I’m not posting on Facebook anyone. Well actually, that’s not strictly true, I AM posting but only on my professional profile.
Why am I not posting on my personal profile on Facebook?
It’s multiple reasons really:
- Data protection and security.
- I don’t want everyone knowing everything about me.
- To save on all those ” …you said on Facebook that…” arguments/discussions
Data protection and security reasons for not posting on Facebook
Since the Cambridge Analytica Data scandal it’s quite clear that so many companies are now using our data to profile us… No I’m not talking about profiling me specifically, there’s tons of information about me online already so I’m not bothered about that… What I am bothered about is large organisations and/or governments being able to influence opinion based upon their data mining capabilities.
Data mining of this nature is able to influence our opinion, whether we like it or not. If our data is online and the company perceives us as being within a certain demographic then we are more likely to see adverts which can influence our opinion. We are all susceptible to it whether we like it or not.
I strongly disagree with this, we should be able to make our own decision about which political party to vote for, for example… But the reality is, these data mining businesses make a huge amount of money out of understanding how to influence us, and then selling that understanding to governments and big business.
I just want out!
I don’t want everyone knowing everything about me
Of course, we can always choose what we share on social media, but it’s been bugging me for a while but I’ve had a habit of checking in to places and letting people know where I am… If we think about it, what a strange habit!
We seem to have generated a culture where it’s okay to tell people we are at home, and then it’s okay to tell people we are out. It seems like an open invitation to be burgled, or worse!
It was only recently that a Manchester dentist was robbed at knifepoint in his own home, he himself says:
“I don’t want to change who I am, but my view of life has altered. I’m thinking, ‘should I sell my cars or stop buying nice watches because I’m putting my family at risk?’.”
My opinion is that he shouldn’t stop buying these things, he’s worked hard to get where he is and to have an income that can afford these luxuries… There’s no reason for him to stop at all! There is however a culture of sharing all of this wealth on social media (I’m not suggesting this dentist did this)… And that’s what I think needs to stop.*
This culture of photographing what we have, what we are doing and where we are can, in my opinion lead to extreme jealousy and problems… Couple that with the fact that there is a culture of letting people know when we are at home or not and we have a rather toxic mix.
This may or may not have been a factor in this crime, but you know what, I’m not going to take that chance!
Saving on all ‘those’ discussions
It’s happened to me recently a few times where people have said “I see you are going to X event on Facebook”, followed by a comment like “You told me you couldn’t lecture for me, how come you are going to this event instead?”. There are always genuine reasons for these misunderstandings, I may turn down a lecture invitation, give that person the genuine reason but still click ‘going’ on an event on Facebook when I’m not actually going… Do people realise that Facebook isn’t real? Just because we say we are going to an event doesn’t actually mean we are!
Living a life like this in public, to be honest, is getting on my nerves!
To summarise, Facebook is just getting on my tits from a personal perspective.
Doing business on Facebook
Having said all of that, doing business on Facebook using a page as a public figure profile is working fabulously. I don’t check in, I don’t take photographs of where I am but I do talk about things which interest me and do everything I can to help dentists attract more patients… And that really has now become the purpose and role of Facebook for me.
Facebook for Business.
Facebook for Personal.
TTFN
* I’m not suggesting or insinuating that this burglary had anything to do directly with Facebook or social media, or that this individual did anything wrong.