Too soon to start talking about shutting Facebook down?

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. It's entirely ridiculous to think about shutting it down.

Or pretty much any other part of the internet.

Those of you who can do without it, great. Others don't Tweet or don't own a TV or a car and likewise get along just fine.

But I have to add this personal note. Earlier this year I had a death in the family, and had it not been for FB it would have been days before any of us would have found out. Thanks to FB the news got out quickly, as well as news of memorial services in two different parts of the country. Had it not been for FB there would be people who would just now be learning of that death, and saying, "OMG! That person died in June and I'm just now finding out?"

And here's the real underlying thing to think about. Facebook merely did what lots of other businesses do. They accepted paid advertising. Which isn't a crime. Heck, this site accepts ads and I have a star membership so I don't have to see them, but every so often someone here will post something along the lines of "Why in the hell am I seeing THAT ad??"

I can't imagine what sort of "getting their technology under control" would be a solution. An essential problem is that too many people believe all sorts of things uncritically. It happens here all the time. Few people take the time to think about what they've read and ask if it makes sense at all.

Plus, is there any reason to believe that Facebook actually colluded with Russia in that manipulation?