It's interesting to see why people are staying or leaving. I think I'm mostly there my ow memories and for a few groups, including two local ones that have info about what's happening in town, but honestly, 90, maybe 95% at this point of my feed is ads and random stuff picked for me, and often not well. I do like and sometimes comment on friends posts, but they are hard to find. Also, I find that a lot of friends are not that active and haven't been, so it's less interesting to be there. I realized one of the reasons I've stayed is because of the people I've connected with already who I got to know through FB (usually groups). I'm not having as much of that happen now.
This is a great opportunity to make sure you know how to connect — outside of any of these platforms — with the people you want to be connected with. I have a friend who just quit FB, she moved our chats from Messenger to text and spent the better part of a day tracking down email addresses and phone numbers. She had a date she wanted to be off, but if you are thinking about leaving, you could spread out that activity.
Yes, it’s all about being intentional. But also sometimes I have connected with wonderful people on FB that I would never have met IRL. And sometimes I do eventually get to meet them in real life! I value that connectivity a lot.
Thank you for this, Jennifer. I don't want to abandon FB completely--yet I do see the value of making an impact to disappear for one day or several as a collective action. Practice of a "strike" can show us our power when we move as a large body of individuals. Thank you for your presence and care.
Yes, a unified purposeful action like a strike can send a message, I agree. I just don’t want to see us lose our connections in a kind of self-destructive defiance.
totally. Also would be interesting to have an intentional message that's shared, like: get on the bus. a targeted and collective message broadcast...idea bank? Do you know my friend Linda who wrote States of Being? (I've yet to read)
No, I don’t know States of Being. Yes to being intentional and aware….and having a clear message that can unify and galvanize. Seems to be missing right now.
Whew! Honestly, I was procrastinating on reading this because I so value your opinion and I was afraid I'd hear another variation of the admonishment to GET OFF and stop giving time/attention/money to an obviously flawed platform created and maintained by an individual of questionable motives.
I was relieved that your views mirror mine. I also plan to remain (for now) on Facebook and Instagram, as well as LinkedIn, Substack, and, more recently, Bluesky. I, too, abandoned Twitter (once my favorite) when it became unusable.
The debate reminds me a little of the one over stock divestiture. Should one invest in companies one disagrees with? The analogy isn't exact, but there's an opportunity in both cases for one's voice to retain some element of influence if one stays, whereas leaving vacates the space for others with less noble intentions.
Yes! I think we need to stay, at least as long as possible, to fight the good fight in these spaces and to keep in touch with likeminded people far and wide. So much is changing so fast now...so I may think differently in time, but for now, I'm staying! Holding the fort!
It's interesting to see why people are staying or leaving. I think I'm mostly there my ow memories and for a few groups, including two local ones that have info about what's happening in town, but honestly, 90, maybe 95% at this point of my feed is ads and random stuff picked for me, and often not well. I do like and sometimes comment on friends posts, but they are hard to find. Also, I find that a lot of friends are not that active and haven't been, so it's less interesting to be there. I realized one of the reasons I've stayed is because of the people I've connected with already who I got to know through FB (usually groups). I'm not having as much of that happen now.
This is a great opportunity to make sure you know how to connect — outside of any of these platforms — with the people you want to be connected with. I have a friend who just quit FB, she moved our chats from Messenger to text and spent the better part of a day tracking down email addresses and phone numbers. She had a date she wanted to be off, but if you are thinking about leaving, you could spread out that activity.
Yes, it’s all about being intentional. But also sometimes I have connected with wonderful people on FB that I would never have met IRL. And sometimes I do eventually get to meet them in real life! I value that connectivity a lot.
Thank you for this, Jennifer. I don't want to abandon FB completely--yet I do see the value of making an impact to disappear for one day or several as a collective action. Practice of a "strike" can show us our power when we move as a large body of individuals. Thank you for your presence and care.
Yes, a unified purposeful action like a strike can send a message, I agree. I just don’t want to see us lose our connections in a kind of self-destructive defiance.
totally. Also would be interesting to have an intentional message that's shared, like: get on the bus. a targeted and collective message broadcast...idea bank? Do you know my friend Linda who wrote States of Being? (I've yet to read)
No, I don’t know States of Being. Yes to being intentional and aware….and having a clear message that can unify and galvanize. Seems to be missing right now.
I'm leaving meta because I don't want to support the platforms. Not a protest but a choice to align my choices with my values.
I respect that, Tina. Just don't have a better place to go yet, and I don't want to lose all my real and valued friends on FB.
Real and valued friends aren't just on FB. I'm just at a different place. The juice ain't worth the squeeze.
Whew! Honestly, I was procrastinating on reading this because I so value your opinion and I was afraid I'd hear another variation of the admonishment to GET OFF and stop giving time/attention/money to an obviously flawed platform created and maintained by an individual of questionable motives.
I was relieved that your views mirror mine. I also plan to remain (for now) on Facebook and Instagram, as well as LinkedIn, Substack, and, more recently, Bluesky. I, too, abandoned Twitter (once my favorite) when it became unusable.
The debate reminds me a little of the one over stock divestiture. Should one invest in companies one disagrees with? The analogy isn't exact, but there's an opportunity in both cases for one's voice to retain some element of influence if one stays, whereas leaving vacates the space for others with less noble intentions.
Yes! I think we need to stay, at least as long as possible, to fight the good fight in these spaces and to keep in touch with likeminded people far and wide. So much is changing so fast now...so I may think differently in time, but for now, I'm staying! Holding the fort!