Why do we stay on Facebook? It’s complicated
Kathryn
Jezer-Morton, The Conversation, May 1, 2018
Lately I
can’t log onto Facebook without being asked to consider my own motivations for
using the site.
can’t log onto Facebook without being asked to consider my own motivations for
using the site.
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| A protester wears a mask with the face of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, in between men wearing angry face emoji masks, during a protest against Facebook in London in April 2018. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant) |
As a
researcher who focuses on online communities, I’m accustomed to this running
meta-narrative about what it is I’m actually doing online — but usually, that
narrative plays inside my head, not all the way down the feed I’m scrolling
through. It’s like my research questions have sprung to life these days: What’s
Facebook all about, anyway? Is this even fun? If it’s not fun … what is it,
exactly?
researcher who focuses on online communities, I’m accustomed to this running
meta-narrative about what it is I’m actually doing online — but usually, that
narrative plays inside my head, not all the way down the feed I’m scrolling
through. It’s like my research questions have sprung to life these days: What’s
Facebook all about, anyway? Is this even fun? If it’s not fun … what is it,
exactly?
This is
an exciting time in the very short history of social media use.
an exciting time in the very short history of social media use.
Facebook’s
users are becoming critical of the systems into which they’ve been conscripted.
This is an important moment: Will public opinion follow the same well-worn
cycle of outrage and acceptance, or will it jump the tracks and begin engaging
Facebook on new, more challenging terms?
users are becoming critical of the systems into which they’ve been conscripted.
This is an important moment: Will public opinion follow the same well-worn
cycle of outrage and acceptance, or will it jump the tracks and begin engaging
Facebook on new, more challenging terms?
Researchers
have been asking tough questions about
Facebook for the past decade, but even armed with the most
prestigious credentials, they pose a much smaller threat than educated
consumers. And without consumer outrage, government regulation seems unlikely
to move forward.
have been asking tough questions about
Facebook for the past decade, but even armed with the most
prestigious credentials, they pose a much smaller threat than educated
consumers. And without consumer outrage, government regulation seems unlikely
to move forward.
‘Sound
and fury’
and fury’
So far,
at least in my own feed, the same old script is being followed to the letter.
The soul-searching is punctuated by passionate cris-de-coeur from the feed’s more
opinionated characters: Wake up, sheeple! If you’re not paying for the product,
you are the product — remember? Quit
Facebook! Encrypt your data! Smash your phone under the heel of your
steel-toed boots!
at least in my own feed, the same old script is being followed to the letter.
The soul-searching is punctuated by passionate cris-de-coeur from the feed’s more
opinionated characters: Wake up, sheeple! If you’re not paying for the product,
you are the product — remember? Quit
Facebook! Encrypt your data! Smash your phone under the heel of your
steel-toed boots!
Next,
right on cue, the incisive social commentators swoop in to remind us that these
calls are coming from inside the house. “Pretty ironic that you’re posting all
this stuff on Facebook!” To which everyone silently rolls their eyes in
resignation. Cue the gallows humor about how we’re all under constant
surveillance, rinse and repeat. The human condition’s same old two-step. Sound
and fury, signifying nothing.
right on cue, the incisive social commentators swoop in to remind us that these
calls are coming from inside the house. “Pretty ironic that you’re posting all
this stuff on Facebook!” To which everyone silently rolls their eyes in
resignation. Cue the gallows humor about how we’re all under constant
surveillance, rinse and repeat. The human condition’s same old two-step. Sound
and fury, signifying nothing.
That this
discursive cycle was triggered by the revelations earlier this year that voter
profiling company Cambridge
Analytica obtained the Facebook data of 50 million American accounts
is beside the point.
discursive cycle was triggered by the revelations earlier this year that voter
profiling company Cambridge
Analytica obtained the Facebook data of 50 million American accounts
is beside the point.
This is
only the latest in a long series of such leaks about data mining. In 2017,
approximately 200 million registered voters’ personal data stored by voter
profiling company Deep Root Analytics was accidentally
made public. The previous year, Russian
hackers accessed a large cache of voter information owned by the
Democratic National Committee.
only the latest in a long series of such leaks about data mining. In 2017,
approximately 200 million registered voters’ personal data stored by voter
profiling company Deep Root Analytics was accidentally
made public. The previous year, Russian
hackers accessed a large cache of voter information owned by the
Democratic National Committee.
Facebook
CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies on Capitol Hill on April 11, 2018 about the use
of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election and data
privacy. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies on Capitol Hill on April 11, 2018 about the use
of Facebook data to target American voters in the 2016 election and data
privacy. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
What this
latest go-round is revealing is that these are industry practices that will
carry on undisturbed, regardless of what Mark Zuckerberg says or does.
This is not a Zuckerberg problem anymore; it’s a problem with an advertising
model that is the industry standard.
latest go-round is revealing is that these are industry practices that will
carry on undisturbed, regardless of what Mark Zuckerberg says or does.
This is not a Zuckerberg problem anymore; it’s a problem with an advertising
model that is the industry standard.
Most of
us Facebook users have been on the platform for about a decade, and perhaps our
outrage is our growing pains.
us Facebook users have been on the platform for about a decade, and perhaps our
outrage is our growing pains.
We’ve
gained some critical distance through time spent on the platform. We are less
easily distracted by the ostensible fun the platform offers. And we appear to
be compelled to ask questions about Facebook we’ve never asked before.
gained some critical distance through time spent on the platform. We are less
easily distracted by the ostensible fun the platform offers. And we appear to
be compelled to ask questions about Facebook we’ve never asked before.
Must ask
different questions
different questions
Fenwick
McKelvey, co-director of the Media History Research Centre at
Concordia University’s Milieux
Institute for Art, Culture and Technology, wishes that the media
would start asking different questions about how data is being used by
platforms like Facebook.
McKelvey, co-director of the Media History Research Centre at
Concordia University’s Milieux
Institute for Art, Culture and Technology, wishes that the media
would start asking different questions about how data is being used by
platforms like Facebook.
“The
media narrative still assumes that the goal of these platforms (like Facebook)
is to expose people to information,” McKelvey told me. “But it’s less and less
about that — the goal is to manage and control people’s behaviour.”
media narrative still assumes that the goal of these platforms (like Facebook)
is to expose people to information,” McKelvey told me. “But it’s less and less
about that — the goal is to manage and control people’s behaviour.”
Among the
urgent questions media commentators should be asking, McKelvey believes, is how
online advertisers are deploying user data to subtly nudge people. He provides
the illustrative example of SnapChat — a company
with relatively strong privacy settings in place — that leaks data
to advertisers with dizzying granularity that reflects the industry standard.
urgent questions media commentators should be asking, McKelvey believes, is how
online advertisers are deploying user data to subtly nudge people. He provides
the illustrative example of SnapChat — a company
with relatively strong privacy settings in place — that leaks data
to advertisers with dizzying granularity that reflects the industry standard.
Through
SnapChat’s protocols, your phone informs advertisers how much time passes
between the moment you’re served one of their ads and the moment you make a
purchase at their business, either online or in person.
SnapChat’s protocols, your phone informs advertisers how much time passes
between the moment you’re served one of their ads and the moment you make a
purchase at their business, either online or in person.
Every
time you walk into a retailer with your phone’s location services on, you are
leaking data about your consumption habits.
time you walk into a retailer with your phone’s location services on, you are
leaking data about your consumption habits.
Perhaps
we should be burrowing even deeper into Facebook’s business practices.
we should be burrowing even deeper into Facebook’s business practices.
Facebook
tends to rely on the fact that most of its data collection practices are laid
bare in its terms of service. But according to Martin
French, an assistant professor of sociology at Concordia, Facebook’s
notion of “consent” is flimsy at best.
tends to rely on the fact that most of its data collection practices are laid
bare in its terms of service. But according to Martin
French, an assistant professor of sociology at Concordia, Facebook’s
notion of “consent” is flimsy at best.
Most
unaware of how their data is being used
unaware of how their data is being used
“Facebook
reportedly changed its policies after 2015 to stop app developers accessing
information on app users’ network. But for me the question is: Are Facebook
users, in the real world, actually aware of the changing ways their data is
being used, and the policies that purportedly govern these uses?” wonders
French.
reportedly changed its policies after 2015 to stop app developers accessing
information on app users’ network. But for me the question is: Are Facebook
users, in the real world, actually aware of the changing ways their data is
being used, and the policies that purportedly govern these uses?” wonders
French.
French
posits that based on
research that has been done on who
reads and understands social media privacy policies, most users are
unaware of how their data is actually being used. The “consent” that Facebook
is talking about when they refer to an agreement with their users is not really
a kind of consent that conforms to any dictionary definition of that term.
posits that based on
research that has been done on who
reads and understands social media privacy policies, most users are
unaware of how their data is actually being used. The “consent” that Facebook
is talking about when they refer to an agreement with their users is not really
a kind of consent that conforms to any dictionary definition of that term.
The
consensus among social scientists who study life online is that whatever
dynamics play out online have offline analogs.
consensus among social scientists who study life online is that whatever
dynamics play out online have offline analogs.
We’ve had
a decade to incorporate Facebook into our lives, and like any learning process,
our success with it has been uneven.
a decade to incorporate Facebook into our lives, and like any learning process,
our success with it has been uneven.
We’re at
a critical moment as users of Facebook. It’s our responsibility to educate
ourselves about the implications of our participation. Deactivating our
accounts won’t change how our personal data is valued to advertisers.
a critical moment as users of Facebook. It’s our responsibility to educate
ourselves about the implications of our participation. Deactivating our
accounts won’t change how our personal data is valued to advertisers.
But
perhaps, as we become mature users of social media, we can begin to demand that
limits be set on how and when our data is bought and sold.
perhaps, as we become mature users of social media, we can begin to demand that
limits be set on how and when our data is bought and sold.
