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by divbzero 969 days ago
Also recommend not visiting Facebook altogether. It strips your life of nonsense you don’t care about in a very pleasant way. Your true friends will still be there through messaging, phone, or in person.
3 comments

But what about acquaintances that I want to keep hearing about? People really whine about FB having negative utility but I think it’s kinda awesome that there are people who I kinda know for a decade that post, and we can interact once a year or whatever.
Like recommending abstinence only education.
People say this shit all the time without considering that others might not use Facebook in the same way they do.

Yeah, I could force my friends to call me every time they want to grab dinner, but that would be annoying for everyone involved and not respectful of how they want to communicate.

Isn't that annoying for you that platform shape your relationships?
Nobody is forcing them to call you; if it’s too much effort they don’t have to include you.

Sounds like they’re “forcing” you on to a platform and aren’t prepared to be friends with you if you’re not on it.

That's absolutely not true. There are many inconveniences that I don't inflict on the people around me in order to make an obscure point which only tech nerds care about. That's not being "forced" to use Facebook, it's being considerate.

I agree that it would be possible if I cared enough. I don't agree that refusing to use a glorified messaging app with an integrated calendar, just because it comes with a feed that some people get addicted to but none of us ever look at, is a good recommendation that will make life better for me and the people around me.

> to make an obscure point which only tech nerds care about.

You’re making some huge assumptions here, as if people are on some kind of wild protest.

I don’t use Facebook just like I don’t own a boat or go to church. It’s not valuable to me, so I don’t do it.

> glorified messaging app with an integrated calendar

The disconnect here is that this is an innacurate conception of Facebook, which is a privacy-destroying, propaganda-spewing advertising platform with some addictive social features to bait the lure.

Think of it this way: I don't like the smell of cigarette smoke. No matter how much I like someone, I won't be around them if they're smoking. If they insist on smoking while I'm around, I'll find somebody else to socialize with. And to me, Facebook is just as unpalatable as smoking.