Will get chastised for still having a FB account but

[benld74]

Yeah I still have one. I know what to look out for. I have it locked down. I usually just post goofy crap anyway. I can stay in touch with family and friends. But last night I unfollowed my older sister mainly over her posts.

She has gotten WAY GOP political just recently, posting memes from people she doesn't know. Last night was the straw. I love her dearly, but will not be seeing any of her posts going forward. Cannot talk to her because she just spouts verbatim something she has heard/read within knowing the full story.

Originally started sending me this stuff through Messenger on my phone. I carefully explained to her the info behind her message and what it really meant. She agreed. Then.
The one last night dealt with a meme stating Biden got 5 deferrals for asthma and didn't enlist. People jumped all over it. The wife, cousins etc. I calmly state Biden got 4 deferrals for being in college/law school and 1 for asthma. She comes back with, my husband couldn't get deferral for his last semester, so I guess it's who you know.
Her husband did get drafted. Never went to 'Nam. Became Military police, because he's got really bad flat feet. THen got discharged because of his feet.
I never responded. It's no use.
But the real kicker for me was a cousin stating, Follow your Catholic faith and Vote tRump. THAT was more than enough for me. A ONE issue voter. Jeebus!
Funny thing is cousin's younger brother, hates tRump, is pro-union and gets along with me completely.
Family squabbles. Can't live with them. Unfollow them

[Dream Girl]

1. I am nauseated by FB. It's sickening how people continue to justify their use of a platform are is h

To destroy our democracy cuz it’s so “convenient.” “I know what to look out for” That’s that how it works.

[Sherman A1]

4. You are entitled to your opinion

and others are entitled to use that or other social media platforms as they wish.

[Dream Girl]

5. Well I guess you really straightened me out!

[Sherman A1]

9. I doubt it

but I am nauseated by those who think it is their duty to be critical of others use of social media.

[Dream Girl]

13. Not social media - Facebook

[TwilightZone]

22. Twitter isn't any better.

They've been enabling Trump from day one, ignoring their own guidelines because he's POTUS, providing a platform for his racism and bigotry, his dog whistles, and his calls to "action" resulting in violence and death.

[Dream Girl]

24. Actually it is. They are not actually coordinating and working with Trump.

[TwilightZone]

26. No, it's not.

Justifying your choice of social media platforms by ignoring the obvious isn't a terribly convincing argument, particularly when you couch it in moral superiority.

[cwydro]

29. This.

[Sherman A1]

33. But, but, but, but, but.............

how can one then claim what is being claimed, if it is not being couched in the moral superiority?

[Sherman A1]

35. Pardon Me for a Moment

[grantcart]

37. Really? I wasn't aware that Twitter was taking money from Russian fronts

To target groups in critical zip codes with blatant lies.


I also was not aware that Twitter had a policy to take money for ads that are knowingly and obvious falsehoods.


But let's say you are right that Twitter is as bad, that would be an argument to disengage both not to lower standards to support a corporation that actively seeks to promote practices that undermine our Democratic institutions.

[BuddhaGirl]

30. Yeah. And that other judgemental post of hers

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214087054

SMH

[Sherman A1]

34. Well,

there is that.........

[orwell]

6. People don't understand...

...how powerful the behavioral algorithms are. Even if you think you are immune, you're not. Users support a platform that is working to elect Drumpf, even if they don't use it daily.

Last election Robert Mercer, Cambridge Analytica et al got a key block of AA support to stay home. That handed Drumpf the election.

[2naSalit]

7. +1

[GemDigger]

8. ...

Some of us do. I have an elderly mother and aunts who I keep in touch with daily through FB. I am 2500+ miles from her. 9 friends all family and nothing else on my page and my page is locked up so not even family can see it. I never, ever like or post anything. So yes, some people DO know what to look out for. Do I like it, NO, I hate fuckerberg but I love my mother than I hate FB.

[Dream Girl]

19. When my elderly mother was alive I used to call her. I didn't need Facebook to check in on her.

Facebook is for “weak social connections” Sheryl Sandberg’s words.

[GemDigger]

23. I didn't say I don't call her. Don't assume what you don't know.

If I see something on FB that someone posted instead of liking it, I call them.

I don't give a shit what Sandberg said. I also don't give a shit when people think they are so perfect.

[Dream Girl]

21. If you think you "know wat to look out for" you don't understand how it works.

And why would anyone support a platform that got Trump elected and is actively supporting his re-election? That it itself is reason enough to walk away. It’s called having principles

[GemDigger]

28. Ok, if you insist, I will keep my FB because I love my family. Thank you for

setting me straight on the importance of family.

[Polybius]

10. It's extremely convenient though

It's how I connect with family and friends that I rarely get to see.

[BuddhaGirl]

31. Are you such a purist about

everything else in your life? Just stop with the judgements.

[flotsam]

36. Then take nausea pills

or offer a better alternative. When my grandmother died nearly 40 years ago I had 52 cousins just on that side (my Mom was one of twelve siblings) a about twenty on my Dads side. It is the main way my family connects. Laugh your ass off but take your ridiculous criticism elsewhere. Posters here are dedicated democrats and your complaints are garbage.

[pnwmom]

38. You clearly had the wrong friends on FB. My friends there are very much like

my friends here, and we share the same kind of information.

The difference is that most of my friends there I've known since high school, or they're relatives, and I know them in person.

[orwell]

2. If it wasn't for the...

"Religious Right", Drumpf's support would be in the teens.

This is the block of support that keeps him propped up.

All we need is a tape from a reputable source with Drumpf trashing evangelicals and it's game over.

[marlakay]

11. I tried to talk to someone religious the other day

Said voting for Trump because of abortion.

So I said who has paid for more abortions Trump or Biden, they changed the subject. They can't deflect that one. They say he supports the pro lifers and I say he is just using you and the entire truth of that will come out soon.

Once this election is over and we finally get rid of him, how much you want to bet he calls those religious people suckers and losers. I am sure he already does in private.

[orwell]

40. Michael Cohen said this...

...he thinks they are all idiots for believing in religion.

He also asserted that in many conversations Drumpf was Pro Choice. They spoke about it on many occasions.

His entire shtick is a giant Con Job...

[Sherman A1]

3. I will not criticize you for having a FB account

I have one too and find it very useful for a variety of things.

The one thing I do not do or use it for is political discussions (arguments) as there simply is no winning on that platform. When I see something pop up that is a political post from one of the folks with whom I am in contact it is an automatic hide on my part. I also hide any article or post that has a photo of Trump (can't stand to look at him) or is a Meme of some type (I find them a waste of bandwidth). I have also unfollowed several folks and put another batch on 30 day snooze.

[ismnotwasm]

12. I have fucking Facebook

And I don’t give a fuck what people think, nor are they entitled to my “excuses” for having it. Or yours.

Seriously, people who actually feel morally superior over Not Having Facebook are entertaining as hell.

That being said, I will say it’s not my favorite social media platform.

Anyway, what I do, is snooze people for 30 days, sometimes repeatedly, and mute memes that are ridiculous, it keeps my timeline healthy.

Fortunately, most people I know don’t post crap. The ones I do know have mental issues of one kind or another.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. The value of FB is in how you use it.

My privacy settings are very high, and I've learned to ignore the stupid and annoying posts that show up anyway on my news feed.

One person keeps on posting the stupid memes about aging, and how our generation (Boomers) is so much better than the younger ones. Another person only posts about her health issues, which really are serious, but since she devotes nearly 100% of her energy into feeling sorry for herself, it's hard in the long run to be sympathetic. A couple of others inform as all about their mental health issues pretty much constantly. No, I don't just post "Get a grip!" or "Get over yourself" no matter how much I want to. They have the space to vent, and I can mind my own business.

Meanwhile, it's nice to read posts from people I would otherwise not be in touch with about their lives, their accomplishments, their sorrows. A friend who is a potter posts her lastest pieces. Another friend who is a knitter posts pictures of her projects. And so on.

If you don't like FB, fine, don't use it. But it seems as if Twitter, which I am not on, is every bit as bad. Or good, as the case may be. Same with any and all of social media, including DU.

[beachbumbob]

15. I stay on facebook and I nuke trump supporter trolls when they appear

and have a great time in doing so

[PatSeg]

16. I still have a Facebook account without apology

It is where I keep in touch with family and friends. There are ways to use FB responsibly and protect yourself. I usually keep my politics on private groups that share my progressive leanings. I've unfriended a few people because of posts I perceived as racist and temporarily blocked posts from others until after the election.

Most of my family and friends are thousands of miles away and the odds are that at my age, I will not see them again. Facebook gives me many opportunities to share photos and news with people. My older sister and I had a pact not to discuss politics, as she is the only sibling I have left and I don't want to lose her. She did violate that pact recently for a short time, but that's another story for another time.

Mostly I think I get angry that people we care about, people we've known our entire lives have been brainwashed by right-wing TV and radio. So much of what we see and hear often does not reflect the people that we've known and loved.

[Tommy_Carcetti]

17. I'm unapologetically staying on FB.

It's frustrating, maddening and disheartening to see some of the disinformation, propaganda and cult mentality surrounding Trumpism being spread.

But me quitting my account wouldn't do anything to solve the problem.

Perhaps I sound like a lone voice in the wilderness to the True Believers, and maybe they won't listen to me now.

But after the Reckoning, perhaps then they'll understand I was right all along.

[PatSeg]

18. We posted similar sentiments at the same time

[Dream Girl]

27. I won't support a platform that is destroying our democracy. That's called having priciples.

[pnwmom]

39. The platform isn't destroying our Democracy. It's some of the people on it who seem to want to

and the rest of us can fight back.

But we can't if we're not even there.

[LAS14]

20. I've always been puzzled at the talk of the harm bad info on Facebook does, as opined by...

.... DUers. I had a Facebook account for several years and mostly saw stuff from my "friends" or innocuous stuff. I never saw any RW messaging at all. Finally I did what I needed to do (I forget what) to get Breitbart posts just to find out what the RW was saying. What causes some people to see a lot of RW stuff and others not?

I finally dropped Facebook because of their stance on false political advertising. It wasn't a great loss because I didn't like how much time I was spending on absolute trivia.

[Progressive dog]

25. I'm still a member of FB, too

I have less than 10 friends, all my wife's or my relatives. My wife has never had an account and doesn't intend to. Among my few "friends" are mostly Trump supporters including three who would (and did) vote for a murderer of real people because he said he was against abortion.

[DBoon]

32. I use FB for specific hobby related groups and keeping up on relatives

No work, no politics. For our 30-something nieces, it is all about Facebook.

I'd love to use an alternative but haven't found anything that works.

Many Web sites have fallen into disuse, as businesses and organizations have moved to Facebook. If you want to find out about organized events, for many groups Facebook is it.

I've looked at Twitter, pinterest, reddit, etc. and none of these serve the same purpose or have the same coverage. Reddit is OK for technical topics, and twitter works if you want short snippets. Tik Tok makes absolutely no sense to me. I use linkedin strictly for professional contacts.

I miss the old days of NNTP and listserve. At least we still have DU for politics.