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maxattax97

Quit Facebook

maxattax97
Jun 13th, 2020
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  1. I have been contemplating this for a long time, but I think I have finally reached the last straw after recent revelations. I am deleting (yes, not deactivating) this Facebook account. But before I go, let me suggest why you should too.
  2.  
  3. 1. Facebook has an enormous amount of information stored on you. I highly recommend you download a complete archive of your account using this guide [4]. I am not that active, and my file was ~86MB compressed. Contained is a complete log of every chat I have engaged in on Messenger, exact dates, times, locations, and devices I have logged in with for the past 4 years, every event I have ever attended, and very specific interest profiles. This archive is incomplete too [3]. If this information fell into the wrong hands (e.g. a government), they would have a significant level of control over the populace. See here [5] if you want to go further down the rabbit hole.
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  5. 2. Facebook is ultimately a security vulnerability. As a member of [REDACTED]'s Cyber Forensics Club, I can tell you that digging into someone's public/friend-private timeline is equivalent to hitting a gold mine. Suddenly I know how to craft the best phishing emails, guess your secret questions, learn your habitual whereabouts, and obtain all your contact and location information. You might say that you keep a tight reign on your friends, but remember that (typically) even a friend-of-friend can see a significant amount of your content. That means the you are trusting on average 155 friends to not let a fake, malicious account in [1]. [6]
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  7. 3. Do not get your news from here. As someone studying applied statistics for my second major, I can tell you that offhanded statistical reporting can be seriously warped to depict a story that furthers someone else's needs. Furthermore, it is really easy to lie and since fact checking requires effort, you will likely just keep on scrolling. Do not let the happen. I enjoy reading Reuters, but The Economist, Associated Press, USA Today, and WikiNews are all great sources of unbiased, highly factual information. For more sources, go to [2]. [7]
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  9. 4. Facebook is an ideological echo chamber. They determine what content you like best by how you interact with the site, then show you exclusively what you want to hear and see. This is extremely dangerous, as people will only receive self-confirming information rather than new, different ideas that they may disagree with. [8]
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  11. 5. Potential employers have the ability to peer in on your personal life, and make quick judgments.
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  13. 6. In my experience, I rarely actually caught up with family and friends. Examine your habits closely and decide if this is really happening, because for me it was mostly subpar memes, political propaganda, relatively pointless ramblings, or passionate, rage-induced arguments.
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  15. 7. Conversation on Facebook does not feel genuine. It seems most of the time we are extending branches of acceptance, or starting a fight. We chase after likes and popularity or provide hollow "happy birthdays."
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  17. 8. Be honest. We only post the best, most interesting parts of our lives. That means that when viewing another person's content, you are probably going to feel anxiety for not being as awesome of a person as they are. Do not believe that lie.
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  19. 9. Perhaps least important of these is that it is a time waster.
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  21. I say these things because I care about you all, and the future of our society. This account will be terminated in 48 hours to allow this final message to propagate.
  22.  
  23. Goodbye, world.
  24.  
  25. [1] https://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-17-amazing-facebook-stats/
  26. [2] https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/
  27. [3] https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2018/03/27/how-facebook-able-siphon-off-phone-call-and-text-logs/464656002/
  28. [4] https://www.facebook.com/help/131112897028467/
  29. [5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Facebook#Privacy_issues
  30. [6] http://ansonalex.com/infographics/facebook-stalking-statistics-2012-infographic/
  31. [7] https://www.theguardian.com/media/media-blog/2018/jan/21/why-facebook-news-feed-changes-bad-news-democracy
  32. [8] https://www.wired.com/2016/11/facebook-echo-chamber/
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