Go ahead,????? ??????? take my Facebook, but don't you dare touch my Instagram.
You may have noticed over the last few days that the tech world has erupted after it was revealed this weekend that data mining company Cambridge Analytica sneakily used the social network to collect data from 50 million people for the Trump campaign. People are rightfully pissed, and the conversation of deleting or deactivation has been bubbling up, complete with how-to guides and think pieces.
My News Feed has become a stale, never ending pipeline of mundane content from a rotating cast of power users.
While I do find the recent revelations from Facebook unsettling, I have to admit I'm not all that surprised. Facebook has been creepin' me out for a while now, and I've seriously cut back on my usage, along with a lot of my friends. My News Feed has become a stale, never ending pipeline of mundane content from a rotating cast of power users still posting to the app. I rarely interact with my actual friends on the platform.
Aside from texts and phone calls, the majority of my interactions with people I actually like happen on Instagram. Maybe it was the addition of Stories in 2016, or the constant evolution of DMs, but Instagram has slowly replaced Facebook over the years as my essential social network.
It was hard to imagine a life without Facebook before, but my activity there has been slowly dwlindling for the last few years. I deleted the app from my phone a few months ago, along with Messenger because I was convinced it was spying on me. I logged out on my home computer, only checking to see what's trending during work hours, and occasionally liking posts from my family.
While it's nice to occasionally see updates from family across the country, I don't need Facebook in order to stay in touch with relatives. And now that most of my friends don't use it, I don't have much of a reason to stay. Like many others, I'm one step away from saying goodbye to Facebook for good.
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Looking at my Instagram feed is like viewing an evolution of my personal life. A year ago today my girlfriend and I packed up our tiny Brooklyn apartment and moved to Los Angeles. We got a puppy shortly after (now she even has her own Instagram), and I traded in photos of the New York City skyline for 'grams of the Santa Monica Mountains. Instagram has my memories, it's my photo album, and I'm not willing to part with it. Yet.
Instagram has my memories, it's my photo album, and I'm not willing to part with it.
Instagram is simpler than Facebook. It can be personal, but it's less revealing. While, sure, it has its fair share of problems (see: algorithms), creepy ads, and stalkability, I still feel comfortable sharing snapshots of my life on Instagram.
For now, anyway.
Let's not forget, though, that Instagram is owned by Facebook. Giving your personal data and internet habits to Instagram is the same exact thing as giving it to Facebook.
We're still live in a time when you can't escape the watchful eye of Zuckerberg if you want to stay connected to friends on social media.
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