Maybe it's just that I am getting old, but I find Facebook's Timeline feature to be annoying, and I dislike not being able to turn it off. It seems invasive to me, and I dislike the erosion of privacy ongoing in our society. That plans are underway for all electronic and telephone communications in Great Britain to be monitored and recorded, and that similar provisions are contemplated in North America for the purposes of "security" or "crime prevention" are a shade too 1984 for me. Or maybe too V for Vendetta.
I dislike the way we are giving away our personal power with both hands, for shiny trinkets. Maybe we really are that stupid. Or maybe I really am just getting old.
It has hit the news that some employers in some areas are now beginning to request that employees "Friend" them on Facebook or, worse, be given their employees' or applicants' Facebook passwords so that they can surf Facebook to determine suitability for employment, and keep tabs on their activities both at work and away. I shudder when I think about how Timeline could interact with such an agenda.
Anyway, I've decided to give myself a birthday present this year. Either it will be to turn off Timeline and keep Facebook, or, if there is no method to disable Timeline yet, it will be to disable it in the only way I can...by deleting my Facebook account.
The more I think about it, the less of a big step that seems to be. First off, I don't use Facebook for much more than wishing people Happy Birthday, playing chess, and playing Scrabble. Second off, even with those few activities, Facebook is a huge time-waster. Finally, my decision to sever ties with EN World has proven to be a good one, in terms of personal creativity and happiness.
Anyway, although I know that Facebook is bringing plenty of other people joy, and they are certainly not going to delete their accounts, you can join me if you want. And, if you don't want to, that's completely cool, too.
http://www.facebook.com/events/372425679460634/372425682793967/?notif_t=plan_mall_activity
I've been considering dropping off the radar as well and going into full crypto mode as a response of [CIS|PI|SO]PA. You might be interested in this article on deleting vs merely disabling your FB account. I've been thinking about trying to get out from under Google's thumb as well, but I'm not sure of as good a way to do it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the link.
ReplyDeleteYou are right about Google. Although Google is quieter about it than Facebook, it is collecting a lot of information, and is perhaps the worse of the two.