Facebook is by far and away the largest social media platform in terms of numbers and engagement. Everybody knows about Facebook and what it offers – I don’t need to go over those again. But trying to be objective as a platform has turned into a mess is difficult as I have been on Facebook for over 15 years and cannot say it has got any better at all…
Over time Facebook has become a sprawling behemoth of a platform, but this is the main reason why it is getting worse too. Scams, data security and privacy have all taken a back seat to profits as Facebook has shareholders to appease. Numerous lawsuits and a truly awful track record also are pretty damning. When you are as big as FB is, the rewards and the risk are just as big too. Scandal after scandal has followed them in the last decade and its reputation is to be fair pretty much in the toilet. But the numbers are also why it is still relevant. No other platform comes close in terms of numbers and it is still growing. If there is a social media or web presence from a company or person, then you can bet they have a Facebook account somewhere. They may not still use it, but they have done in the past. Most don’t go completely they just stop posting or interacting. The problem with that is that the ads and sponsored posts for a lot of users outweigh what they actually want to see. Trying to lose this clutter can be more time consuming than actual getting to what you want to see, and the dreaded @everyone and @followers tags are just plain annoying whilst also being a terrible privacy, security and data issue. Meta say you can block them, but it only seems to work for a while until they rear their ugly heads again…
But whilst there are issues, there are positives, just those have diminished over time. Marketplace, if the scams weren’t as rife, would be a great free way to sell stuff. If you are careful, then all should be fine, but having to meet in person for example, makes this a poor experience in many cases. The numbers are truly impressive with over 2 billion user accounts, it’s a shame that a high proportion of those are fake and scams. Policing FB has turned into a waste of time, you simply cannot expect anything to happen if you are the victim of a scam, fake profile, data loss or a security issue. This is the biggest negative for me, the amount of times my data has been sold on etc. is truly horrendous – thus me posting very little that is personal with personal details. Checking in is now something rarely done because of security issues. The recent case of a famous TV program in the UK (Wheeler Dealers) having their Facebook page hacked and how Meta was unable to do anything about it is a prime example. It tool months to sort out, and wasn’t fixed by Meta in the end but another user who helped them regain control. The page owners then had to spend a few days removing malicious content and their old content was gone… this is just not good enough and happens at an alarming rate. Recent changes making it harder for a user to download their own content isn’t good enough either – I’m sure the lawsuits are waiting for this as well.
To sum up – Facebook is ok. The rating say it all with an overall rating calculated at 4.2 out of 10. The real problem is that a couple of years ago I would have said it was a more solid say 6 out of 10. It is sad to say but I personally feel FB is on a sharp downward trajectory, especially for me. Much better and secure platforms out there. But the numbers are the real reason to stay, and are rapidly becoming the only reason. Meta – you can and should improve, but you need to focus less on the money and keeping shareholders happy!
Facebook is the largest by far and most established social media platform. But it remains poorly policed and maintained with scams a plenty, and Meta seem ill equipped to deal with the scams and the obvious flaws, instead concentrating on making money.
However it does have by far the largest user base and members, thus meaning the largest reach and engagement – though I am finding and also being told this is rapidly diminishing as users leave and/or no longer post or interact. The fact that many complaints never seem to be resolved is unforgivable really!
Pros
Has by far the greatest number of users
Good features, when they work. Groups and pages are the best out there and marketplace has lots of choice
Wide range of users and companies. If there is a social media presence out there it is likely to be on Facebook
Cons
Data security and privacy are truly terrible. You WILL find your data and privacy compromised
Hacks, scams and bad behaviour abound. Marketplace is like a haven for scams for example. The fact that Meta cares little about data security and your privacy allows rampant bad behaviour
Things are inconsistent. They work one day and not the next. Things change, often a couple of times a day. Meta cannot possibly police it because of the size and it is obvious
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