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Facebook didn't have to write this paper. They could have done the research and held onto it. They could have not bothered to do research at all. To me, this sa
by asteli 9y ago
Facebook didn't have to write this paper. They could have done the research and held onto it. They could have not bothered to do research at all. To me, this says that they're willing to do sociological research regarding the implications of their platform, and to share it publicly.
It might be an unpopular opinion, but I think this shows transparency, a certain sense of social responsibility, and at the top level some semblance of understanding of the scope of the effect they have on society.
- 659087 9y agoThey're also willing to perform mass psychological experiments on hundreds of thousands of people without consent. I suppose we should be thanking them for that as well? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/10932534/Facebook-conducted-secret-psychology-experiment-on-users-emotions.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/facebook/10932534/Face...
- asteli 9y agoEvery big website you use performs psychological experiments on millions of users without explicit consent. That's basic A/B testing. The difference here is that instead of A/B testing to see whether they can get you to click a button more, they tested to see how their platform, which has dramatically altered how people live and socialize, alters users emotional states. It's off-putting because people enjoy the illusion of unmolested free will, and don't understand the degree to which they're already being experimented on. That being said, the social and emotional health implications are too huge to leave things like this unresearched.
- b0rsuk 9y agoOr they're just so confident the product* won't care, because they're too heavily invested and can't imagine life without FB. * a.k.a. users