Facebook and The Age Of Reason .....

[GURPS]

Facebook and the End of Thought




Surveys done by Facebook and other technology vendors have revealed that most smartphone users don’t like all-in-one apps, preferring separate apps that do one thing well, so they decided some time ago to take the most popular functions of Facebook and break them out as separate apps. Messaging apps are among the most popular on smartphones, so Facebook created a separate app for that purpose, and made it known some time ago that it would be shutting down that feature in the Facebook mobile app.

So why is this a story?


Users who didn’t already have Facebook Messenger installed began receiving notices that the messaging function in their main Facebook app would cease to work in a matter of weeks, and they would have to download the separate Messenger app in order to continue using that feature.

Subsequently, a alleged ‘technology writer’ – I won’t name him or link to his article because I think he was irresponsible in his reporting – penned a sensational article for the Huffington Post about the app. In it, he declared that Facebook Messenger requested permissions which would allow it to use your smartphone’s microphone and camera without your consent, and that its other permission requests were excessively invasive of your privacy.

The article went viral, local news outlets began broadcasting the story and, before you know it, people were describing Facebook Messenger in terms one would normally reserve for Skynet and Judgment Day. If the analogy escapes you, just ask one of your sci-fi loving friends!

The reaction bordered on paranoia, and seemingly rational people became overheated conspiracy theorists based on misleading information. I tried to correct the misinformation whenever a friend posted one of these screeds, but they were too numerous, and I eventually gave up.

 

[Lurk]

http://www.snopes.com/computer/facebook/messenger.asp

Since corrected?

And then further explained?

 

[b23hqb]

Facebook sucks, and is no less intrusive than the government spying on us. I have no pity for anyone that downloads apps without understanding what "rights" the apps designers have to devices utilizing such apps.

 

[FollowTheMoney]

http://www.snopes.com/computer/facebook/messenger.asp

Really? You and other people still believe this proven fake, non-investigative site, owned by a far left crazy couple?

And as for those apps. Get yourself a good permission manager application that will block everything that you don't want your others apps accessing.
It's as simple as that. That smart thing you have is a computer first and a phone second. The phone works because of an app. Treat that thing as a
computer and protect it.

 

[LibertyBeacon]

Really? You and other people still believe this proven fake, non-investigative site, owned by a far left crazy couple?

That's nothing. Lurk also believes satire is reality, and passes it off as such here. I bet she too considers herself part of the fully-informed voting block.

 

[LibertyBeacon]

Facebook sucks, and is no less intrusive than the government spying on us.

Terrible analogy. Government is not a choice. And while you are right to point out that consumers need to take responsibility to understand that when they are given something free of charge, they are NOT the "customer" -- they are the product being sold to (Facebook's, Twitter's, etc.) paying customers (advertisers, data aggregators, etc.). The other problem I have with your comments is the security APIs and settings are constantly changing and rarely documented adequately for non-technical, non-clueful consumers. Facehook is one of the most egregious offenders in this area. Facehook, in particular, also sells data to aggregators even if your data is "private".

Like everything else in life, it comes down to education.

 

[Lurk]

Really? You and other people still believe this proven fake, non-investigative site, owned by a far left crazy couple?

And as for those apps. Get yourself a good permission manager application that will block everything that you don't want your others apps accessing.
It's as simple as that. That smart thing you have is a computer first and a phone second. The phone works because of an app. Treat that thing as a
computer and protect it.

Just like stupid sheeple, you think adding an app to manage other apps is a good idea? Here, there's a bridge in New Mexico I can sell you cheap. It used to be in New York.

 

[Lurk]

That's nothing. Lurk also believes satire is reality, and passes it off as such here. I bet she too considers herself part of the fully-informed voting block.

Satire is always based in fact. But being a superficial hit-and-run reader, you'd not know that.

 

[GURPS]

 

[LibertyBeacon]

Satire is always based in fact.

Except it was not.

 

[Larry Gude]

Fascinating; From Facebook to why we ought to have more fealty to Christ in an article about the end of thought.

 

[GURPS]

Fascinating; From Facebook to why we ought to have more fealty to Christ in an article about the end of thought.

Focus your mind on nobler things.

I recall from my time on active duty a fellow intelligence officer who revealed to us that she avoided the evening news altogether, and instead spent her time reading good books and taking in only positive information. We ridiculed her at the time, declaring that it was our duty as intelligence officers to be constantly informed of the evil going on in the world, but she said she didn’t need to watch or read about it to know it’s there, and that if you relied solely on the news, you wouldn’t know there was anything good about life.

As I’ve grown older, however, and as my faith, which was essentially non-existent in my life at the time, grows, I have come to see the wisdom in her approach. One can immerse themselves in bad news to the point of despair, and some of us allow our emotions to be driven over the brink by political and social hyperbole.

One of the reasons we are so drawn to sensationalized links is because we want our biases to be confirmed, our enemies exposed, and our emotions stirred. That’s human nature – the old slogan “If it bleeds, it leads”, used often to describe the news industry’s apparent fixation on what psychologist Deborah Serani calls “fear-based media”, rings true in social media as well. Serani writes:

News is a money making industry. One that doesn’t always make the goal to report the facts accurately. Gone are the days of tuning in to be informed straightforwardly about local and national issues. In truth, watching the news can be a psychologically risky pursuit, which could undermine your mental and physical health.

Fear-based news stories prey on the anxieties we all have and then hold us hostage. Being glued to the television, reading the paper or surfing the Internet increases ratings and market shares – but it also raises the probability of depression relapse. In previous decades, the journalistic mission was to report the news as it actually happened, with fairness, balance, and integrity. However, capitalistic motives associated with journalism have forced much of today’s television news to look to the spectacular, the stirring, and the controversial as news stories. It’s no longer a race to break the story first or get the facts right. Instead, it’s to acquire good ratings in order to get advertisers, so that profits soar.​

:shrug:

perhaps - simply focus your mind on greater things, do not get caught up in the headlines ... as Sam says, you are always being manipulated

 

[Larry Gude]

:shrug:

perhaps - simply focus your mind on greater things, do not get caught up in the headlines ... as Sam says, you are always being manipulated

Or persuaded? Sam's thoughts on the subject inspired the other thread. I do not accept that we are always being manipulated. I believe there are ALWAYS manipulators out there but, I also believe there are plenty of persuaders as well.

 

[GURPS]

Or persuaded? Sam's thoughts on the subject inspired the other thread. I do not accept that we are always being manipulated. I believe there are ALWAYS manipulators out there but, I also believe there are plenty of persuaders as well.

I can agree with that ..
.. a headline catches your eye, maybe it is JUST the unvarnished truth, most of the time it is intentionality written to get your attention ...


I have this Greenpeace book [shocker I know]
I picked up in the 1990's about accidents [by decade] with nuclear power plants and weapons

no hype, or manipulation .... just basic facts about accidents

 

[GURPS]

Fascinating; From Facebook to why we ought to have more fealty to Christ in an article about the end of thought.

you must have been the only other one to read the article ....


the thread went right off the rails, like Ron's point about Facebook Messanger App and the misleading story

 

[Larry Gude]

I have this Greenpeace book [shocker I know] :

The only way you can really understand anything is by considering pro and con views in your own views and experiences.

 

[GURPS]

The only way you can really understand anything is by considering pro and con views in your own views and experiences.

indeed ... I just wanted book with a history of the accidents

I guess hyperbole was needed give the history of dumb mistakes in the last 60 yrs

 

[Salvador]

the history of dumb mistakes in the last 60 yrs

Your birth being one of them!

 

[Lurk]

Your birth being one of them!

It'll never top the murder of the dishwasher on your front lawn.

 

[SamSpade]

Or persuaded? Sam's thoughts on the subject inspired the other thread. I do not accept that we are always being manipulated. I believe there are ALWAYS manipulators out there but, I also believe there are plenty of persuaders as well.

Just because someone is manipulating you doesn't mean you're falling for it. My daughters are constantly trying to get Daddy to do something for them - doesn't mean I don't see right through their transparent schemes.

Forewarned is forearmed.
KNOWING someone's always trying to play you keeps you from being played. It's just hard to see when it plays into your worldview.