Why I decided to leave Meta.

I am leaving Facebook and Instagram for one reason: their business model is no longer one I can tolerate. For years I have rationalized away all the annoying aspects of Facebook because it was a convenient way to be/get/stay in touch with others. I enjoyed sharing experiences with friends and it was a means to support the small businesses that use these platforms. However, I can no longer rationalize away the negatives.

I am not leaving because of any ideology or political beliefs. It takes a lot for me to boycott a business because of the owners’ or management’s politics or behavior. Again, I am closing my account because of the company’s business practices. Simply put, the company does not care about the quality of its product or their customers’ experiences.

Quality of Meta’s customer experience…

Imagine the following scenario: You enter a retail store specifically looking for a particular item, say a particular brand of socks. Upon entering the store you notice that it is very cold and you ask the clerk behind the counter if the heat is working, and get the following response; “Yup, but the owner wants to save money, so he keeps the thermostat at 50 degrees” You believe that to be odd, but you rationalize that maybe the store is doing poorly and they need to save where they can. Besides you only need a pair of socks. You then look around and the store is completely unorganized. The shirts are mixed in with the pants. The underwear is with the coats and the hats are stacked in an unorganized bin with the socks. You got back to the clerk and ask, “Can you help me find these socks?”
“Nope! The owners say we are to let the customers figure things out for themselves,” replied the clerk who did not look up from the phone on the counter.
“Can you at least tell me if you have them in stock"?” you ask not quite believing what is happening.
“No-can-do,” was all the clerk said, still looking at the phone.
You leave the store frustrated and angry, and vow never to return.

An exaggerated story? Perhaps, but assume it is not. Would you ever return? I would not. It is clear that the owners do not care about the customers’ experience while in their store. You do not know the owners, or anything about them. You have no idea of their personal or political beliefs. You just know that their business model does not work for you, and you choose not give them your business. In fact, the owners may have exactly the same belief system that you have, but that is irrelevant because the negative experience you had in their store because of the policies they put in place.

Facebook is not a news organization by any stretch of the imagination, but it is in the business of disseminating information. It doesn’t matter if it’s my vacation pictures or the menu of a local restaurant or a link to another site or a post about someone’s political opinion. Facebook, by and large, is a platform for disseminating information, and just like any other product that I consume, it is my hope that the company would want to produce one that is of high quality. If that product does not meet at least the minimum level of quality I probably will not purchase that product. Therefore, I would hope that Meta would want a process in place that would, at least, try to ensure that their product met the barest of minimums of quality control. It is clear to me that the recent changes in their business model, i.e., removing any “fact checking” technology, means they do not care about the quality of their customers’ experience.

What appears on social media can be toxic and traumatizing. This is a fact that cannot be denied, but I don’t necessarily “blame” social media platforms for that toxicity. The responsibility lies with the people who use these platforms AND the creators of that platform, not the platform itself. When disseminated information becomes dangerous then that information should be removed. There is an argument that this view stifles a person’s right to “free speech”. That is legally incorrect (fact) and I believe morally incorrect, (my opinion). Just to be clear, there is no absolute legal right to “free speech”. The constitution protects individuals from government interference in their speech. This protection does not extend to private companies, such as Meta. Companies can “censor” your speech, that is a legal fact. The Supreme Court has also ruled that legal limits can be set on speech that includes inciting violence, defamation, threats, and harassment.

I am not naive, nor am I under any delusions, that all misinformation will be found and removed. I don’t even think that all of it should be removed. Opinion is not fact, and I would hate to think that my opinions would not be heard, even if they turn out to be incorrect. If someone thinks that Biden’s presidency was awful or maybe great, or if Trump’s policies are wonderful or dangerous, I see no harm in stating those opinions. Even if it gets personal, such as stating you hate certain religious groups or genders. As abhorrent as I thing that may be, it is your opinion and you have a right to it. However, if you espouse violence against anyone, that crosses the line of opinion and becomes dangerous. The creators of an information disseminating platform have a responsibility to do what it can to remove that information that falls under what the Supreme Court has called inciting violence, defamation, threats and harassment. I agree that to determine if something falls under those categories can be somewhat subjective. This difficulty should not mean that no attempt is made. Meta has determined they will no longer even attempt to ensure that the information that is presented on their platforms will meet even the lowest bar of responsibility. This I can no longer support.

Quality of Meta’s products…

I spent almost my entire career in finance, so I understand that, generally speaking, a for-profit company’s main purpose is to, well, earn a profit. To make money for its owners. How that profit is used is completely up to the owners. That is business 101. I also understand that a company is free to determine the methods of earning that profit as long as it is within the law. However, if those methods make using their product cumbersome, awkward and frustrating, then continuing to patronize that business seems antithetical to reasonable behavior. The changes that Meta has made to Facebook makes my newsfeed appear like one of those free flyers you see at diners where there are 14 pages of ads and maybe 6 articles. In my newsfeed this morning 8 of the first 15 posts were ads. It’s just no longer enjoyable for me. Their product is no longer a good one, so it’s time to move on.

Summary

Will I miss seeing posts from my friends and family? Of course I will. However, I can no longer justify patronizing a company whose business practices and lack of concern for their customers’ experience seem wrong and, to a degree, dangerous. I’ll see you all in real life.

Onward….