There are many times I log into Facebook and think, “Why do I even use this anymore?” When it seemed more popular and in a fad stage while in high school, I enjoyed using the social media site for the most part. At that time, it felt like the essential social networking site for connecting with my friends, posting witty statuses and updating people about news in my life. It still works for all these things, but today it feels very different. Now when I go on Facebook or start to post something, it’s almost always only to keep up with relatives I don’t see frequently.
I’m starting to resent how necessary it seems to have a Facebook. If I didn’t have one, I would almost definitely feel less connected with distant family members and friends. Seeing their pictures and keeping updated on news they might have is the only way I keep up with these people in my life.
The main reason I’m becoming less fond of the site is due to its downright creepy targeted advertising. Recently I was searching online for a dress for a formal occasion. Because of this search, specific dresses I had clicked on from many different sites all started showing up constantly in my news feed. Also, dresses that looked very similar from sites I didn’t even browse started to appear. Anyone who uses Facebook, which seems to be just about everyone, can probably think of having something similar happen.
When businesses start advertising on Facebook, they select which demographics they want their ads to target. Businesses use information collected from the site and through third-party sites to gain information about a person’s “relationship status, religion, ethnicity, yearly income, education, the type of phone you use, what type of political causes you donate to and when your auto insurance is set to expire.” It seems like every move you make online is being tracked and analyzed now.
Isn’t it rather unsettling that advertising on Facebook has come to this? And we eat it up and encourage it every time we click on suggested posts and ads that pop up.
As much as I’m coming to dislike Facebook more and more, at the same time I feel like I can’t get rid of it. When applying for jobs, many companies look at prospective applicants’ profiles. When you meet a new person, often you become friends on Facebook to keep in touch and get to know each other. I’d feel very out of the loop if I got rid of my profile. Also, a quiet stigma surrounds people who don’t use Facebook, as people generally think something odd about them. That sounds stupid, but think, for example, about when you got randomly assigned a roommate freshman year. When you found out the name of your new roommate, the first way of seeing who he or she was and what he or she likes was by searching for them on Facebook. If they were nowhere to be found, that seems worrisome and raised many questions.
It’s crazy and unsettling to think about how this social networking site plays into our lives and the purchases we make. Every time I log in, I think about how I wish it didn’t feel like such a necessity to have.
