Why you should deactivate facebook [MSM: (Sydney Morning Herald via Mashable)]

[Anchor]

Nice to see things like this carried in Mainstream news


In today's world, not having Facebook is akin to leprosy. Surely something must be wrong with you if you have no social account to show for your life. How will people follow your achievements, your relationships or your weight gain without a social presence to stalk?

The existential crisis of the 21st century has become: "If something happens and you don't put it on Facebook, did it ever happen?" Joking aside, it's true many of us feel that Facebook is the be-all and end-all of socialising; that having no social network is the same as having no friends.

But what our connected world has not taken into account are the several ways in which Facebook can harm our lives, instead of enhancing them. Sure, you can reconnect with lost friends and family, find job opportunities and keep a digital log of your life. But more commonly Facebook has become a dark hole – a place where jealousy and competition breed, where self-worth is defined by a catalogue of carefully tagged pictures and an overall productivity time-suck.
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Ultimately, we risk comparing our everyday lives to our online personas, which are often overwhelmingly composed of curated success stories and positive experiences.

So why not simply log off? Though it's much easier said than done, willpower comes in stages. Deactivating could be the cold turkey option, but simply reducing time spent on the site could greatly improve your quality of life. Here are some reasons you should consider it...

(more)


http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/why-you-should-deactivate-your-facebook-account-20130714-2py1a.html

[Bubu]

How about we post this on facebook. And instead of of deactivating use fb to spread awareness.

Good for us to see this on mainstream. means mainstream news is breaking away from control.

[TargeT]

How about we post this on facebook. And instead of of deactivating use fb to spread awareness.

Good for us to see this on mainstream. means mainstream news is breaking away from control.


I think facebook has hit addiction level, it's going to take some extreme situation to cease it's common usage.

[161803398]

I went to the trouble of figuring out what was going on in Libya and Syria in some detail (not perfect) and brought these details to the attention of my facebook friends who are generally very bright, some of whom have a vast number of friends of their own. At first some of them complained: "forget about Syria, for god's sake"; but I persisted. Now there's about 80 more people in the world who have a clue and they pass it on, so I think its okay. I even have one other facebook friend who was a die hard support the marines conservative type and now even she is showing signs of cluing in. I think it can help if used properly but the addiction part is real unless you are really fond of your own real space at home which I am.

[Anchor]

I went to the trouble of figuring out what was going on in Libya and Syria in some detail (not perfect) and brought these details to the attention of my facebook friends who are generally very bright, some of whom have a vast number of friends of their own. At first some of them complained: "forget about Syria, for god's sake"; but I persisted. Now there's about 80 more people in the world who have a clue and they pass it on, so I think its okay. I even have one other facebook friend who was a die hard support the marines conservative type and now even she is showing signs of cluing in. I think it can help if used properly but the addiction part is real unless you are really fond of your own real space at home which I am.


Well played. (... and it does seem like a game that needs to be played)

What is afoot now, is that the game is changing - large parts of the game are going to be altered in significant ways, and its catalyst like the rise and fall of social media that will be part of the system busting effort.

There are, obviously, people that need the mirror that is face-book to show them how they are playing their own part in that game.

If people wont look within, they need a mirror, to turn back that outward gaze.

[Tesseract]

I went to the trouble of figuring out what was going on in Libya and Syria in some detail (not perfect) and brought these details to the attention of my facebook friends who are generally very bright, some of whom have a vast number of friends of their own. At first some of them complained: "forget about Syria, for god's sake"; but I persisted. Now there's about 80 more people in the world who have a clue and they pass it on, so I think its okay. I even have one other facebook friend who was a die hard support the marines conservative type and now even she is showing signs of cluing in. I think it can help if used properly but the addiction part is real unless you are really fond of your own real space at home which I am.

You just got your 80 friends into the CIA's database. No, just kidding - kind of :), I think what you did is commendable.

[christian]

"I'm in the world, but not of it."

Same goes for facebook. You can become too attached to facebook, just as you can become too attached to your life, name, body, job, bank account, and so on. So it's not about any of these things, it's about your attachment.

Yeah, they're using facebook to spy on us, but I say hi to the spy and then goodbye. Their efforts don't impress me, I'm on the side of love and liberty. I know that they're pathetic, and this is what will stand in future history books.

I use their system against them, and I've made a lot of great connections there, shared and received a lot of great material. Wasted some time, too, but that's life.

Connect with me @facebook.com/bongochris (https://www.facebook.com/bongochris) (bongo because of bongo bong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJMLJVha5sw))

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/dreams.png

[778 neighbour of some guy]

"I'm in the world, but not of it."

Same goes for facebook. You can become too attached to facebook, just as you can become too attached to your life, name, body, job, bank account, and so on. So it's not about any of these things, it's about your attachment.

Yeah, they're using facebook to spy on us, but I say hi to the spy and then goodbye. Their efforts don't impress me, I'm on the side of love and liberty. I know that they're pathetic, and this is what will stand in future history books.

I use their system against them, and I've made a lot of great connections there, shared and received a lot of great material. Wasted some time, too, but that's life.

Connect with me @facebook.com/bongochris (https://www.facebook.com/bongochris) (bongo because of bongo bong (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJMLJVha5sw))

Mama was queen of the mambo
papa was king of the congo
deep down in the jungle
I start banging my first bongo
every monkey like to be
in my place instead of me
cause I'm the king of bongo, baby
I'm the king of bongo bong
I went to the big town
where there is a lot of sound
from the jungle to the city
looking for a bigger crown
so I played my boogie
for the people of big city
but they don't go crazy
when I banging on my boogie
I'm the
King of the bongo king of the bongo bong
hear me when I come, baby
king of the bongo, king of the bongo bong
Nobody like to be
in my place instead of me
'cause nobody go crazy
when I banging on my boogie
I'm a king without a crown
hanging loose in the big town
but I'm the king of bongo, baby
I'm the king of bongo bong
King of the bongo king of the bongo bong
hear me when I come, baby
king of the bongo, king of the bongo bong
hear me when I come
They say that I'm a clown
making too much dirty sound
they say there is no place
for little monkey in this town
nobody like to be
in my place instead of me
'cause nobody go crazy
when I banging on my boogie
I'm the
King of the bongo king of the bongo bong
hear me when I come, baby
king of the bongo, king of the bongo bong
hear me when I come
Banging on my bongo
all that swing belongs to me
I'm so happy there's nobody
in my place instead of me
I'm a king without a crown
hanging loose in a big town
I'm the king of bongo baby
I'm the king of bongo bong
King of the bongo king of the bongo bong
hear me when I come, baby
king of the bongo, king of the bongo bong
hear me when I come
Mama was queen of the mambo
papa was king of the congo
deep down in the jungle
I start banging my first bongo
every monkey like to be
in my place instead of me
'cause I'm the king of bongo, baby
I'm the king of bongo bong
hear me when I come
hear me when I come, baby
king of the bongo, king of the bongo bong
hear me when I come.

BCoP7G2K7Hc

[mojo]

King of the bongo is my new favorite...:)

[Dennis Leahy]

I glanced at the article, and have to say I am excited about being connected to people around the world and around the country, sharing ideas and thoughts and feelings.

I grew up in a small town (population about 18,000 to 20,000, if you count the cows), and had very little interaction with the "big, outside world." The Giant Stupid Box with rabbit ears purported to show me the world, but there was no interaction. The Encyclopedia Britannica and my family' subscription to National Geographic gave more details about the world (even topless women woo woo! - hey, I was a young boy, it was exciting), but still, not interaction. My family hosted foreign exchange students several times, and that was my honest first taste of interacting with someone from a completely different culture. (I later recalled, and sang to my own daughter, the lullaby sung by the Ugandan student that we hosted.)

I now have friends around the world. A few feel like family, and all are people I hope to see eye-to-eye and share at least a meal and a pot of coffee (or a beer, or smoothie...) with. This contact takes place in 3 different luthier's (mostly guitarmakers) forums, the Project Avalon forum, and on Faceboog.

What are the pros and cons?

Well, the pros are these connections - real human connections.

What are the cons? The NSA knows which hand I wipe with (in other words, more about me is on record than I would like, as I know the people collecting the data are unscrupulous and "can and will use anything I have said - or didn't actually say but they have altered the digital record so it appears that I said - against me", whenever it suits them.) That, and I do spend too much time online (but you're not suggesting I sever the connection to Avalon too?) Finally, there is the real downside of connecting with a couple of hundred people and sharing in their lives - I hurt when they hurt, cry when they cry... (I know from my days when I was writing song lyrics we all tend to live life when we're joyous and not share it as much as the negative stuff.)

Would I change it, if I could? Follow a different path if I could go back in time, where I could stay "off grid/off radar" by being a complete unknown online?

Nope.

To hell with the NSA, CIA, FBI, and other alphabet agencies. If they ever actually read my words, then they will know that I advocate a non-violent transition away from corporate-centric governance to citizen-centric governance. Maybe, just maybe, a few of the agents are not sociopaths, and (for some reason) were assigned to actually read my words, rather than just collecting them in a database. Maybe the love and compassion for my fellow human beings and for non-human life forms has touched them - maybe even changed them, for the better. Maybe deep in their hearts they want the same things that I do, and maybe one day they will act on those convictions. I know with the marrow of my bones that I am "standing on the right side of history", and I am honored and very appreciative to have connected with other like-minded beings around the planet. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

I'm not disconnecting.

Dennis

[norman]

Even without facebook, there's a "facebook factor" that's just part of the global internet phenomenon.

It's happening here at Avalon and every other meeting place.

I'd like to know what would be left after filtering out the facebook factor. Would the internet be a better and more positive thing without it? or is it ultimately what the internet is ALL about?

The celebrity culture has a powerful magnetism that seems to drag people ass-backwards into sharing their lives around with everyone for wrong reasons since the technology has made it easy.

[Conaire]

I use facebook as an online photo album, which I think is great. I keep up to date with my family that live over seas, otherwise I'd be out of the loop. And I 'share' videos and articles from the alternative media, notably the anti-fluoride campaign that's happening in Ireland at the moment that's basically ignored by the mainstream media. Facebook makes me feel like a subversive activist.

So, I don't imagine I'll delete my account.

That been said, I very much agree that it's adictive, in much the same was t.v can be adictive. And it can become a major time suck, if you allow it.

[watchZEITGEISTnow]

facebook is a tool that can be used to wake up the masses with information.

Just don't use your real name and upload as much infowar as you can - I'm waking up some very sleepy sheepy... ;)

[778 neighbour of some guy]

facebook is a tool that can be used to wake up the masses with information.

Just don't use your real name and upload as much infowar as you can - I'm waking up some very sleepy sheepy... ;)

Calling the peepy "sheepy", is a bit denigrating imo and you do not recognize their potential by calling them that, it would for instance NOT wake me up if the conversation starts with an insult addressed at me, I would turn around and flip you the bird, if you want to provide people with alternative information that's fine, but don't turn it in an elitist train of thought, over 90% of alternative info is complete bs ( just like the MSM)or wishful thinking leading to certain depressing disappointment (part of the process) meaning we all fell for it one time or another, so no need to act all superior here eh, its complicated enough as is, lets just take each other serious in these matters and offer every one the chance to grow at his/her own pace, that is the way to go imo, opening minds has nothing to do with crowbars.

And o yeah, almost forgot, I have my own reasons to not have a facebook account, so there's nothing to deactivate( to keep this post at least somewhat on topic). Friends who do have facebook, I just recognize we have different interests and leave it at that, in the meantime I made sure I have my foodstock and waterfilter, have something to cook on and have my library in order. They are welcome in case.................. .

[Another1]

facebook is a tool that can be used to wake up the masses with information.

Just don't use your real name and upload as much infowar as you can - I'm waking up some very sleepy sheepy... ;)

It is a powerful tool no doubt. I remember how troubled friends and family were to see the info I left there, turned into a total melt down so nasty that I deleted all personal content and then closed the account. The scammers used it well also while I was there. Tailor made fake letters from dating clubs promising women beating down the door to meet a guy just like me who ... and here they fill in details from my profile .... I suppose with the right amount of alcohol, blue ba*** and perhaps some Zoloft a person would not notice the lies.

Use this search term through Google 'social media arab spring' for more research if interested.

[chocolate]

I have a FB account that serves me very well- keeps me informed. I have several favorite sites/blogs/social people and groups I like and I have subscribed to their newsfeed. I very rarely post photos or keep in touch with anyone, except my sis that lives outside my country. You will be surprised how much information i can gather for the duration of a cup of coffee in the morning/evening. I deleted all my personal information long time ago, and unsubscribed from the friends' news- posts with photos and other information from their lives. Don't get me wrong, I like my friends, but I prefer them in person.
One can look at FB as a good evil, just like I look at my phone (which I consider an evil thing) I bought recently for its ability to support 2 sim cards and its multi-functionality, or the tablet I bough for my sis to help her out read more books and carry it around in the planes (not that she uses it for that only, but hey, one can do a good deed just the same).
I am known to be against fashion and statement gadgets, but still I can find my personal balance between what's necessary for me and what is an extra I can live without. I look at FB in the same way- it serves me okay. The rest is a matter of choice.

[northstar]

I do have a Facebook account but I treat it as a low-maintenance and low-cost tool to network and connect with people who are not in my closest circle of family and friends. It enables me to keep up-to-date on events in distant relative's and acquaintance's lives. It helps to keep me connected to a lot of people who I don't see every day but who I have known in my life.

I don't understand the panic and paranoia re: Facebook.

Yes it is true that you have absolutely zero privacy on Facebook, regardless of whatever so called privacy settings you may have set in Facebook. I don't post anything on Facebook that I wouldn't be OK with seeing on the front page of the local newspaper. This means that everything I post on Facebook is mild, bland and neutral.

For me the networking benefits of Facebook outweigh the annoyance of having to monitor and manage everything I say there. In today's world a large network of friends and contacts is a good thing and Facebook is where the network is.

[TargeT]

I don't understand the panic and paranoia re: Facebook.

Yes it is true that you have absolutely zero privacy on Facebook, regardless of whatever so called privacy settings you may have set in Facebook. I don't post anything on Facebook that I wouldn't be OK with seeing on the front page of the local newspaper. This means that everything I post on Facebook is mild, bland and neutral.

For me the networking benefits of Facebook outweigh the annoyance of having to monitor and manage everything I say there. In today's world a large network of friends and contacts is a good thing and Facebook is where the network is.


Think of it less in terms of privacy and more in advanced terms like Trend analysis, Profile (psychological) compilation & predictive reaction based planning.

I think some people are starting to catch on to what can be gleaned from Facebook use (even if you THINK you are editing it to be meaningless, that itself helps to build a profile on you & your actions, your access time/locations & what you respond to).

This is the grandest social data collection experiment/test/program & it's willing participants don't even fully understand it.

I was prepared to try a metaphorical exemplification of this, but it is really a complex topic that doesn't deserve over simplification.


You don't build a tool like this that plays off human's built in programming so well (not to mention social indoctrination that has been softly forced on us for years now) just to find out what Joe Blow did on the weekend, this fascinating tool goes FAR FAR FAR beyond that.

[TargeT]

Solutions: Boycotts and Buycotts (every time you buy a product in a store or use one on line, you are supporting that product/service and all it stands for....)


When you use Google you are directly giving your information to the NSA, you might as well be handing it to them on a silver platter, and once again, you are actively cooperating and complicit in the feeding of the beast every time you use Google or facebook or any of these other CFR/bilderberg connected fortune 500 companies.
3vdhQIUHjlo

The battle against the New World Order is designed to demoralize us. No matter how we vote, no matter what politician we vote for, no matter what legislation gets passed, no matter what rallies people attend, nothing seems to fundamentally change. If anything, things only seem to be getting worse and worse. So how can we effectively fight back against the powers that shouldn't be. The answer, it turns out, might be remarkably simple: stop feeding the beast. Join us this week on The Corbett Report as we explore the power of the boycott.

Opensource Facebook is the answer, not Facebook.

It's on the way....
http://opensource.com/life/13/7/pump-io

[northstar]

Think of it less in terms of privacy and more in advanced terms like Trend analysis, Profile (psychological) compilation & predictive reaction based planning.

I think some people are starting to catch on to what can be gleaned from Facebook use (even if you THINK you are editing it to be meaningless, that itself helps to build a profile on you & your actions, your access time/locations & what you respond to).

This is the grandest social data collection experiment/test/program & it's willing participants don't even fully understand it.

I was prepared to try a metaphorical exemplification of this, but it is really a complex topic that doesn't deserve over simplification.


You don't build a tool like this that plays off human's built in programming so well (not to mention social indoctrination that has been softly forced on us for years now) just to find out what Joe Blow did on the weekend, this fascinating tool goes FAR FAR FAR beyond that.

I have training in computer programming, which gives me a bit of nerd street cred. :) I'm well aware of the nasty stuff they are doing behind the scenes ("Trend analysis, Profile (psychological) compilation & predictive reaction based planning." etc.)

I think that the many steps I have taken by sanitizing my Facebook profile, such as deleting all personal info, contact info, resume info, posts from past years, chats and messages from past years, etc. gives the data crunching marketing types at Facebook very little to work with. Yes, I know that deleting data does not mean that it is automatically removed from the FB servers but I remember reading that eventually deleted data is removed from FB servers and backup servers so I'm assuming that all the FB data I deleted from my profile 2 years ago is now permanently gone. And yes, I know that might not be true but that is a risk I am willing to take.

I know that a lot can be taken from social media profiles but I do gain some small satisfaction from the fact that I willingly give them very little and what they do take from me they are going to have to work for.

Yes I know that they can still glean a lot of info about me from the few crumbs I leave posted there, and from where and when I log in, but it is minimal and I'm willing to live with it to get access to the contacts and networking I gain by being in the game.

[TargeT]

Just so long as you understand that you are supporting facebook & all it stands for every time you use it in anyway.


I think that's the real thing to keep in mind on this topic; if you support what is being done continue to use it.


at some point "we" will have to decide if we act on information we have gathered or just continue to talk about one thing, and do another.

[Lifebringer]

Thanks, stopped a year ago, and although since WS bought into it, they can't close it because stockholders "own" the information shared on the site for ad purposes, I only go on to take something viral or pass good health news or politics on it. I don't comment, but I post links. I hate when family members wish me a happy b-day on it, because FB had the wrong birthdate up, and I never corrected them with the right one. I told my family, I barely use it, and please stop posting family business online, alas, to no avail. They love me and they speak about me. I can't stand reading or hearing about me on the page.

[Lifebringer]

When we get mad at the LSMLamestream Media, you can sign in post "NO COMMENT." and then sign out. Do it for a month or so, and let the NSA spies get frustrated just reading those words for a month.

[TargeT]

When we get mad at the LSMLamestream Media, you can sign in post "NO COMMENT." and then sign out. Do it for a month or so, and let the NSA spies get frustrated just reading those words for a month.

the way ad revenues work they won't care.

your individual messages matter less than the meta data they gather, log on trends after significant events or log on times (and changes in those patterns based on variables) content is no doubt a part of it, but I bet not as significant as most would think.


ANY use equates to support, just keep that in mind.

[chocolate]

If you read "The Matrix Deciphered" you'll understand that "they" can read your brainwaves, merge brainwaves that don't belong to you in your ones, and so on nasty business. So for me FB is not the problem.

[TargeT]

If you read "The Matrix Deciphered" you'll understand that "they" can read your brainwaves, merge brainwaves that don't belong to you in your ones, and so on nasty business. So for me FB is not the problem.

Some actions take a lot more effort & equipment than others; if you choose to make it easy for the State just because they can do something more invasive with more effort are you really ok with it?

Facebook does not require much targeting, users voluntarily add data to a centralized place that is built to accept and parse that data; "reading your brain waves" (via microwave or whatever method) requires specific targeting and assigned assets, this is not desirable in a pyramid control structure.

In a pyramid control structure you want the masses to police themselves & come to you for everything you want to do to them, that way a few can manage many.

Hopefully this somewhat illustrates how your mentality/apathy is not a "good" thing.

Our minds are very good at rationalizing our desires; an addict will always find a reason to continue using their substance of choice (even if it's facebook).

[BrianEn]

I resisted Facebook for years now I can't seem to give it up. I try not to post anything important of than crap. But I spend a lot time on it and play a lot of those stupid games that are more frustration than they are worth. All that said and I'd have a hard time staying deactivated.

[TargeT]

I resisted Facebook for years now I can't seem to give it up. I try not to post anything important of than crap. But I spend a lot time on it and play a lot of those stupid games that are more frustration than they are worth. All that said and I'd have a hard time staying deactivated.

Facebook is designed to be highly addictive & leverages built in default "programming" of the mind (short term reward mechanisms, social acceptance via "Likes" etc..) it's a very very interesting phenominon to watch from the outside; once embroiled in it your brain will have difficulty objectivly viewing Facebook.


Addicted to Facebook? Study shows users are lonelier
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/01/24/addicted-to-facebook-study-shows-users-are-lonelier/

7 Telltale Signs of Facebook Addiction
http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/facebook-addiction-signs/

How to Beat a Facebook Addiction
http://netforbeginners.about.com/b/2013/05/14/how-to-beat-a-facebook-addiction.htm

Facebook Addiction: pages of articles
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tag/facebook-addiction

And there's more....

[soleil]

Just so long as you understand that you are supporting facebook & all it stands for every time you use it in anyway.


I think that's the real thing to keep in mind on this topic; if you support what is being done continue to use it.


at some point "we" will have to decide if we act on information we have gathered or just continue to talk about one thing, and do another.

the only reason i have fb is to keep on top of whats happening and to share a thought provoking news link or image with the people on my friends list who dont have a clue. aka, all of them.

[TargeT]

Everyone has very understandable reasons for the continued use of Facebook; however the continued use of this product is very much akin to clicking "like" on the NSA's facebook page.. I've actually never used facebook so I'm not sure if that metaphor falls flat or not... haha

But it's much like using major banks (who we all know are the root of nearly all that ails us currently). Through our complacency, through our apathy we not only allow but encourage these actions that are done IN OUR NAME. I am not perfect in this sense either, I still pay taxes and register my cars with the government, I still participate in the system that I know is harming all of us.

What if we could just stop, what if they didn't have our support anymore?


How to Boycott Big Tech

broFWi6O24s

As we discussed last week on The Eyeopener, there are those who even now are hoping that some Congressional committee or some brave Senator or some court case will somehow put an end to the total surveillance madness that has been carefully built into the very source code of the software and operating systems and internet services which billions around the world continue to use. This not only overlooks the fact that—exactly as the White House and defenders of the system argue—the entire program was overseen from its very inception by these same legislators and courts. It also irnores the testimony of Russell Tice that all of the key committee members and members of the judiciary have been wiretapped by the NSA for at least a decade, meaning that any efforts to stop this system from those corners is likely to be immediately identified and quashed with bribery, blackmail or threats.

While this seems to be an intractable situation, there is a missing piece of this puzzle that few have yet explored: us. The corporations have forced no one to purchase their booby-trapped, NSA backdoor spy-laden software or operating systems. People have purchased it of their own free will, whether out of ignorance, or inertia, or an unwillingness to seek out alternatives. But alternatives to many of the Big Tech products do exist, and making use of them is much easier than many believe.

Find out more about this important issue in this week's Eyeopener report.

http://www.corbettreport.com/videos/