I really don’t mean to roll with another Facebook rant here today, but I can’t help myself because I’ve arrived at a conclusion:
Facebook is exactly like when my Dad got a PC.
My Dad was over 70 when he got his first PC. Living about an hour drive from most of us, he thought the whole email thing was MAGIC! But the primary problem was that no matter how many times I told him not to click on suspicious email links, and no matter how many times I explained that Norton Anti-Virus had to be updated, he was in a constant state of either infected or about to be infected. I kept a spare computer for him. About every three months I would go switch them out… set him up with a clean start and bring the other system home to clean it up.
Facebook is the same because no matter how many times you try to tell people they should read before posting garbage as fact, they do it anyway. This morning I look at my news feed and it’s nothing but “turn your Facebook page pink” and “share this photo of this grotesquely bloated baby and Facebook will donate 42.5 cents to help with its healthcare,” and even “go to my name but don’t click and scroll down and do this and then do that and then post this big bunch of crap as your status and type done or I will delete you as my friend.” ::sigh::
Facebook is a playground for people who have little computer skills because it’s easy enough to figure out how to get around and find out what “friends” are doing. The vast number of accounts makes Facebook attractive to scams, hoaxes and trolls. And with all the Facebook ads, it’s hard for a novice to discern the scammer ads from the FB allowed ones. (Try to wish someone a happy birthday for crying out loud! You’ll get an in-your-face “GIVE A GIFT” sponsored ad that indicates what type of gift your ‘friend’ really wants — anything from Starbucks to socks.)
Just like my 70 year-old Dad who just wanted that online connection… so very many Facebook users fall prey to a lot of undesirable apps, scams and hoaxes.