How to Unplug Facebook

Should we unplug Facebook? The social medium, though it has 1.4 billion followers, is a huge headache for many of us. It vacuums up our personal data to sell to advertisers, and it can be an enormous waste of time.

Do you suffer manipulation and loss of privacy?

Facebook has been known to toy with our minds. A few years ago, it was caught manipulating the news feeds of 600,000 users to see how they would act in response to negative versus positive news. The corporation is developing a brain-computer interface, so a user could control his computer with his mind- but Facebook could as easily use the interface to influence the user’s mind. And the company recently faced a firestorm of criticism over Cambridge Analytica’s mining of user data.

To  be fair, the Trump campaign was not the first to mine Facebook user data to enhance voter turnout. Mr. Obama used it far more extensively- in both of his Presidential campaigns.

Regardless of who benefits, a Facebook account brings serious problems. You can’t very well be active on the platform without sacrificing privacy. The more we learn, the wiser it seems to unplug Facebook.

What can you do about it?

How can you do it, though? You don’t want to lose touch with friends and loved ones. You want a means to communicate your concerns to a large body of readers. Are there other social media platforms that will meet this purpose? Can you use them without the privacy losses you court with Facebook?

There are several alternate social platforms that may meet your need. Which one is best for you depends on what you want to do with it.

Some of the other platforms that may suit you are Wayn, Steemit, Dribbble, Mastodon, and Mighty Networks. In a future post, we will analyze the advantages and limitations of each.  You then can unplug Facebook, confident that you’re not dooming yourself to social isolation.

(For the most reliable internet connection, talk to us. We can help.)