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Thursday, June 21, 2018

Facebook Will Harass You Mercilessly if You Try to Break Up

Breaking up with Facebook is apparently as difficult as breaking up with a bad boyfriend or girlfriend who won’t accept your decision. That’s the experience Henry Grabar of Slate had when he stopped signing on. He stopped logging in on June 6 and stayed off Facebook for ten days. He had been a member for over ten years and this was the longest period he had remained off the social network. But Facebook didn’t leave him alone. He received 17 email messages in a span of nine days urging him to return.

Grabar is not alone in trying to wean himself off Facebook for various reasons. Some do it because they realize it can be a waste of time, while others do it because of the company's inability to protect (or lack of interest in protecting) its members' personal data. The company has mistakenly released data of nearly 100 million of its members and friends of members to third parties, and many of them have used the data for illicit purposes. While Facebook says they are not losing members, some recent statistics paint a different story. According to a Pew study, only 51 percent of U.S. teenagers use the service now, down from 71 percent in 2015. This was the first time the numbers have fallen.

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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

So true! I have been off since June 1 and my 'social' tab on my email is all facebook this and that. I didn't delete my account, I just have not signed on.

Anonymous said...


It's gradually dawning on them that earth didn't start spinning with their arrival and won't come to a screeching halt at their demise.

They arbitrarily made a lot of changes that reduced the ability to keep up with friends, which reduced usage. They also tried force feeding 'news' of their choosing, aka propaganda, which killed more clicks.

And then there are all of the privacy issues. Where's MySpace these days?

LastMohican said...

I have tried leaving FB at least once. But those damn games, like candy crush, keep drawing me back. Plus I like to talk to family and friends on it. For years I didn't have an account but people kept bugging me to get one so I did. Now I can't get myself off the damn thing. lol

Anonymous said...

Only the most foolish wanting naive people are on facebook.

You sign up. You get what you deserve.

Strange emails and phone robo calls? Gee, put two and two together

Anonymous said...

534

Not everyone is childish who use Facebook

Some of us connect with those we served with, family and school friends

you not need comment as you eat your 5 gallons of ice cream watching your Obama Net Flix shows

Anonymous said...

But I got a lifetime ban from them for attacking Hitler-y.