Fuck Facebook and all centralized social media platforms. I’ve had it with all of them. The thought police have come to roost, and they have names.
Facebook - The older adult’s platform full of ads, spies, Trump supporters, and Russians
Twitter - The celebrity platform meant for spamming fans
LinkedIn - The corporate shill’s platform meant for spamming their services.
Instagram - The young girl’s platform meant for spamming their cleavage.
YouTube - The overstimulation platform meant to glue you to ads 24/7
WhatsApp - The low-Internet platform purchased by Facebook to spread its tentacles further
TikTok - The social trainwreck, now with more overstimulation! ™️
I could go on, but I won’t, so enjoy plenty of other centralized timesinks.
I’ll summarize what’s wrong with these platforms, why I use them out of necessity, and why I’m removing them from my life. If you love these platforms, keep using them, but keep this in mind as you use them.
Facebook is the undisputed king of social networking. I won’t go into the history; that’s old news, but I will go into its bullshit user experience.
Ever since the government pressured Facebook to censor users, things have devolved. Facebook bans people from speaking their minds for tormenting scorpions. I reveal that story several headings down.
Facebook shouldn’t police people in an automated fashion because they can’t manage intelligence. It’s humanly impossible and fraught with peril.
Count me out of a future automated society that interprets the rule of law. There’s a reason a human is behind the bench in a courthouse.
I’m still salty about the few automated speeding & red light tickets I’ve received in the past.
Twitter(X)
Shitter|Xitter; the pile of human garbage that has turned everyone into dopamine-saturated nutbags. I started using Twitter for social media marketing because I’m writing software that manages it without BS, like Hootsuite and other over-priced solutions.
I regret using Twitter because I started using it to keep an eye on insane Trump Republicans to avoid being caught in a civil war. I’m now a bit addicted, so hopefully, my new social destination won’t make me feel like I need a twelve-step program.
I find LinkedIn less shitty than all the social networks, but it’s shitty. Most people show up to market the living crap out of you. People put perfectly polished profiles with stuffed keywords and marketsplaining, making me want to hurl.
I’m on LinkedIn to network, not to shove my persona down everyone’s throat.
Check out LinkedInLunatics to peel the onion.
No, just no. 📸
YouTube
It’s propaganda, ugly behavior, and other trash, but it helped me install my light switches! It has redeeming features, even Facebook does, but life is all pros & cons. In the case of YouTube, the only pro is that which shares their divine wisdom. Don’t get me started on QAnon and the rabbit hole of doom.
I barely use it, so I don’t care to talk about it much. Facebook owns it, so it’s dead to me.
TikTok
I hate snuggies and selfie sticks. I consider both of them portends of the downfall of human civilization. TikTok is worse than both, and I’m pretty sure we’re fucked.
Centralized Solutions
Centralized solutions are convenient, especially for people that collect power like Pokemon cards.
If you trust centralized power, we’re good. If you don’t, it’s bullshit.
Facebook holds all the cards, and they only care about collecting us like Pokemon cards worth an obscene amount of money.
Arbitrary Jail
I’ve faced bans for skirting rules. I like rules, as long as they’re not bullshit. In the case of Facebook, the rules are bullshit.
Keywords like torment and child are considered hate speech. I agree that they can be, except when you’re talking about a fucking scorpion.
🦂 SCORPION LIVES MATTER!!! 🦂
Context also matters, so fuck Facebook since they automated away my connections with friends.
Nobody puts Baby in a corner! What the FUCK is this shit?
I rarely see anything from friends and vice versa, so this isn’t an impactful punishment, but REALLY?! Are we suddenly children because we typed a keyphrase the Facebook overlords don’t like?
Again, FUCK FACEBOOK!
Alternatives
Nostr
Nostr is a decentralized Twitter(X). Use this platform if you want to flip off Musk and any other dumbass that thinks they control the world. People like Jack, who built Twitter, are on it; why aren’t you?
Mastodon
Mastodon is part of the Fediverse, and it’s rapidly growing.
Counter Social
It has a reasonable TOS though it’s a fork of Mastodon, so it’s counter-social to open source but fork away, I suppose!
CounterSocial allows you to flag content as sensitive media to express yourself instead of getting a ban hammer. It also detects DeepFakes, which is a bonus.
Friendica
Friendica is an open-source Facebook-like clone connected to the Fediverse. It’s less Twitteresque and appears feature complete, though it doesn’t replace Facebook groups.
Conclusion
I’ll keep this post updated as I continue exploring social app alternatives. I’m glad Facebook pushed me off their shithole platform. I’m now removing the Facebook login dependencies I created because I was lazy. I usually use Google, another questionable centralized service, but at least they aren’t Failbook.
Fuck YOU, FACEBOOK!!!
Updates
Since I left Facebook, they added more bullshit to the pile.
Two more neat restrictions; check this shit out. The fun police believe a joke is dangerous! I’ll never understand this bullshit.
