by Phyllis McCrossin
I think it’s been a long summer for everyone. Not that King and I spend a lot of time socializing, but an entire summer of social distancing and finding things to fill our time meant we spent a lot of time on social media.
Facebook is my social media site of choice and when I tallied my time spent on the site (they actually have a tool that tells you how much time you spend scrolling through junk) I decided it was time to disable the Facebook app on my phone. That way, I reasoned, I would have to consciously think about getting on Facebook. It would mean pulling my laptop out of the closet where it is kept, plugging in, booting up, wait for pages to load (it’s an old laptop) and – in short I’d have to REALY REALLY want to see what is happening in the Facebook world.
But getting Facebook off my phone was easier said than done. For me, the latest and greatest in cell phones is not a priority. My son was telling me he is coveting an android that comes with a $900 price tag. I’d rather have new tires on the trailer.
My cheap, less than $150 phone came with Facebook pre-loaded so uninstalling the app was not an option. Turns out I had to disable it. When I clicked on the disable button I got a warning that disabling the app could cause other apps to “misbehave.” What does that even mean? In the end, I reasoned I had dealt with misbehaving children so how difficult could a misbehaving app be? I bit the bullet and disabled the app. So far I’ve not seen a difference. No untoward behavior. Should bad behavior rear its ugly head, I’ll be stuck with a misbehaving phone.
Of course, I could have just stayed off Facebook but I have to be honest; I don’t have the will power to just quit. The temptation was very, very strong. Sneaking one little glimpse into the Facebook world couldn’t possibly hurt, right? So I’d tell myself I would spend just a few minutes checking out my newsfeed. An hour later, with eyes blurring, I’d put my phone down. It’s like eating just one potato chip. It’s never going to happen.
(I recall the time my sister-in-law told me about a new product she found in the dairy section of the grocery store. Philadelphia Cream Cheesecake bites. “They are so tasty,” she said. “One little square just hits the spot and takes the edge off hunger.” Really? One little 1 x 1 square satiates your need. Sure. I believe you).
But I digress.
My son was telling me about a documentary he watched on Netflix about how much Facebook spies on us. Then a few other people started talking about the same documentary, “The Social Dilemma.” It would seem Big Brother (or a nefarious business) IS watching us. Now, I don’t have any deep dark secrets so no worries, right? I pretty much share everything on Facebook anyway, however, every time I drive past Walgreens I get a text message telling me what is on sale.
I know it’s not Facebook narcing on my location, but still. And I suppose it could be a coincidence, who knows? Pretty sure it’s Google sharing my location. But since Google Maps is such an integral part of our travels, Google has to stay.
King is cautious with sharing data, but only if it is his idea. Most of the time he tends to think it is much ado about nothing. His attitude is, so what? That is until the time our bank account was compromised and then he was concerned with “how did this happen?” Telling him it could be any number of things did not help.
Our next to non-existent online banking center help desk was actually a “no help desk.” We eventually gave up and switched banks. It had taken me months to convince King direct deposit was the way to go. He REALLY wanted that paper check. When I pointed out to him it is rather hard to track us down while traveling he finally did acquiesce.
Then the account was compromised, the bank shut it down and we were stuck with three direct deposits with no place to go. It literally took a call to our state representative (a former student) to get his pension check.
Technology is great when it works. When it doesn’t it is a nightmare. When they spy on us it is something else altogether.
