Social Media Housekeeping

I keep seeing and getting annoyed by memes on Facebook that want you to “type amen” if you love Jesus, and/or to share that meme to “prove” you are “a Christian.” Jesus already knows this. He doesn’t need you to prove it on Facebook by mindlessly sharing a meme. Rather, he wants your actions to show it. Those actions would include helping others, treating your fellow humans decently, and following the commandments to the best of your ability. (And really, many agnostics and atheists perform these same actions.)

There are many other memes and postings that are just as annoying. These include the “OMG! You won’t believe what happens in this photo when you click ‘like’ and share this!” Or the “Click like to show this bald cancer victim she’s beautiful.” Or “Mark Zuckerberg is giving away thousands of dollars. All you have to do is share this to have a chance at some.” Or “Bet you can’t come up with a dog’s name that doesn’t have the letter ‘A’ in it.” Or the quizzes ...

And people keep clicking “like,” and sharing, saying, “It can’t hurt.” Oh, but it can ...

A few minutes spent researching uncovered the following information. These postings are “click bait” or “like farming.”

“Like farming” and “click bait” are used by unscrupulous people. As their original post gains in popularity, it will show up more on Facebook, gaining even more popularity. The owner of that site can then sell it, and the original content can be removed and replaced with “scammy” content. It still has your like so it appears you’ve liked something that you probably wouldn’t want your name associated with. These pages (sites) can also be used to spread malware, computer viruses and collect your marketing information.

The quizzes (and games) ask permission to access your Facebook account. Those apps then gather your information and your friends’ information, and stores it indefinitely. They will also update your information as time goes on, since they still have your permission to do so. They can sell this to anyone willing to pay for it, including identity thieves. This is how many people have their Facebook accounts hacked.

If you’ve ever “liked” any such posts (and let’s face it, most of us have, especially when new to Facebook), you can go back through your activity log on your personal page. Then you can check to see if what you originally liked up has been changed to anything “scammy,” and then “unlike” it. In fact, I’d recommend going back regularly to check, and to “unlike” almost everything. There are legitimate sites to like, but you’ll have to decide for yourself what is acceptable to you.

I’m going to spend a little time strolling through my Facebook past, and cleaning it up now. Happy New Year, and here’s to fewer annoying postings on Facebook!