The largest study ever carried out on social media deactivation has found that disconnecting lowers users political participation and also their propensity to believe misinformation
  • CALIGVLA@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
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    2 months ago

    Not being stuck inside of an echo chamber really does wonders for the brain. And yes, I know the irony of saying this on Lemmy, but it’s true.

  • Sheridan@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 months ago

    My mom was permabanned from Facebook in 2020 for constantly posting anti-vax nonsense so she just went to places like Gab and Parlor. 😑

    • proudblond@lemmy.worldEnglish
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      2 months ago

      I (maybe, kinda) miss what Facebook was like in, er, 2008-ish. But then again I was also 25 so maybe I just miss what life was like back then.

      • Smite6645@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
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        2 months ago

        It’s also real annoying when trying to look up business hours or a restaurant menu only to find all their links are to Facebook.

  • thehatfox@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 months ago

    Platforms like Facebook have an incredible hold on some people. I remember a few years ago when the “Momo” hoax happened, an older coworker arrived at the office and started warning us about the danger of “Momo” they’d seen on Facebook. I’d already heard about the hoax (and was aware of the original creepyasta origins), and brought up a few news articles explaining it, including an official statement from the police. Everyone seemed satisfied by the truth, except for the Facebook addict. They just gave me a blank stare, and a few hours later I heard them telling another group of colleagues to beware of “Momo” getting to their children.

    I have family members and longstanding family friends who have succumbed to this. Interestingly almost all of them were decrying the internet as something that couldn’t be trusted before the age of social media.