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Letters: An Oasis Of Incivility

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Editor:

With all that is happening in the world it was shocking to see Facebook taking up so much of the airwaves this week – with an actual whistle blower in the witness chair and many people talking about the damage that the company does.

I must start by saying that I don’t use Facebook much, not needing to see my nephew’s first drawings, the chop salad his mom had for lunch or to hear the latest on my BFF’s divorce proceedings (You be strong, girl…..).

For me Facebook has always been what its name implies: Social Media – a place to gather and share an occasional photo or memory, not give a play by play of one’s life one cell phone snapshot at a time. At its best it is mildly entertaining and amusing (depending on which of my besties is posting this week) and at it’s worst it is nap inducing, luckily only a click away from the salvation offered by a more favored site. But according to former employees it does much more than that – some of it deeply manipulative and hateful.

I can’t claim any great computer knowledge or skill set and will just say that I have never been hacked or otherwise harassed through the computer, probably due to my cautious hesitation in putting anything of value to anyone on the pc in the first place. The birthday I gave to Facebook is actually my dog’s. So when I see or hear the types of back and forth gaslighting and hurtful politicization the channel and much of the country has become known for I run for safety elsewhere.

Are others ignorant of these attempts to manipulate opinion or start trouble or is there something in us that sees fun in that sort of give and take? If so, I think that Facebook’s description as a Social Media site become a huge misnomer as it becomes neither social or a trusted media source. And maybe the problem lies not with the site, but with the people using the site.

Sincerely,

Mary Kissle/ Concord

3 COMMENTS

  1. I think it’s the people – who have weaponized Facebook. You see the same players, the same tired tropes. It’s either some some dedicated propaganda machine turning out this stuff or misguided cultists with far too much time on their hands.

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