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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.