#DeleteFacebook

I am in the minority, obviously.  Teresa May is enraged and demands answers.  US Congress is demanding answers.  #deletefacebook is becoming a movement.  People aren't upset about the data mining, they are enraged about it.

I can't arouse any negative emotions about it, mostly because, duh, what did you think was happening?

It is ironic that people worried about their privacy being breached are the same ones that publicly share all aspects of their lives. Everything they eat, every time they buy a new tea towel, every thought they have about politics, everytime their cat does something cute (which is apparently 6 times a day) complaining about their privacy being breached when they are outing themselves several times a day.

About once a month, I get a friend request from someone who appears to be a Colonel in the US Marines who is probably the most handsome man in the world and obviously very successful.  He sends a message saying that there was something about my eyes out of all the women on facebook that he has fallen in love with me instantly.  Spoiler alert.  This is not true and it is someone out there to scam me somehow or to get access to my friends list.  I don't accept the friend request and block that person.

Almost every day on facebook, a quiz appears that looks really interesting such as what movie star are you most like, what Sex in the City Character do you most identify with, etc.  When you click on it, it tell you that if you continue you are giving this company access to your profile information and your friends information, it says that very clearly.  At this time, we all have a choice, do we find out what character we are and agree to data mining, or decide to cancel.  I already know that I am Carrie so I decide to opt out.

Facebook is free yet their founder is one of the richest men in the world.  I read somewhere that their stock plummeting $400M in one day.  How do we think they make their money?

And, occasionally despite my best efforts, I get fake news on my feed.  It is a good thing that I am discerning and don't believe everything I read.  Nor do I get my news from only one source.

I always say that I live my life as an open book and I also know privacy is not the biggest issue in my life.  I have actually had real problems so I know this isn't the outrage that people think it is. 

My partner has been accused on over-sharing on social media.  He continues to share, mostly about his mental health journey, and he does so hoping that if he can help one person then it is worth it. 

As far as I know, he has had only one negative consequence from this over-sharing and it really didn't have anything to do with data mining.  It was a typical evening a couple of years ago.  We were watching tv and he was on his Ipad and I on my lap top.  I came across this really cool picture about being proud to be Ukrainian.  I am very proud to be Ukrainian so I shared that picture.  My partner saw my share and agreed with me that it was very cool so he posted this picture as well in solidarity to my ethnicity.  Literally, 30 seconds after he posted his phone rang.  It was a family member of his who claims to never be on facebook objecting to his post.  He reminded him that he wasn't Ukrainian and he didn't want anyone to infer that his family had any Ukrainian in their DNA.  It was a negative consequence to my partner.  It confirmed what I already knew, that his family would never have room in their hearts for me, but, now apparently, it was because of the Ukrainian blood pulsing through me.  It was negative for my partner because he realized his dream of us all being a family would never materialize. 

While writing this, I received a phone call.  It was a recorded message from someone claiming to be from the Canada Revenue Service and that I had committed a serious tax fraud and I had to call the number immediately or I would face jail time.  I knew this was a fraud because I have read about it, but, it still got my blood pumping.  The point is there are unscrupulous people out there and it doesn't matter if you delete all social media, you can still be targeted. 

There will always be frauds, scams, and fake news, and candidates have been lying about each other for centuries.  This is not new, it is just that social media gives them more tools. 

If you live an open life with no secrets, than you have nothing to fear.  If you have something to hide, it will likely come out regardless of social media.  For me, that is ok.  I would rather know than not know if someone has some closeted negative feelings against Ukrainians. 

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