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Understanding Data Collection on Social Media
Are you worried about how much data is being collected on you through social media? Want it to stop?
Instead of deleting your apps from your phone we've got a better way for you to feel safe AND stay in touch with friends and family on social media.
1) Don't delete the app. Delete your data from the app—past and future. There are plenty of tutorials that can help you do this in under 10 minutes.
2) Continue using your social media apps and help spot fake news!
3) Learn to spot fake news and actively report posts and stories that don't look right.
The Social Dilemma Isn't What You Think
Netflix’s The Social Dilemma has caused thousands of people to delete social media from their phones out of fear of excessive data collection and profiling. These people frequently cite over-personalized ads, induced laziness, and the possibility of user polarization as reasons to quit social media. But there is a bigger, better, and more permanent solution to ending the “data danger” associated with social media.
Instead of jumping ship, we have an opportunity to make a difference by becoming active stakeholders in making sure social media—be it Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, or anything else—is used as a tool for good. Until social media platforms devise a system to moderate the misinformation responsible for polarization, we can actively help be a part of the solution by identifying, reporting, and NOT sharing misinformation.
Still worried about excessive data collection? Don’t quit but help solve the problem. You can help be a part of spotting fake news and still opt out of data collection within your settings on social media apps. You can even erase the data profile that a platform has created on you in the past. It will be gone. Completely. And it’ll be back like you are living in 2010 with all sorts of ads that are totally unrelated to your interests.