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People still use them because there are often significant consequences to not using them. Not using Facebook can often mean some level of social ostracism, miss

People still use them because there are often significant consequences to not using them. Not using Facebook can often mean some level of social ostracism, missing out on important moments from family and friends. Not using Google means not being able to collaborate with people using Docs, not watching videos your friends send you, and so on. They're almost like public utilities, and saying "you use Facebook so you must not actually care about privacy" is like saying "you rely on the police, so you most not actually care about cases of police brutality."

morganvachon 10y ago
> They're almost like public utilities, and saying "you use Facebook so you must not actually care about privacy" is like saying "you rely on the police, so you most not actually care about cases of police brutality." While I agree that they are like public utilities in many ways, I think your analogy is grossly flawed. For Facebook and Google to do what we want them to, they have no choice but to constantly invade our privacy. The very features we desire most from them are directly related to and tied to our personal information. By contrast, a police department absolutely does not require a single officer to commit violent crimes in order for them to keep the peace, arrest criminals, and protect the public.
Arizhel 10y ago
>They're almost like public utilities, and saying "you use Facebook so you must not actually care about privacy" is like saying "you rely on the police, so you most not actually care about cases of police brutality." False equivalence. Facebook is NOT a public utility, despite your assertion. The police are. The police are paid for by your taxes (plus traffic fines...), and are part of your local government. You can vote for your local governmental leaders, who have control over the local police. Facebook is a private corporation with voluntary membership. It is not part of government, you have no say over it whatsoever aside from "voting with your feet", and you can't even compare it to actual public utilities like your local CableCo that you probably get your internet service from, or the cellular provider you get your phone and mobile data service from. It's not a utility, so it's not subject to any real regulation the way that utilities are in theory. It's entirely an optional, voluntary service. So a better analogy is "'you use Facebook so you must not actually care about privacy' is like saying 'you drive a giant jacked-up pickup truck with gigantic wheels and commute 100 miles/day in it, so you must not actually care about the environment', or, "...'you participate in illegal dog-fighting and cock-fighting activities, so you must not actually care about animal rights and welfare'". Facebook is not a utility, it's not a necessary service at all. You have the choice to use it, or not, just like you have the choice to subscribe to cable TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc. or to use other web services like YouTube, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL, or MySpace. (There's actually people who still use those last 3!) If your social circle has a problem with you not using AOL and MySpace and Yahoo! Mail, then maybe you need some better friends. Same goes for Facebook.

morganvachon 10y ago

> They're almost like public utilities, and saying "you use Facebook so you must not actually care about privacy" is like saying "you rely on the police, so you most not actually care about cases of police brutality." While I agree that they are like public utilities in many ways, I think your analogy is grossly flawed. For Facebook and Google to do what we want them to, they have no choice but to constantly invade our privacy. The very features we desire most from them are directly related to and tied to our personal information. By contrast, a police department absolutely does not require a single officer to commit violent crimes in order for them to keep the peace, arrest criminals, and protect the public.

Arizhel 10y ago

>They're almost like public utilities, and saying "you use Facebook so you must not actually care about privacy" is like saying "you rely on the police, so you most not actually care about cases of police brutality." False equivalence. Facebook is NOT a public utility, despite your assertion. The police are. The police are paid for by your taxes (plus traffic fines...), and are part of your local government. You can vote for your local governmental leaders, who have control over the local police. Facebook is a private corporation with voluntary membership. It is not part of government, you have no say over it whatsoever aside from "voting with your feet", and you can't even compare it to actual public utilities like your local CableCo that you probably get your internet service from, or the cellular provider you get your phone and mobile data service from. It's not a utility, so it's not subject to any real regulation the way that utilities are in theory. It's entirely an optional, voluntary service. So a better analogy is "'you use Facebook so you must not actually care about privacy' is like saying 'you drive a giant jacked-up pickup truck with gigantic wheels and commute 100 miles/day in it, so you must not actually care about the environment', or, "...'you participate in illegal dog-fighting and cock-fighting activities, so you must not actually care about animal rights and welfare'". Facebook is not a utility, it's not a necessary service at all. You have the choice to use it, or not, just like you have the choice to subscribe to cable TV, Netflix, Hulu, etc. or to use other web services like YouTube, Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, AOL, or MySpace. (There's actually people who still use those last 3!) If your social circle has a problem with you not using AOL and MySpace and Yahoo! Mail, then maybe you need some better friends. Same goes for Facebook.