The Case for Dumping FaceBook and Threads

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Yesterday afternoon I was trolled by an American account of a person living in Germany. I commented on the absurdity of bicycle lanes that are just two hundred meters long and the troll account said "be happy to have that". I felt like answering in a hostile manner. I refrained from doing this. I deleted my threads account instead.

You might see this as overkill, but there is something to be said about dumping toxic antisocial media sites. We invest our time and attention on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky and Threads and if we report accounts, over and over, only to be told that they do not breach their codes of conduct rules, then they have squandered their chance to keep us as customers.

Months ago I reported troll accounts spreading hate and hostility towards cyclists and eventually I was ghosted. Instead of being sad, and offended, I deactivated my account, and I haven’t missed Facebook (FB) since. The reality of the situation is that if we are on a social networks we use it to be surrounded by like minded people. We are there to have a good time, and we are there for a sense of community.

When I was trolled on Threads, yesterday afternoon Facebook owned Threads breached the social contract, by tolerating these accounts. It’s not that you’re trolled once a week, or once a month. It is that you are trolled on a daily basis.

Algorithmic Noise

I believe that the problem with trolls on FB, TW and Threads is based on algorithms. Until 2020 or earlier we followed people, and we chose what we saw. We chose whether to look at one topic, or one thread. We chose who we followed, and that shaped who else we saw. In algorithmic "social" media we see what algorithms want us to see. We see the lowest common denominator.

The consequence of this algorithmic skewing of what we see affects two things. It affects how complicated it is to find a community, because who we follow has no effect on what we see, but it also forces us to see accounts that we don’t want to see in the first place.

The result is that this noise, over time becomes toxic, and that toxic noise impacts how happy, or hostile we are. Eventually we all become toxic, as a result of using Threads and Facebook. That’s why I dumped Facebook, and Threads. I don’t want to be hostile, or toxic. I know that by reducing the time I spend on FB and Threads it has a positive impact on my mental well being.

A Two Way Street

If Facebook owned social media sites and apps want to keep us, they need to respect us as individuals, and stop seeing us as addicted users. They need to respect our morals and values, and work towards helping preserve Human Rights, rather than demeaning them. As I write this Facebook, whitewashed as Meta shuts down global accounts linked to abortion advice and queer content. Facebook has to respect its users, if it wants to retain its monopoly.

And Finally

Too many social media sites forget that they are social networks first, and social media second. By this I mean that social media, without social networks is just broadcasting. It’s just a one way, passive flow of information. Terms like "doom scrolling" reflect this passive approach to social media. Social media has a social network underlying the site or app.

If the social network is forgotten about, as was the case with Facebook, and Threads, and Twitter, then users leave. They disengage, and then the site becomes a ghost, as is the case of Flickr, Yahoo and Myspace, to name a few.

Why should we use social media sites that do not respect us?