The Promise and Peril of Social Media

Facebook saves lives, at a great cost.

Facebook saves lives.  By using Facebook, I have learned of dogs and cats in need and I have been able to coordinate assistance to save them.  I have a business, Three Retrievers Lost Pet Rescue, where my dogs and I have been helpful in saving the lives of hundreds of cats and dogs, possibly thousands.  People learn about Three Retrievers through Facebook, mostly.  I am contacted by about 1,000 people every year, to help them find their lost pets, and at least 60% of those people find me through Facebook. Useless Bay Sanctuary is a nonprofit I started in 2013, and we specialize in helping stray dogs.  We help at least 100 dogs per year, and many of those dogs would not have survived without the assistance and expertise of UBS.  Useless Bay Sanctuary relies on donations to pay for the veterinary expenses of some of the dogs we find.  At least 80% of our funding comes from fundraisers on Facebook. Lost Dogs of King County is a Facebook group I started,  which helps reunite about 400 dogs every month.  Many of those dogs would not have survived without the help of this Facebook group.  Of course, the volunteer group Lost Dogs of King County is 100% reliant on Facebook.  In order to help pets, I am totally dependent on Facebook. One way or another, I spend about 100 hours a week helping lost cats and dogs, and almost all of that work is initiated or coordinated through Facebook.  If I didn’t have Facebook, I would probably not be able to continue helping lost cats and dogs.  I’d probably have to get a job driving for Uber or something.

That I spend so much time on Facebook and am so reliant on Facebook doesn’t mean I like Facebook or approve of their methods.  I don’t have a choice.  I have to use Facebook if I want to do the work that is important to me.  In fact, that’s one of the things I hate about Facebook, that they are a monopoly, and I have no choice but to use them.  The people I need to reach are there, and I couldn’t reach my target audience anywhere else.  Another thing I hate about Facebook is that it doesn’t work.  Most of the functions that are meant to be automatic don’t work at all for me.  I get notifications for things that happened days earlier, and I don’t get notifications at all for some important updates.  Critical information I need doesn’t reach me unless I make a habit of scrolling through important forums looking for updates.  Facebook has increased the amount of spam and fake accounts I have to sort through.  Many of the functions on Facebook don’t work at all, and I have to find a roundabout way to get to the information I need.  Their messenger app is a mess, and makes simple communications clunky and difficult.  For example, if someone sends me a picture, I can’t view it.  I have to download the picture and then view it in a separate app.  Their search function, which I really need, usually doesn’t work at all.  There are posts that I know exist, and Facebook won’t allow me to reach them through the search function, so I just have to scroll through the locations where I think the post might be.  There are dozens of ways that Facebook really doesn’t perform the basic functions.  They keep adding new features and bells and whistles, and meanwhile they can’t even keep the trains running on time.

If I have a technical problem with Facebook, there is no customer service. I can file a report about a particular post or  issue, but all they will do is reply with a cryptic message saying that the case is resolved and the ticket is closed, even though the problem is still there. Whatever I think of Facebook or whatever problems I encounter, I have to keep in mind that I can’t complain too much or they can simply delete me at any time with no notice and with no recourse. Many years ago, they restricted my account so that I cannot boost posts. I would often like to pay to boost a post about a lost dog or cat so that it would reach a wider audience. Years ago, they sent me a notice that I am no longer allowed to pay for advertising on Facebook, and they would never tell me why, even though I asked multiple times. They never said I violated a particular policy. They made it clear to me that they have the power, they don’t have to explain themselves to me, and there is no accountability.

I steer customers to Facebook. Although I rely on Facebook to bring customers to my business and donors and volunteers to my nonprofit, I also generate a lot of activity for Facebook.  My pictures and posts generate thousands of clicks every day, which translates into advertising dollars for them. I am making money for Facebook with my content. It ought to be a mutually beneficial relationship, but I need them a lot more than they need me, and they know it. They have made it abundantly clear that I am completely powerless in this business relationship. The problems that I personally have with Facebook are insignificant compared to the national and global impacts of Facebook.

I have been aware for a long time that Facebook spreads disinformation.  Every day, I see posts that are deceptive or dishonest.  What I didn’t realize until last week is that I’m not seeing most of the disinformation.  Facebook has this trick where they channel disinformation to the people who want to see it, and they channel it away from the people who would rightly flag it as disinformation.  The divisions in American politics are made ever wider by Facebook, who whispers into the ear of one side, “Those other people are horrible and you are right to hate them,” while they whisper into the ear of the other side, “We are on the side of truth and justice, with you.”  More people get their news from Facebook than from any other source, and Facebook is feeding each side what they want to hear, forever driving us further apart.  They say they do this for Freedom of Speech, but they really do it for money, because clicks and views translate into dollars.

It is very likely that Facebook is going to drive the wedge that will end our democracy and destroy the planet.  It’s also true that I depend on Facebook for my business, my nonprofit, and my volunteer group.  Facebook saves lives, and Facebook is very likely to kill us all.  What should I do?  Should I keep recommending that the owners of a lost cat or dog post on Facebook?  I have to, because in many cases it will save the life of their pet.  I guess I need to put an asterisk on every comment where I recommend Facebook, to say, “Use Facebook to find your lost pet, but keep in mind that Facebook is an evil, soulless corporation that wants to profit off of the demise of democracy and the death of the biosphere.”

One way I try to fight against the great harm Facebook has done and will do is to try to divert people to other social media.  That was part of the reason why I started this newsletter instead of posting article on Facebook only.  Also, although I think Twitter is as bad or worse than Facebook in many respects, I am trying once again to establish an audience there.  It is a lot of extra work for me, when it would be so easy to just stay within Facebook.  That’s what Facebook wants, is for me to feel life is easier if I just stay with them.  We have to find ways to break Facebook’s monopoly power if we have any hope of long term survival.  Please help me fight Facebook by recommending this newsletter to someone, and also come find me on Twitter: @3_retrievers.