Facebook — Wanted, Dead or Alive.
Do you have Facebook? Its rare to come across someone who doesn’t Facebook. Besides people that are kicked off the platform for political and noncompliant reasons (or those who get so close to the truth that Facebook kicks them off), I can’t remember the last time I met someone who doesn’t have profile on the social media platform giant. And yes, Facebook can kick you out and take down your posts, irrelevant of the 1st Amendment.
How did it start?
Many of you probably know the story, but for those of you who don’t, Facebook was launched in February 2004. Launched by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, the platform was originally launched with the intention for students on campus to connect. Within a day, the platform already had more than 1000 users and was later open to all college students. A year before Facebook (2003) Zuckerberg had launched FaceMash, a platform used to “rate” women; and because of university regulations, it was shutdown after just two days (red flag?)
Later I remember being about 10 years old (2006) when all my older cousins already had an account. I remember specifically telling them that I wasn’t old enough to open an account, their response, change the year of your birthday, no one will know. As easy as it was said, it was done. I have had a facebook account since then and my account was never flagged for being “underaged” at the time. In September 2006, Facebook opened its platforms to everyone who was 13 and older with a valid email address (I was still underage lol).
What is happening with Facebook right now.
Despite the network giant accounting for almost half of the social media market, it’s not there because of its true and tried hard work (it is on a superficial level), Facebook is currently under attack and has been since December 2020 when first hit by a lawsuit from FTC (Federal Trade Commission), for basically having a monopoly. The company went on a spending spree so its acquisitions, Instagram and WhatsApp, didn’t stand a chance as competition against their own company. Zuckerberg wanted Facebook to stay on top, and it has.
We are way past the issue with Facebook being about the FTC, I mean of course it’s still important, but the company is now affecting the individual lives of it’s users around the world. Studies have shown that not only is the platform affecting it’s users on Facebook, but it has also taken a big impact on young girls using Instagram. The social platform that was originally launched as a photo based interactive platform, has taken a toll on the mental health of young girls; many even having thoughts of suicide. It has become toxic. With the company making statement that they are trying to fix and address this problem, it seems to only be getting worse. Data Scientist’s have studied the algorithms, discovering that the content generated on users interfaces can lead to be back cycled into dark holes that get deeper and deeper, only making the problem worse.
The worst part? There are studies on misinformation in all realms of what goes on in our world. From politics to something as important as the Covid-19 vaccine, people believe what they read on Facebook because it has grown to become an outlet where many people even get their day to day news. Studies show that people are 6 times more likely to engage with information that isn’t true versus news that is. It comes down to fake news and most if not all, get so brainwashed and intertwined with the information they are seeing, they don’t know what to believe anymore. It gets even worse, time after time, Zuckerberg has defended the company endlessly trying to prove that the company is doing something about it and that hate crimes are being controlled through softwares that can detect it, yet he has never been able to comply and show data and analysis that prove it, maintaining the “Facebook Files” private.
To Conclude what I think —
This is horrible and I think it’s sad. Despite everything mentioned above, Facebook has or I guess we can say had, great potential; especially as a marketing platform. It’s a great space for small businesses to kick off their marketing and interact with consumers on what is the closest it can be to personal interactions. Unfortunately, the company has been deemed to show that they will always put themselves first, rather than their consumers. I wonder what they will do next…
Facebook is now Meta?
In most recent news, Zuckerberg announced that the company will now be named Meta. The name was born out of the attempt Zuckerberg has to create a Metaverse, which is basically a concept that has been referred to in science fiction where we all live in a 3D digital world. But what many don’t really know is that Meta “derives from the Greek prefix meaning ‘after’ or ‘beyond,’ and indicates something that transcends the word it latches onto (think metaphysics), in Hebrew the word “Meta” is the feminine form of ‘is dead.’” Does this mean Facebook is dead? At least many people think it is.
Guess we will have to wait and see…
