companies have more power than governments. you could even argue that they already do.

topic question: no, but then again, i have aspergers.
your life is not normal to me and my life is not normal to you.

My Sonys (five different units of four different models for three family members) didn't come with FaceBook installed.

The new Samsung Galaxy 8 does.

It depends on the phone manufacturer and the network company you buy it from. I usually buy clean secondhand phones from eBay or Game, which have been unlocked from the network.

Three network doesn't SIM lock its phones.

Your using it right now ?

 Ouze wrote:

 Orlanth wrote:

 Azreal13 wrote:
No they don't.

You have to provide login credentials for each and every account. That's assuming the relevant app is even pre installed, if they're not then you're a further step removed.

Yes they do. Social media starts as a handy convenient feature, then it exploits the user.

 Azreal13 wrote:

I mean, you could even disable data and wifi if you wanted.

The only way a "modern" phone is logging one into social media is one's own lack of willpower.

But that is the problem, social media is addictive, and some social media, particularly Facebook is designed to draw you in. It was a stated design intention.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/08/06/its-no-accident-that-facebook-is-so-addictive


The problem here is that the source of the draw is linked with a portable, normally always on tool. One that might even be mandated for work,

Why are you ignoring his points?

I have had smartphones since they came out, and not one yet I've owned came with Facebook preinstalled.

I m not ignoring them, I am pointing out that when something is so easy to aquire, so often required and is at ones fingertips all the time temptation is there.

You dont need to have preinstalled, it might simpler be 'easier' by peer pressure to have social media than not. My local hobby store and community matches nearly all its activities on Facebook, its hard to match a game for a campaign when you are the only guy in the group who is not on Facebook. A lot of people receive notifications from their employment via Facebook. My more accepted excuse for both is lack of access, not lack of want.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
it may be different in the states, but here in the UK every smartphone I've had in the last 6 years has had facebook installed, and it encourages you to log in (to all social medias, twitter, insta etc, aswell as encouraging you to link them all together) as you go through the initial phone set up.

social media and phone companies have a vested mutual interest in promoting one another, as one fulfills the need for the other.

This too, but even if you buy without there is no 'excuse'.

The other day i wanted to buy some Kroxigor, and found a link on T9A website for an alt manufacturer.

https://www.the-ninth-age.com/lexicon/index.php?entry/2094-miniatures-caiman/

The small company whose miniatures I like sells and communicates exclusively on Facebook. Even contact via the Kickstarter page for his crocs was futile. This is just one example. This is not the only time I have found point of contact with a small company being Facebook only.

I have a mate who worked at the local KFC franchise. The rota was posted on Facebook, not in the store, because the franchise manager was lazy. If he wanted to know what shift he had he had to have the app.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
regardless, I think the rise of the social media giants is something to be concerned about. it wont be long before these companies have more power than governments. you could even argue that they already do.

This is a different argument... and I agree. Clearly they will not self-regulate.

 Ouze wrote:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
regardless, I think the rise of the social media giants is something to be concerned about. it wont be long before these companies have more power than governments. you could even argue that they already do.

This is a different argument... and I agree. Clearly they will not self-regulate.

They might if sufficiently threatened (film, comic, games, and porn have all taken great steps to avoid government regulation when threatened), but it's only like one extra step from threatening government regulation to actually regulating, so you might as well make it an even ten steps and just pass some government regulation.

Or you know... just stop shaving away at our weak to begin with anti-trust laws and do some real anti-monopolization work.

 LordofHats wrote:


Or you know... just stop shaving away at our weak to begin with anti-trust laws and do some real anti-monopolization work.

Thanks, I needed a good laugh today.


I don't disagree, but there must be political appetite to do the work first. That is a long way off.


When I think of Social Media, I think of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. Messageboards, Forums, and Blogs I actually see as a different type of media completely. I am probably wrong, but it feels like they are a separate "thing" than each other. However, in theory they are all "Social Media". However, in this day and age, what does that word even mean?

 Easy E wrote:
I don't disagree, but there must be political appetite to do the work first. That is a long way off.

It is kind of funny.

Yeah forums are different, especially to the modern day social media, which as has already been mentioned, actively seeks to hook users into spending as much time as possible on the platform. A forum is merely a room where people can post topics, and others can reply. If I don't post on dakka for a while I don't get notifications on my phone or email trying to get me to come back.
Plus social media addiction is being recognised as a reality, I don't see the same thing happening with forums as such.

Forums in the form of bulletin boards and Compuserve interest groups have existed since the early 1980s.

Generally the term "social media" specifically refers to the way my space / face book are structured in a certain way. Its not the same as like Dakka for e.g So to be fair i don't think you guys should compare to the two.

Just my thoughts, Thanks.

If I didn't have to use Facebook for my business I would probably never use it at all.

At least, until social media use becomes mandatory lest you suffer penalties to your social credit score and find yourself on a list of "anti-social media extremists" who are unable to get a passport. Then I'll get a dog to take pictures of and set up a script to auto-post out of context quotes and platitudes.

You need to try harder.

You'll need your script to post status updates explicitly created to seek attention and long, passive aggressive, rants deliberately aimed at one person but without the balls to actually call them out on their behavior in person.

But it does amuse me sometimes how different the online persona can be from the real person (with only a couple of exceptions my FB friends are people I know IRL, those that go around adding people they've never met are a bit odd, IMO) and not in the way you'd expect.

Also, social media etiquette is a thing. I have one friend who's only come to FB in the last year and I have him on permanent mute because he's as annoying as feth.

I was hoping I'd be able to get away with being more of a manically positive, oblivious poster. Maybe I could write the script to give everyone complimentary sentence fragments and heart emojis.

I also know nearly everyone I'm friends with on Facebook in real life, and I don't dislike any of them even if I find their social media personas to be... nonconstructive. I just don't need to be in constant contact with my entire high school and every coworker I've ever had. If I'm going to talk to someone or hang out with them I'll do it the old-fashioned way. I'll just leave the drama and attention-seeking to those that really want it

It is an interesting point about people's online personas not matching up with how you know them in real life though, and that's another thing I find to be useless about social media. Social media kind of constricts you into becoming one archetype of online behavior or another, and if those people you see in digital space are not the real ones then I'd rather just talk to the real ones.

But like a couple others here have mentioned, my real problem is with Big Tech itself and I just get the feeling they see me as chattel.

In short: social media is evil, it will steal your soul and replace you with a digital pod person, and one day our children will be pledging allegiance to FANG. But your old highschool classmates are probably still alright over a cup of coffee.

this is the closest to social media I can tolerate.

 thekingofkings wrote:
this is the closest to social media I can tolerate.

Haha same here, and i use steam chat.

I use Social Media to contact family, friends, etc. and to peek in on the occasional hobby group.

Disconnecting myself from it, while still having it available has shown me how gullible people are. How people pretend to be outraged. How people will try and convince others they're a good person.

So I rarely use it.

I do, and I don't...the trick I believe is using it as you see fit, without feeling compelled to use it due to peer pressure.

I do:
1) Use Facebook. I have 29 friends whom I've unfollowed (but chat with), and subscribe only to hobby related pages/groups. I have every possible Facebook option turned off, no personal information listed, etc. It takes a while to dig around and turn off everything and unsubscribe from stuff. Combined with adblock software, I basically log in and it's just my hobby groups showing up on my page.

I don't:
1) Twitter.
2) Instagram
3) (insert all other social media here)
4) I also don't use Facebook on my phone, always order empty phones and keep software to a bare minimum.

I do, however, thoroughly enjoy forums and the facebook hobby groups. Again, combined with adblocking stuff, it's a very streamlined and dedicated way to get the info I'm interested in. I don't pretend I don't use social media, but I make damn sure to use it the way I want to. I have no interest in following celebrities, looking at cat memes, or knowing what my neighbor's kid ate for breakfast....that is the cancer of social media to me; blatantly useless bloat of nonsense that doesn't add anything to your life. If you skip the bs, the platforms can be used very well.

If you use facebook, by the way, you need to install the Facebook Purity extension. It's night and day in terms of what it allows you to toggle off (ads, essentially, but a lot more). I find the platform pretty much unusable without that extension.

 Ouze wrote:
If you use facebook, by the way, you need to install the Facebook Purity extension. It's night and day in terms of what it allows you to toggle off (ads, essentially, but a lot more). I find the platform pretty much unusable without that extension.

I would agree with this. I have it on Firefox and won't use FB without it.

To be fair, I only use FB for messaging a few friends/colleagues whose numbers I don't have (or long-standing groups I'm a member of). There are a few local businesses that don't have their own websites and require FB for making reservations etc so although I'm longing to delete my account I do concede it's got some uses. I rarely post anything.

I have a Twitter account, I only ever tweeted automatic updates when it was linked to my painting blog but that was a few years ago. I followed a few gaming companies but that was it.

I don't have Instagram. I do have a Google+ page but I don't think I've been on it since it was activated...

There's this and one other forum I frequent for discussions on various topics, apart from all that I try not to talk to people online!

Do online dating sites count as social media?

I dont understand the lack of instagram love. its amazing for seeing photos of models, and following the work of painters you admire. its a far better platform than facebook in my opinion.

Instagram is for girls pulling lips and butts, no?

only if you look at that specific material. my account is purely hobby only. I follow painters and scale modellers whose work i like, and the odd other account that might feature things I find cool. if you go on the search feature you will find images that generally relate to your followed material. occasionally I have to go through this and remove rubbish material instagram thinks I want to see, but you dont have to do that.

its a good way to instantly access inspiration, tutorials and pictures of excellent work, without all the dross facebook feeds you.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
and remove gash

Phrasing.

I don't have anything against IG, I've never even tried it. But I'm old enough to have a curmudgeon reflex to anything new that "the kids" are "down with". I was a late adopter to Facebook (only about 5 years ago) as well.

I guess I'm just not interested in other people?

apologies, to me that means rubbish.

i like it because the only actions I take on it are liking photos, following accounts and occasionally commenting. it cant learn much about me from those actions, as opposed to facebook, which can aparantly tell when people are falling out of love with their partners, amongst other things.

Instagram is owned by FB, everything they're collecting off FB, they're collecting off IG as well if you make it available. IG will leave cookies and track viewing habits and clicks and deliver targeted advertising and collect personal info and all the rest just like FB does.

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
only if you look at that specific material. my account is purely hobby only. I follow painters and scale modellers whose work i like, and the odd other account that might feature things I find cool. if you go on the search feature you will find images that generally relate to your followed material. occasionally I have to go through this and remove rubbish material instagram thinks I want to see, but you dont have to do that.

its a good way to instantly access inspiration, tutorials and pictures of excellent work, without all the dross facebook feeds you.

I'm not trying to sell you on Facebook, but I would like to point out that you can configure it much the same way. Use FBP to cut out ads, hide or unfollow people who post picture of their lunch, and join hobby groups; and ta-da, you have a hobby-oriented social media platform. Just as Facebook can be filled with garbage, so can Instagram, it's a matter of setting it up the way you like.

I have no opinion on which is the "better" platform as I have Instagram but barely use it.

I've blocked or ignored or whatever 99% of my Facebook friends, except for close family and the one guy who posts quality memes.

 Ouze wrote:

 queen_annes_revenge wrote:
only if you look at that specific material. my account is purely hobby only. I follow painters and scale modellers whose work i like, and the odd other account that might feature things I find cool. if you go on the search feature you will find images that generally relate to your followed material. occasionally I have to go through this and remove rubbish material instagram thinks I want to see, but you dont have to do that.

its a good way to instantly access inspiration, tutorials and pictures of excellent work, without all the dross facebook feeds you.

I'm not trying to sell you on Facebook, but I would like to point out that you can configure it much the same way. Use FBP to cut out ads, hide or unfollow people who post picture of their lunch, and join hobby groups; and ta-da, you have a hobby-oriented social media platform. Just as Facebook can be filled with garbage, so can Instagram, it's a matter of setting it up the way you like.

I have no opinion on which is the "better" platform as I have Instagram but barely use it.

To be fair that's not really the reason I dislike Facebook now, that's just another negative. The main reason is the data harvesting, the mindless scrolling, fabricated content, and closed minded users.

Fair warning, it will make you look an occasional ass - unfollowing all of your Facebook friends like I do. Occasionally I catch up with someone and they say "yeah so my son" - "Wait, you have a kid?" - "Yeah we've been posting about him for months..." - "ohhh...."

I have a Facebook page with a fake name and zero friends, only a list of hobby groups.

My friends (both of them) have my number. They can text me.

 Elbows wrote:
Fair warning, it will make you look an occasional ass - unfollowing all of your Facebook friends like I do. Occasionally I catch up with someone and they say "yeah so my son" - "Wait, you have a kid?" - "Yeah we've been posting about him for months..." - "ohhh...."

Yes! I do that too. I'll only follow a current partner if pertinent (because failing to respond to those updates could be messy).

Makes my FB dashboard look like this (on the rare occasions I go there):



But yeah... "mindless scrolling" would otherwise be a problem.