I don't always or even often agree with him but I'm and unabashed fan of RMS. I do agree with him about facebook, it's the cigarettes of the internet.
If Stallman says something you disagree with, you should consider why you think he is wrong. He has been eventually proven right in more of his critical predictions than any other figure in technology. At this point, I suggest that on issues within his area of expertise, if you disagree with him, you are probably wrong.
Facebook is just pure evil, maybe theres a bit of hell in there too. The length i've seen people go just for a few likes or getting freinds is just absurd! I only had Facebook for a year or two a long time ago and that was already enough. It can't be healthy for people who crave likes and attention the way they do. And don't get me started the shit i've seen on others timeline(?) "The reality here, however, is that it's our young social media users who are out of touch -- or at least painfully oblivious to the way the tools and platforms they're using in turn use them. They grew up with this stuff in their lives, and they accept these tools at face value, as features of the natural landscape. Not so. They were made by companies whose interests go far beyond helping kids express themselves and make friends. Our kids are not the customers here; they are both the product and the unwitting labor." That scares me..
I wonder if it because people don't care and do nothing about it....
I hear you and a lot of people talk about Facebook and the perils of it, and I'm utterly confused. In what shitty corners of it do you spend time? I've only had a Facebook page for a few weeks some years ago, but I have been on a Russian social network - as popular within former Soviet states as Facebook is worldwide - and I'm yet to encounter the sort of dumb narcissism you talk about. Sure, I've seen people whoring "likes", I've seen people "exchange" those ("you like me n i like you"); I've even been the kind of person who posts valueless content just to get others' attention and those sweet, sweet digital points when I was younger. All happened, but only once in a blue moon when I'd traverse the network for kicks or out of boredom. But what you talk about... Is that even real? It sounds apocalyptic, and that's a "start thinking" alarm in my head. "Can't be that bad", it says. Can it?
I admit, it might be some extreme cases and it all depends in what type of people you have on Facebook, but, I still think there is a sense of a type of addiction (even small) of needing attention and one-upping the other. And it was a bit of rant, not thinking straight. But I still believe that 90% of the content is mindless and useless. And seeing that is not fun. P.s I think most people get sick and tired seeing other people lives, it usually has a hate or envy effect. I think.
Out of sheer curiosity: how would you define "useful" in this context?
Yeah, thats the thing. There is nothing "useful". Useful would be if one gets something from it and feel satisfied after closing Facebook. There is nothing too gain from it, news and articles I get from somewhere else and where I can have/see discussions. I'm not interested in what x did or see their pictures.
This I disagree with. Facebook can be useful for finding very small events such as house performances, local art gallery openings, and things of a neighborhood level scale that aren't very well promoted elsewhere because most of these people don't have the money or know-how to do so. Granted, you have to have second or third degree connections in those communities to even become aware of the listings on Facebook, but it can still be a tool in that sense.There is nothing "useful".
Do you really need Facebook as a mediator to find out about stuff happening in your own neighborhood? We used to know where the raves were by the blank sheets of neon paper put up like fliers on the buildings they'd be held in. Posting on Facebook seems both unnecessary and boring.
Communication happens in the mediums available to people. You didn't have Facebook in those days, so people posted flyers. Now most people are on Facebook, so events are advertised there instead. You might see a posters for event sometimes, but I hear about local events through FB all the time. Particularly since friends of mine mark that they will attend or are interested, and they then appear in my feed. I agree with the argument that FB is just using us as their product, and that's not great. However, disregarding that, it's simply a useful tool to communicate with people! To avoid the shittiness, just unfollow the people who post tons of bullshit, and get some interesting friends.
Not saying my own neighborhood, I'm not tied in to every area between Portland and Seattle and since I can't physically be there at all times, I, you know, can't see those papers being put up? It gives me the option to go to a friend 45 minutes away and say yo, saw this thing, whaddya think?. Plus, the world's a piece of shit anyway so the fact that we're debating Facebook is egregious at best.
What do you mean?it's the cigarettes of the internet