Anyone saying "Good riddance! Go enjoy your life without Facebook!" is missing the point. Please read this bit from the article:
> Thing is I’m a Mum of two who has just moved to a new area. Facebook groups have offered me support and community, and Mums I’ve met in local playgrounds have added me as a friend so we can use messenger to plan playdates. Without these apps sadly my little social life becomes a lot lonelier, and harder.
This is the pernicious effect of Facebook's dominance among social networks added to their policy of poor support. It's not really an "optional" social network if large swathes of your social circle have started using it for essential life functions, it's more like a utility and should be regulated like one. And no, telling all the mums at the playground about how Facebook's ban policies are bad and we should all use the Fediverse instead is not going to work for the average person. If anything, it's more likely to mark you down as one of those weird parents to avoid.
It wouldn't be good for your power company to have the option of arbitrarily cutting you off as a customer, and never giving you a chance to get back your power. Similarly, we should regulate Facebook to the point where they are exposed to genuine regulatory consequences for disrupting people's lives.
> Thing is I’m a Mum of two who has just moved to a new area. Facebook groups have offered me support and community, and Mums I’ve met in local playgrounds have added me as a friend so we can use messenger to plan playdates. Without these apps sadly my little social life becomes a lot lonelier, and harder.
This is the pernicious effect of Facebook's dominance among social networks added to their policy of poor support. It's not really an "optional" social network if large swathes of your social circle have started using it for essential life functions, it's more like a utility and should be regulated like one. And no, telling all the mums at the playground about how Facebook's ban policies are bad and we should all use the Fediverse instead is not going to work for the average person. If anything, it's more likely to mark you down as one of those weird parents to avoid.
It wouldn't be good for your power company to have the option of arbitrarily cutting you off as a customer, and never giving you a chance to get back your power. Similarly, we should regulate Facebook to the point where they are exposed to genuine regulatory consequences for disrupting people's lives.