My wife is on Facebook, but I’m not, and never will be, for the following reasons:
- No one outside my family has any reason to take any interest in the details of my life;
- While the use of the internet inevitably leads to some loss of privacy, Facebook takes that to a whole new level;
- Facebook’s business model requires them to sell information you would ordinarily think is confidential for a profit, which means that any reforms on their part can only be nibbling around the edges; and
- The “like” feature encourages unhealthy competition and imposes conformity within groups, both of which can lead to depression, particularly among teenagers.
The power of social media by the government to enforce both legal and informal norms has barely been explored, but you have to believe it will happen. Imagine that you live in China and Xi is on a Chinese service similar to Facebook. Wouldn’t you be afraid not to be his friend? Wouldn’t you be afraid not to be on record liking his postings?
1984 is on the horizon, but I don’t plan to be a part of it.