Alan Chau
Staff Writer '19
Looking past all the petty status updates, Like hungry cooking video clickbait, and relentless Candy Crush invites, there may be something genuinely wrong -and perhaps even frightening- about social media sites like Facebook. Facebook, whatever may be said about its veritable aspirations as a social media platform, deformed into a mass marketing corporation working in ulterior motives operating under the guise of being a social media.
At a first glance, free sites like Facebook seem harmless even inviting; but underneath that user friendly blue layout is a large corporation with greedy intentions. To many, Facebook seems like a “free” website but that is cannot be farther from the truth. Instead of paying with money, you pay with your very identity. When users go to use the site, Facebook logs their every online action. With this data, Facebook puts together a profile detailed to the brim of who you are, selling this information to big corporation advertisers willing to pay the money to learn how to better pander to potential customers. Utilizing things like your search history, Facebook keeps tabs on everything; everything from your habits and preferences to little nuances like risk-tolerance and sexuality. This inner system creates one of the most personally invasive advertising schemes ever devised.
It’s no surprise that sites like Facebook regularly stores and analyzes personal data from their users, but unbeknownst to many users, Facebook has knowledge of what ads users see and partners with firms that take steps in actively monitoring said users and rating their effectiveness. This system rates not only how effective ads are, but also how susceptible certain demographics of people are to ad campaigns. In other words, Facebook uses its “social media site” to determine individuals vulnerable to advertisements and targets them to make a profit; it is a marketing superpower, used primarily to snoop and survey potential customers and use them as guinea pigs for mass marketing schemes.
For all the wicked things Facebook does under one’s nose, there is no doubt that there are merits to the site. Admittedly I am a sucker for Facebook. Much like any other mouth breather, I just gobble up anything Zuckerberg throws at me - no matter how blatant the ulterior motives may be. Though Facebook may ultimately be a glorified marketing survey, it’s pretty good as a social media site as well.
But for those truly scared by Facebook’s underlying motives, there is only one way to combat this mass invasion of privacy. Delete your account. Seriously. None of the privacy settings do anything to prevent Facebook from acquiring information. Delete your account. Do it.
All in all, Facebook is a site that actively invades users privacy and acts only in the interests of greed and acquisitiveness; but, hey, it’s fun to use.
Staff Writer '19
Looking past all the petty status updates, Like hungry cooking video clickbait, and relentless Candy Crush invites, there may be something genuinely wrong -and perhaps even frightening- about social media sites like Facebook. Facebook, whatever may be said about its veritable aspirations as a social media platform, deformed into a mass marketing corporation working in ulterior motives operating under the guise of being a social media.
At a first glance, free sites like Facebook seem harmless even inviting; but underneath that user friendly blue layout is a large corporation with greedy intentions. To many, Facebook seems like a “free” website but that is cannot be farther from the truth. Instead of paying with money, you pay with your very identity. When users go to use the site, Facebook logs their every online action. With this data, Facebook puts together a profile detailed to the brim of who you are, selling this information to big corporation advertisers willing to pay the money to learn how to better pander to potential customers. Utilizing things like your search history, Facebook keeps tabs on everything; everything from your habits and preferences to little nuances like risk-tolerance and sexuality. This inner system creates one of the most personally invasive advertising schemes ever devised.
It’s no surprise that sites like Facebook regularly stores and analyzes personal data from their users, but unbeknownst to many users, Facebook has knowledge of what ads users see and partners with firms that take steps in actively monitoring said users and rating their effectiveness. This system rates not only how effective ads are, but also how susceptible certain demographics of people are to ad campaigns. In other words, Facebook uses its “social media site” to determine individuals vulnerable to advertisements and targets them to make a profit; it is a marketing superpower, used primarily to snoop and survey potential customers and use them as guinea pigs for mass marketing schemes.
For all the wicked things Facebook does under one’s nose, there is no doubt that there are merits to the site. Admittedly I am a sucker for Facebook. Much like any other mouth breather, I just gobble up anything Zuckerberg throws at me - no matter how blatant the ulterior motives may be. Though Facebook may ultimately be a glorified marketing survey, it’s pretty good as a social media site as well.
But for those truly scared by Facebook’s underlying motives, there is only one way to combat this mass invasion of privacy. Delete your account. Seriously. None of the privacy settings do anything to prevent Facebook from acquiring information. Delete your account. Do it.
All in all, Facebook is a site that actively invades users privacy and acts only in the interests of greed and acquisitiveness; but, hey, it’s fun to use.