[LurkingPenguin]

Odd that "Stop using Facebook and products it owns" wasn't listed.

While I understand that at this point it will probably take some regulatory action to fully deal with Facebook and its abuses, there's a huge cognitive dissonance among many people when it comes to Facebook. Lots of the people who complain about how evil the company's behavior is use the company's products frequently. Lots of criticism of Facebook is published on websites that have Facebook Like and follow buttons, and use Facebook tracking pixels.

Stop feeding the beast.

[Nextgrid]

If Facebook wasn't behaving anti-competitively by preventing interoperability this might work, but as of right now an individual may not always have a choice in using Facebook.

A lot of businesses, social clubs, schools/daycare centers, etc use Facebook as their primary online presence. Your option is to either sign up or not participate.

[ryandrake]

1. Don't participate

2. Communicate with the business through some other means (all local businesses I deal with have a phone), and if they don't provide one, then stop doing business there, too, and find a way to tell them why.

3. If your friends won't communicate with you simply because you won't use a Facebook-owned communication channel, then I have bad news for you: They might not really be great friends.

Sorry to be rude, but this idea that "you don't have a choice to use Facebook properties" is ridiculous. We all have a choice. I haven't used Facebook for close to 10 years now, and I never signed up for any of their other properties like Instagram and WhatsApp. I had an Oculus and stopped using it when the Facebook purchase happened. You do have a choice.

[wintermutestwin]

I am responsible for outreach of two local community based non-profits. FB is de-facto mandatory for us. Not participating would greatly hobble our ability to reach the people we serve. And, thanks to FB's crap, I am forced to manage the presence of these non-profits with an account created with my PII.

[wpietri]

I get that this advice works for you. What makes you so confident that you understand the situations of everybody else on the planet?

[Pxtl]

Swoop (a low-cost airline in Canada) runs their customer support portal through Facebook Messenger, and has a surcharge on their phone support.

You literally have to pay to avoid Facebook with Swoop.

[varelse]

I'm consciously uncoupling from Facebook over time. I'm down to a couple of groups, well one actually, before I disengage entirely in a month or two. You are correct that a lot of organizations make use of Facebook but somebody has to push back so why not you?

It has to start somewhere...

[mikro2nd]

In all such cases (and there certainly are a few) I decline to participate. Yes, Virginia, it really is just that simple.

[wpietri]

It's not like "stop using Facebook and products it owns" is novel advice. But it doesn't seem to be constraining Facebook much. At this point, I don't think it's a realistic way to have impact on the problem. The people who are thoughtful and aware and dedicated enough to do that have taken some action. But Facebook clearly doesn't need those people to make a lot of money.

[fortran77]

It's _much_ easier to stop using Facebook than, say, Microsoft, Intel, Apple, etc.

[jqpabc123]

Facebook is an addiction.

"Just say no", is wonderful advice but the reality is somewhat more complicated.

[swsieber]

> "Just say no", is wonderful advice

Which is why we're surprised it's not in the article.

Applying that advice is complicated, but we should still push for it, and there's is a very strong network effect. If in reaction to new a lot of people stopped using Facebook, then Facebook would be that much easier for others to stop using.

[aww_dang]

It might be easier said than done, but at some point you have to stop indulging your addiction if you want to stop indulging your addiction.

[wpietri]

Maybe, but that's now how addictions are generally fixed. Even for simple physical ones, like caffeine, kicking the habit is a complicated process, and is best done with careful preparation and a nuanced understanding of how the addict benefits from the addiction.

That's even more true for more serious addictions. There are always reasons somebody became an addict, and preventing relapse often requires solving those problems first before any real headway is made.

Generally, the "just say no" advice is much more fun to say than it is useful to the addict.

[LurkingPenguin]

People deal with their addictions. If people can overcome alcoholism, drug addiction, sex addiction, etc., people who are genuinely addicted to Facebook can do more than say "I'm addicted."