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OK, random thought experiment. As someone without a facebook it's hard for me to evaluate, but how much damage would really be caused if facebook just disappear

OK, random thought experiment. As someone without a facebook it's hard for me to evaluate, but how much damage would really be caused if facebook just disappeared one day?

underseacables 5y ago
Absolutely zero. People would find another way to communicate, socialize, or whatever. The loss of Facebook would be a loss of jobs and income for people, but that’s it. Facebook serves no positive purpose in society, and it seems the best thing a person can do, is to delete their Facebook account.
- AlexTWithBeard 5y ago
  1. Lots of information will disappear. Vast majority of it will be garbage, but occasional jewels in the mud will get thrown away as well. 2. S&P 500 will go down 2.5% the very instant FB disappears. Further consequences for financial markets are hard to predict.
  - nixpulvis 5y ago
    I was more thinking about the facebook groups. Where would they go? Discord? Meetup? Some new aggregator? Would anything actually improve?
    - bmarquez 5y ago
      I'm seeing more of my Facebook groups move to Telegram chat rooms or channels.
- SquareWheel 5y ago
  Zero damage? No way. Millions of people would lose contact with friends and family that they have no other connections with. Companies that depend on Facebook advertising would disappear. People would be locked out of OAuth accounts on thousands of websites. It would be catastrophic.
  - williamscales 5y ago
    > Millions of people would lose contact with friends and family that they have no other connections with. Not at all. > Companies that depend on Facebook advertising would disappear. Good. > People would be locked out of OAuth accounts on thousands of websites. OK? If you were federating your auth via Facebook it was only a matter of time until you were locked out for one arbitrary reason or another. This just seems like an acceleration of a good thing. > It would be catastrophic. From your perspective, I can see that. But there are other perspectives out that that are not completely beholden to Facebook.
    - SquareWheel 5y ago
      That is such a Hacker News answer. Some people rely on their relationships with other people. They build support systems, form groups, and take comfort in the company of others. Being cut off suddenly and with no means to reconnect would isolate many people. This would be extremely damaging from a mental health perspective alone. In addition, so many people have reconnected with old friends, family, teachers. One friend of mine used Facebook to find her birth parents. That avenue disappears completely. I don't know why you would say it's "good" for these companies to disappear. These aren't megacorps. It's small, local companies that rely on FB advertising. Bed and breakfasts, wineries, anything that depends on tourism. They're always hit the hardest. Walmart isn't going to care if they can't advertise on FB anymore. Your comment shows a lack-of-understanding and compassion for your fellow human.
      - telxos 5y ago
        Actual research shows the opposite effect on mental health from what you are saying. When you don't have Facebook your friends and family just txt or email. I mean Facebook book hasn't even been around that long. To pretend it is something like water or electricity is just preposterous.
        SquareWheel 5y ago
        Many do not text or email, they use Facebook's messaging system. They would not even have the information required to connect elsewhere. There is also a huge difference between people making the decision to stop using social networking, and being suddenly and unexpectedly cut off from a support network. The former can have positive effects on mental health, the latter will certainly not. I say this as somebody who deleted their Facebook account over a decade ago.
ddvvff 5y ago
A lot of small businesses thrive on Facebook pages, restaurants too, at least in my country. Those would go under fast
- ascagnel_ 5y ago
  Facebook has taken up much of the local classifieds business that Craigslist took from local newspapers 15-20 years ago. For me, the most effective directory of contractors is through Facebook. I hate it, because Facebook does a bad job of building and presenting that directory, but it's the largest and most relevant one.
- AnimalMuppet 5y ago
  Would they? If I'm looking for a restaurant, and Facebook suddenly disappeared, I'd still be looking for a restaurant. I just would have to use Google Maps or something to find one.
  - specialist 5y ago
    I find it absolutely crazy that neither google maps or yelp can use location (geofencing) as part of their "relevant results" algos. (This might have improved since my last road trip, late 2019. YMMV)
  - ddvvff 5y ago
    Many times they don't work from a physical location, they do, but a phone number is harder to keep track of than Facebook messages
tuankiet65 5y ago
Facebook going down means losing contact with my friends overseas. I myself am studying as an international student, and many of my former classmates are studying in another countries as well. Messenger (and consequently Facebook) is pretty much the place that people in my home country hang out at.
- specialist 5y ago
  Is Messenger a vector for misinformation? (I've never seen or used it.)
  - tuankiet65 5y ago
    Maybe? Messenger is just an instant messaging platform like iMessage or Whatsapp. Technically speaking you can stumble upon group chats that disseminate misinformation, but Messenger doesn't show you group chat recommendations like Facebook.

OK, random thought experiment. As someone without a facebook it's hard for me to evaluate, but how much damage would really be caused if facebook just disappeared one day?

underseacables 5y ago

Absolutely zero. People would find another way to communicate, socialize, or whatever. The loss of Facebook would be a loss of jobs and income for people, but that’s it. Facebook serves no positive purpose in society, and it seems the best thing a person can do, is to delete their Facebook account.

AlexTWithBeard 5y ago
1. Lots of information will disappear. Vast majority of it will be garbage, but occasional jewels in the mud will get thrown away as well. 2. S&P 500 will go down 2.5% the very instant FB disappears. Further consequences for financial markets are hard to predict.
- nixpulvis 5y ago
  I was more thinking about the facebook groups. Where would they go? Discord? Meetup? Some new aggregator? Would anything actually improve?
  - bmarquez 5y ago
    I'm seeing more of my Facebook groups move to Telegram chat rooms or channels.
SquareWheel 5y ago
Zero damage? No way. Millions of people would lose contact with friends and family that they have no other connections with. Companies that depend on Facebook advertising would disappear. People would be locked out of OAuth accounts on thousands of websites. It would be catastrophic.
- williamscales 5y ago
  > Millions of people would lose contact with friends and family that they have no other connections with. Not at all. > Companies that depend on Facebook advertising would disappear. Good. > People would be locked out of OAuth accounts on thousands of websites. OK? If you were federating your auth via Facebook it was only a matter of time until you were locked out for one arbitrary reason or another. This just seems like an acceleration of a good thing. > It would be catastrophic. From your perspective, I can see that. But there are other perspectives out that that are not completely beholden to Facebook.
  - SquareWheel 5y ago
    That is such a Hacker News answer. Some people rely on their relationships with other people. They build support systems, form groups, and take comfort in the company of others. Being cut off suddenly and with no means to reconnect would isolate many people. This would be extremely damaging from a mental health perspective alone. In addition, so many people have reconnected with old friends, family, teachers. One friend of mine used Facebook to find her birth parents. That avenue disappears completely. I don't know why you would say it's "good" for these companies to disappear. These aren't megacorps. It's small, local companies that rely on FB advertising. Bed and breakfasts, wineries, anything that depends on tourism. They're always hit the hardest. Walmart isn't going to care if they can't advertise on FB anymore. Your comment shows a lack-of-understanding and compassion for your fellow human.
    - telxos 5y ago
      Actual research shows the opposite effect on mental health from what you are saying. When you don't have Facebook your friends and family just txt or email. I mean Facebook book hasn't even been around that long. To pretend it is something like water or electricity is just preposterous.
      - SquareWheel 5y ago
        Many do not text or email, they use Facebook's messaging system. They would not even have the information required to connect elsewhere. There is also a huge difference between people making the decision to stop using social networking, and being suddenly and unexpectedly cut off from a support network. The former can have positive effects on mental health, the latter will certainly not. I say this as somebody who deleted their Facebook account over a decade ago.

ddvvff 5y ago

A lot of small businesses thrive on Facebook pages, restaurants too, at least in my country. Those would go under fast

ascagnel_ 5y ago
Facebook has taken up much of the local classifieds business that Craigslist took from local newspapers 15-20 years ago. For me, the most effective directory of contractors is through Facebook. I hate it, because Facebook does a bad job of building and presenting that directory, but it's the largest and most relevant one.
AnimalMuppet 5y ago
Would they? If I'm looking for a restaurant, and Facebook suddenly disappeared, I'd still be looking for a restaurant. I just would have to use Google Maps or something to find one.
- specialist 5y ago
  I find it absolutely crazy that neither google maps or yelp can use location (geofencing) as part of their "relevant results" algos. (This might have improved since my last road trip, late 2019. YMMV)
- ddvvff 5y ago
  Many times they don't work from a physical location, they do, but a phone number is harder to keep track of than Facebook messages

tuankiet65 5y ago

Facebook going down means losing contact with my friends overseas. I myself am studying as an international student, and many of my former classmates are studying in another countries as well. Messenger (and consequently Facebook) is pretty much the place that people in my home country hang out at.

specialist 5y ago
Is Messenger a vector for misinformation? (I've never seen or used it.)
- tuankiet65 5y ago
  Maybe? Messenger is just an instant messaging platform like iMessage or Whatsapp. Technically speaking you can stumble upon group chats that disseminate misinformation, but Messenger doesn't show you group chat recommendations like Facebook.