Even though fb has us under surveillance, targets us with advertising, modifies our behavior, and enables foriegn governments to pit us against each other, and interfere in our elections, I still love it.
I'm addicted to fb. I love checking my phone constantly. There's nothing like staring into my phone while my wife is talking to me. I get moist just thinking about being in two places at once--at dinner and on fb. I'm enthusiastic about sacrificing all the great moments, experiences, and pictures of my life to fb for no compensation. I really don't have any problem making Zuckerberg rich by allowing him to sell my personal info. It's not the friends and family on fb--I could meet with them in person or call them on the phone. No, a larger part of my addiction has to do with all the stuff I have to do and go through on the platform to connect with those friends. That's the fun part for me.
Can you say no compensation boys and girls? Lots of great things built in this country were achieved by offering little to no compensation-the country through slavery, the transcontinental railroad through cheap labor. Fb on the other hand is being built through my addiction to all of the aforementioned activities it promotes. I willing engage day and night to my own detriment to make fb one of the wealthiest computer companies in history.
I'm currently experiencing withdrawal symptoms as a result of pulling the plug on social media. I miss it. I feel lonely. Trying to regain dignity and self respect after addiction is challenging. EVERYBODY is on fb. Even though I know that just because something is popular doesn't make it right and just because something is unpopular doesn't make it wrong, I still miss being a part of the herd. I can no longer ignore the fact that the current social media model is unsustainable and overall it hurts me. It's hard to take a stand, in my life, and not lose myself in a popularity arms race.
Until I change my social media habits and stop giving in to the status quo nothing I'm griping about will change. I can engage with anything. The next thing I need to figure out is what's the right thing to be engaged with. I will continue to make content, and engage with my folks, but I'll do it from my own website without all the other stuff that's not so good about social media. Withdrawal sucks until you take responsibility for your own life.
