Yes, if you are a Facebook user -- you are a guinea pig! Why anyone would want to be a guinea pig and have much of their personal information posted on face but for all the world to see -- is beyond me. I am a very private person and don't like sharing my personal information with anybody, let alone everybody and their dog. This is one of the reasons I do not have a Facebook account. I have always wondered why people want to post their minute to minute life experiences, or even daily or weekly mundane things on Facebook for mostly people they don't even know very well-- to read. I personally do not care that much about other people's lives. I don't want to know what they are doing every second of the day. But, apparently Facebook and some behavioral scientists do.
In a nutshell, the experiment conducted was this: Facebook manipulated news feeds either positively or negatively to see if it would alter behavior. In fact, the results indicated that it did. The Facebook guinea pigs who were fed positive news posted to their Facebook page -- or whatever you call it -- more positive things. And those Facebook guinea pigs who were fed negative news feeds, posted more negative things to their Facebook page.
Isn't it comforting to know -- those of you who use Facebook -- that you are being manipulated?
This is not the only study Facebook has conducted that the article mentioned. the article states that Facebook has demonstrated that it can alter human behavior. The article mentioned two studies conducted previously on Facebook guinea pigs. One study showed Facebook users who see more updates by their "friends" will write more updates themselves. And another study showed Facebook users were encouraged to become organ donors by Facebook displaying the status of other Facebook users as organ donors.
If you think you're immune -- think again. Did you know Facebook employs data scientists? Here's a direct quote from the article:
"It seems that until now, Facebook data scientists have
been pretty much free to do as they please. “There’s no review process,
per se,” Andrew Ledvina, who worked at Facebook as a data scientist from 2012
to 2013,told the Journal. “Anyone on that team could run a test,” he said.
“They’re always trying to alter people’s behavior.” Ledvina told the Journal
that tests were so frequent that some data scientists worried that the same
users might be used in different studies, tainting the results."-- The Washington Post, by Gail Sullivan, July 3, 2014
So, not only are they collecting data from anything Facebook users willingly post but they are actively trying to alter human behavior. I don't know about you Facebook users but I, for one, would be outraged if I were being used as a guinea pig without my knowledge or consent.
Apparently it's completely legal because Facebook users freely and willingly post their personal information to Facebook's website after, I'm assuming, they agree to a disclaimer to use that website. How many people actually read those disclaimers? For all you know, you could be selling your soul to the devil. :-)
It makes me wonder if Facebook wasn't created with the sole purpose of gaining access to people's personal information and conducting social/behavioral/psychological experiments on people who unwittingly become guinea pigs. And these are not benign experiments. They are actually purposefully altering behavior of the unwitting guinea pigs. It reminds me of some of the unethical experiments that I learned about in my studies as a psychology minor that took place in the 1950s and thereabouts.
It is common knowledge that Facebook has altered many people's lives -- generally with much detriment. Whether it be from just being a big time waster all the way to breaking up families and ruining many people's lives. Including innocent children.
Hmm, maybe my jovial comment about selling your soul to the devil wasn't far off.
So, if you don't mind being a mindless sheep being manipulated by the data scientists at Facebook then keep posting all of your personal information on your Facebook page. If you want to be smart like me, then close your Facebook account. :-)
That's my two cents.
Close your Facebook accounts people.
ReplyDeleteEven the lds church has an official Facebook page. Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends and see milestones in their own and their families lives. Can people go overboard and spend too much time on there? Of course they can. Just like they can spend too much time doing any other activity. All things in moderation.
ReplyDeleteyes, Michael, the Church does have a Facebook page but they are not a person whose behavior can be tracked and altered.
ReplyDeleteI beg to differ with you that Facebook is an excellent way to keep in touch with friends and see milestones in their lives.
How about actually talking to them in person or on the phone? Or e-mailing them personally?
That is a much better way to keep in touch with loved ones.
Facebook has ruined many people's families and lives. Stupid cheating machine. :-)
Anyway, this post wasn't about keeping in touch with others on Facebook -- it was about Facebook hiring behavioral scientists to track and alter human behavior. And everyone on Facebook being the guinea pigs, unknowingly.
YES- Facebook and social media in general has ruined many families and lives.
ReplyDeleteSocial media is no more responsible for ruining families or lives than guns are responsible for killing people. People's choices are what cause both of those things.
ReplyDeleteyou are correct, Michael. But, you could say that about any vice. Let's take drugs or alcohol for example. They also ruin many people's lives and break up families based upon people's choices to use them. Social media is just another vice.
ReplyDeleteby the way, unknown is Lisa. She said she forgot to change her name when she left her comments. I just want to clarify that.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that people can't go 30 seconds without checking every Facebook message posted shows that their behavior is being altered. That's not even the negative and positive alterations being made by the influence of behavioral scientists.
ReplyDeleteYes, Mike you are right- it is the INDIVIDUAL's own stupid choices that hold them responsible for ruining their family and lives by their weakness towards the many different vices in the world.
Many a people have destroyed their lives and family through alcohol consumption. Many a people have destroyed their lives and family through Facebook messaging, texting, and other communications in inappropriate relationships.
My family was destroyed because of this and Rex's family was destroyed by this. We know all about vices and watching other people's stupid choices.
The main purpose of this post was to inform people that if they are on Facebook- they are being used as guinea pigs as they are tracked- and as behavioral scientists are altering behaviors. Most people don't like being deceived and messed with like that.
The fact that Facebook users will defend Facebook after knowing this just proves to me that the behavior alteration is working wonders for them.