# Writing > General Writing >  Is Facebook killing !iterature?

## MANICHAEAN

Is Facebook Killing Literature? 

I use Facebook a lot, mainly for the free video links and the messenger app. But when you look at the contents on the main social media frame its a bit unnerving to see the range of what is posted, even from close friends or people one has worked with over the years. Let me give some examples:
1. Those that post pictures of their babies or their food. Fine, no problem.* But do you honestly think someone wants to see a photo of a coffee you are drinking? Perhaps tomorrow I will spice it up a bit with a picture of my Corn Flakes.
2. The posts starting, "If you agree, share." Bugger off, and stop being so vacuous and irritating.
3. Political fake news, likely financed by Putin and all the other suspects, coming up with all sorts of conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated nonsense. The frightening thing is when this comes from friends you previously thought balanced and objective. So you can either pick a fight and respond, or quite simply block.
4. Religious nutters, constantly pushing whatever sect or beliefs they hold.
5. Many at the moment with no jobs or income due to the virus,* have resorted to selling online locally. And admittedly, some are doing quite well. I must try to sell some of my Bread & Butter pudding, as invariably I make too much.

The most depressing aspect is the lack of appreciation of any books or paintings. Its almost as if social media is now the university one goes to to be taught.

Excuse the rant. At least I did not mention Brexit or Black Lives Matter once !!!!

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## tonywalt

I suspect facebook the biggest "dumb down" factor out there (and that's quite a feat). Interesting enough: I used to read lots of non-fiction (still do), but now quite often I will watch a youtube documentary on the subject area. Just this weekend I thought I would read about the Spanish Civil War - then looked on youtube and there is a BBC high quality documentary 6 part series (six hours in total). It's effectively a book of information.

Still, love to read, and will continue. I'm uncertain of the attention span of younger people. Perhaps the mediums are changing, and it's not as bad as I think it is.

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## Danik 2016

I never had an account on FB. Too much exposure, I think, and too many people trying to influence other people with their opinions. I think we live the cult of the ephemeral because life itself has become too unpredictable. So if I collected books in more solid time, I now collect shots. If something happens to me, my selfie will survive. My Insta, my FB, my TicToc is a collection of my fleeting moments, of ever so tiny atoms of life immediately to be substituted by more recent ones.

And was Tony writes about the attention span is also true. I get impatient if an article has more than four paragraphs. And I who used to devour novels in my youth, now still read books, but few pages at a time.

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## WolfLarsen

Facebook is stupid. Artists, writers, & comedians are censored on Facebook, because of something called "community standards". These "community standards" are the same ones that came over on the Mayflower with the Puritans. In this kind of environment, many writers, painters, & comedians simply are unable to share their work. The creative mind doesn't work according to the dictates of people who are ideologically descended from the religious Looney Tunes that came over on the Mayflower. And ironically, PC liberals have basically adopted the born-again Christian "morality" as well, basically becoming the atheist version of moral majority prudes who seek to impose their Puritanism on everybody else. And that is why many artists, writers, & comedians are unable to share their work on Facebook.
However, white supremacists & other bigots are given free reign on Facebook to express their hostility to people of color. Despite Facebook's rhetoric to the contrary, bigotry is given free reign on Facebook. Apparently bigotry does not go against Facebook's "community standards".
To sum up Facebook: Facebook sensors writers, painters, & comedians who are obscene, but Facebook gives white supremacists & other bigots free reign of expression.
Mark Zuckerberg can kiss my ***!

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## AuntShecky

Two "media giants" which I avoid are Netflix and Facebook. I'll express my disdain for the former at a later date, but right now I'll tell you why I really resent Facebook. I won't be a "member"  or whatever they call their gadzillions of followers for several reasons.

First ( and as the pundits say "foremost"), they won't let me use my pen name, even though more people on line know me as Auntie than my so-called real moniker. (and it's not Monica.) Additionally, why would I want to plaster my real name (as well as my age, also required) all over the Cybersphere? Why voluntarily put that information out there for all to see? Why make it easy for bill collectors to find me?

I really resent Facebook's policy of allowing different political forces to post inaccurate, if not dangerous information. Also, I don't want any part of Facebook's penchant for tracing one's online habits for the benefit of advertisers.

Oh, and just an aside re: the previous reply (#4, above^) I'm not priggish or to quote the pundits again "calling you out" or anything, BUT just so you'll know next time the word you want is "censor" with a "c." "Sensor" spelled with an "s" is like an antenna on a machine to track comings and goings. (Sort of like Facebook!)

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## tailor STATELY

A poll might have been apropos IMHO for greater appeal.

I use both netflix and facebook... netflix seldom because of bandwidth problems, but facebook quite a bit. 

I'm a mod for my Ward's church facebook site (so I guess that makes me a nutter), and use the main fb site for messenger (well filtered) and to keep in contact with family and friends since we're so spread out. I do not enjoy the political stuff, I'm a centrist who follows my conscience, so I gleefully block contributors both left and right who are tagged by my friends (trying to not block my friends in the process... though I will snooze them on occasion for a break  :Smile:  ). 

I have manipulated my feeds towards the arts and sciences and general knowledge, music, and local goings on. Every now and then I'll find something out of the ordinary which feeds my mind and spirit... Carlos Santana, _ the_ Carlos Santana, for instance writes spiritual poetry quite often that I enjoy. My friend the Bonsai tree artist keeps me apprised on his goings on from Colorado, my Brother from Italy.. and so on.

Has it affected my lit reading in any way... no, absolutely not. Books are still be written and read in record numbers. Those interested in the older lit still read and study and will prolly never change. 

Time-sink ?, sure, but in these times of fires and air pollution here in California and elsewhere, and being constrained by the Covid-19 social experiment, facebook is a viable alternative to the ubiquitous mind rotting telly (or in my case multi-tasked quite often (lol) ).

Ta ! (short for tarradiddle),
tailor

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## NikolaiI

No, I wouldn't say so necessarily. If you simply post about literature you can spread it yourself. I sometimes do this.

I do however understand.

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## Francis Meadows

There used to be a time when information with a relevance to the general public was distributed through the press, be it newspapers, magazines, television, radio or whatever. Those all had some things in common:
- firstly, the information was gathered, verified and balanced out by journalists who, in general, provided a minimum guarantee of correctness to the information they covered;
- secondly, there always was a traceable responsible editor who could be held responsible in case of wrongfull information being spread, adding a second layer of guarantee that the information spread had at least a reasonable level of truth to it.

Through social media, any fool can now however launch any kind of ridicule into the world and even have quiet a broad reach. Without any guarantee as to the correctness of the information. It is even easy enough to dress it up a bit and make it look professional and there you go... The town's fool whose impact used to be limited to some blabber in the local pub can suddenly pretend to be a reputed newspaper or other institution.

The above off course is also due to the fact that social media are being (mis)used for goals they never were intended for. If everybody would use them just to keep in touch with friends and family instead of trying to catapult themselves to the realm of Kardashian or to intentionally spread fake news, social media would have a much lesser impact.

We could for instance all start by just reading posts by people we actually know and block all the rest. Once people start understanding that they can no longer reach the world through Facebook and fellow media, their attraction would wane rapidly, I think.

Francis

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