America Is Getting Meaner

[$tevie]

davester wrote:
I find it odd that people blame Facebook for invective when it's actually the "friends" they choose to associate with that's the problem. I'm no fan of the Zuck and I realize that FB, like any public forum, can be used to amplify hatred, but I use Facebook as a tool to stay in touch with people I like. My FB newsfeed is generally about life events, appreciation, humor and travel. I did momentarily "friend" some former high school acquaintances who turned out to be jerks but the solution was to "unfriend" them rather than ditch FB. Ditch the nasty people and your problems will be solved. If there's nobody left after you do that then you have been hanging with the wrong crowd.

This is my experience as well. And algorithms do affect it: if you "Like" posts about art and music and kitties and your friends' good news, FB shows you more art and more music and more kitties and more about your friends.

My brother used to live in a rural area and has had to un-friend all but one of his high school classmates due to their advanced Trumpism. Once he cleared out the debris his feed got much lighter and friendlier.