| tl;dr - I explain in detail why you should use Facebook for your advantage instead of complaining about their lack of decency. Anybody who denies Facebook doesn't recognize its true value for ones personal brand. It's not about your data - you shouldn't do anything remotely personal on this platform, ever. It's all about personal marketing. And for this purpose, it is the perfect tool. You can decide how people perceive you and gain social power and influence other people.
If you refuse to take this chance because they sell your data, you're wasting a big opportunity. It's known for years that they don't care about privacy, and neither should you when you use those platforms. Use encrypted and decentralized communication channels if you want to communicate without being spied on. But Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat can be used to build powerful social influence. And this can be used to gain further power - I'm not a fan of Nietzsches "Will to power" bullshit, but I'm interested in power regardless to build my personal empire (maybe based on deep insecurity and narcissim, whatever rests under the consciousness). For all those Facebook haters: Your distaste for this platform stems from the fact that they don't value privacy and that people in general don't really care. But don't miss this opportunity just for the matter of doing "the right thing". If you're an existential nihilist like me, you recognize that all those opinions don't really matter (including yours) and are often used to find value in oneself like many vegetarians, no-facebookers, minimalists, etc. use it (I'm a vegetarian - it can be used to feel good about oneself if you prefer to give your narcisstic side those impulses. I try to avoid doing it for those reasons to overcome myself).
Sigmund Freud called this the "Narcissim of small differences", don't get fooled by your unconscious side - even if you think that it's rational to avoid Facebook. Think in terms of power and how you gonna get it. I know, this certainly sounds like a sociopath, but you can do good things with this power. "Humans of New York" is a Facebook page that shows us how we can use this power for good. Don't hate the game. It's man-made and without any purpose like our whole existence. Learn to play it if you want to master life in this society.
Otherwise you just support your ego - exactly like the people who are on Facebook. You're not smarter than them. Nobody here is including me. I just hope that people learn to value the opportunity and do a rational risk-assessment instead of using emotions of rejection because a company is selling user information.
I don't support that Facebook does that, but we can still use their platform to our advantage while hiding our true personality (and therefore enforce our privacy). edit: Maybe most people who are on Facebook see it like this - although I have the notion that most people don't reflect on this level about their Facebook and social media usage. |