Facebook; Or, What Zuckerberg Would Rather You Didn’t Know

Feb 15, 2012 by Sentinel

By Sully Thompson

Recently, I made a difficult choice in my life. I might even call it a milestone though I haven’t decided yet. I deleted my Facebook account. Shocking, preposterous? Have I gone mad? Quite possibly, and for a variety of reasons, but deleting my Facebook account is not among one of them. It is indeed rather one of the more rational and sane decisions I have made in my life. It hasn’t been long now since I made that fateful choice, and the long term ramifications remain to be fully seen. I already have found myself on the outside circuit, shunned and disconnected. I am no longer able to attend events because I cannot click Yes under the RSVP invitation. I no longer know what’s cool anymore because I cannot “Like” it. Is Weezer still relevant? I have no idea now because I cannot read the posts and comment on them. I can’t sit fully engaged in front of my computer screen and browse the newsfeeds. Will I ever be able to live with myself not knowing if Tim is drinking a Tim Horton’s coffee while studying for his midterm? That rich fiend could be drinking Starbucks! I will never know anymore. Have I perhaps made a grave mistake? A serious lapse in judgment?
No.
You see, I came to the conclusion that Facebook was taking over my life. Not only was this happening for me and most of the people I know, but this is exactly what Facebook wants. Facebook wants to know everything about you. Have you ever stopped to consider why it is free? It’s because they don’t need to charge a monthly membership fee and risk losing users. They make money is a very different way. It isn’t free because Mark Zuckerberg cares about you. What that crafty little weasel does care about is what you are saying, why you are saying it, and to whom. This is how Facebook, a company that offers a free service, is currently worth more than 50 billion US. It is a data mine. What is a data mine? Well, everything that every user has ever said, liked, or posted remains buried away forever. It is never truly deleted. Facebook can then sift through this information. They then sell this information to advertisers who target products at specific groups. It’s called targeted advertising, and it is Facebook’s speciality. Facebook knows everything about you and unlike the government, which also knows everything about you; there are no laws currently in place to stop Facebook from using any of that information in whatever way they please. This concerns me.