by Willow
I'm not really a big fan of social media websites; never have been. Probably one reason is because I don't have the time [or, more accurately, don't want to take the time] to deal with them. I only want to be on the computer so much. Doing this website is a stretch for me, in a way, because I already spend a lot of time on my computer for my work. [And, one reason why there aren't more regular blog posts.]
Thus, I've never gotten involved with, or even had the desire to register with, Twitter, FB, Pinterest, or whatever other media sites are out there. Just not my thing.
However, recently, I was interested in learning about the Big Island Fruit Festival schedule and activities that are going on from May 14 to May 28. And, I found out to my dismay, that they are using FB for all of their connections, scheduling, etc. I also recently found out that the Big Island Fruitlucks group [their name!] is going to switch from MeetUp to FB. How disappointing.
There are MANY reasons why I refuse to support FB, besides the fact that I don't want to take the time to deal with social media in general. There have been many news articles reporting their cooperation with various governmental agencies in releasing private citizen information, the recent news exposure on their censorship activities of 'conservative' groups/posts, and that they decided to remove any gun-related groups or posts on FB. Those are just some of their activities that I've become aware of; there are a great deal more. I'm sure that most of you are not into censorship. Most of us are aware of the quote by "Anonymous" [although the attribution has since been give to Pastor Niemoller] regarding the Nazi actions; I found a great revised version on this website that relates to internet security [or insecurity, as it truly now is]: "First They Came for the Jews". [Now please don't get all riled up about me comparing internet security and privacy concerns with the Nazis and the Holocaust as that is not what I'm doing; as I was thinking about what FB does and the ethical issues concerned with their activities, especially turning over private citizen information to the government, those things reminded me of that quote. Then, I saw that others were connecting those dots, as well. The moral tale is similar; the wholesale and unspeakable things that Nazis did to Jews, and many other groups, is not.]
You don't have to take my word for criticisms of FBs actions and activities; here are just two of MANY websites available to review some of their egregious actions:
Facebook Wall of Shame
Facebook Detox
There are options to FB if one is so inclined to be on a social media site like that. I found out about one that is supported by Tim Berners-Lee, and founded by civil libertarians. As folks who are part of what some consider to be a cult [raw foodists, or even vegans!], I believe we ought to also carefully consider the backers of the internet sites that we choose to support, even if it is only by signing up. By registering for a site, we are giving our tacit approval of things they do. And, of course, while we can't know everything about who is behind an internet site, we can and do know some things by the history of FB and their actions; thus, we can take action. We get all upset about whether or not our foods are organic or truly raw, we 'ought' to get upset, and then take action, about how our private information is being given away.
If I were going to be active on a social media website, I would probably choose MeWe. While I don't like the name [it just doesn't have a good ring to it!], I do very much appreciate the founders' values, privacy bill of rights, and other information they have posted on their website. I encourage you to check it out, as well, and let's create a 'fast' from FB! Millions are choosing to delete their accounts from FB - you can, too!
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