Of course I knew that Facebook, and its assorted other companies, Instagram, and Whats App manipulate us in many ways. Their algorithm tries to keep us online using their apps for as long as possible. For a while that seemed fine, since all marketing is created to get people to use their product. I was getting something from using Facebook, being in touch with people I cared about, so it seemed to me to be fair trade. After watching the movie, The Social Reckoning, I found how they did it and at what cost to me and the rest of the world.
Once again I was amazed at how pure greed held sway over human decency.
As a teenager, I would read how tobacco company executives knew that their product was killing people. Plain and simple. I never understood why it took so long for this information to get out and get actioned on. How could decent people continue to hurt so many others just for the sake of making more money? Finally, the government did something to react to this problem. They could not ban cigarettes, so they taxed the shit out of it, passed laws to stop the use of tobacco in public areas, spread the word through public messaging, and therefore reduced its use significantly. Tobacco use in the US has fallen 60% in the last 30 years. That is millions of lives saved.
The fact of the matter is the Facebook executives know how much they are hurting people by creating an algorithm that knowingly spread lies, negativity, and maliciousness just to increase its usage which of course translated into dollars. They knew that they were hurting teenager’s self-image, and that the use of the app coincided with increased teenage depression and suicide. To keep engagement with the app continuing they did not do anything to mitigate these negative effects. They took the position that it was not their responsibility. At the same time, the lies they allowed to be spread by any and all extremist groups helped these groups find and indoctrinate new members. The algorithm would suggest users to join these groups. The algorithm would help these very extreme groups supercharge their membership drives! Facebook does not fact check any posts, so they are in essence knowingly spreading lies to billions of people. I have a conscience. I am flabbergasted that this is happening, unchecked, while millions of regular people are hurt.
THIS IS A BIPARTISAN ISSUE. WAKE UP CONGRESS.
Mark Zuckerberg is the man who has chosen to make more billions over our societies well-being, and who could make some changes in his product which might affect his bottom line but will help the mental health of millions of people. He refuses. So much unchecked harm done by one man.
I HAVE A CONSCIENCE. I DON’T WANT TO BE PART OF THIS ANYMORE.
I’M OUT!
If interested I can be reached at
