3 ms·
You are assuming that Facebook is intrinsically negative, which is not always the case. It certainly has its pros and cons. For example, my parents use FB to fi
by jpamata 8y ago
You are assuming that Facebook is intrinsically negative, which is not always the case. It certainly has its pros and cons. For example, my parents use FB to find and connect with old friends from grade school. Some use it to know about local events. Some use it to promote their business or their fledgling indie band.
Aside from this, in my home country, the Philippines, SMS & telephone services are expensive. Being a 3rd world archipelago country, infrastructure in the provinces is so bad that cabled & optic internet is not available for a lot of people. Facebook is a gem in my country in that they provide free internet for anyone utilising FB's services with a smartphone (you can buy cheap 2nd hand android phones there for less than $20). The folks here use FB's services to keep themselves updated with the world as well as to call/chat. It's a great way to connect and recently people don't even memorise their phone numbers anymore and instead, people ask each other for their facebook.
- kavalg 8y agoSounds useful, but also like a large scale social experiment :)
- jpamata 8y agoAh yes, that's the problem the country is having right now. Too many people are getting too dependent on facebook that it's becoming a playground for fake news and propaganda campaigns[0]. [0] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-12-07/how-rodrigo-duterte-turned-facebook-into-a-weapon-with-a-little-help-from-facebook https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-12-07/how-rodri...
- herbst 8y agoHonestly this sounds super evil. By providing free access they essentially eliminate all the (better) alternatives while having a steadily high artificial usage rate.
- jpamata 8y agoI believe it's one of the reasons why India is rejecting free FB. Unlike India, the Philippine infrastructure is fragmented and offers little to no better alternatives which is why most are welcoming them in the country.