There is no doubt that Facebook is still the most robust social media platform for communication, advertising, and building connection.
There are lots of services that Facebook can offer. For businesses, Facebook is the God-tier platform they can use. Mainly because it is a massive social networking site, with roughly 2.80 billion users worldwide, Facebook has more audience reach than any organization.
Not only that, Facebook has been continuously evolving throughout the years, from letting you connect with your distant loved ones, promoting your business, and selling products. Now, Facebook has been offering dating options, job searching, and even collaborating with Instagram.
Facebook and Its Lack of Followers Might Fuel Depression
Facebook is unstoppable. Continuously evolving doesn’t give other social media platforms a chance to reign. It is like Facebook has turned into people’s necessity likely because it lets you connect to other people, find your distant loved ones, and communicate easily with your family and friends.
But with a massive user count, you would contemplate how Facebook handles roughly 2.80 billion accounts worldwide. How does Facebook handle billions of accounts? How do they protect the privacy of billions? Can they protect us? Or in the end, the question lies, “Is it safe on Facebook?”
If High Facebook Follower Counts Are The Goal – Just Buy Them?
With more than millions of users, it is unlikely that Facebook can manage a vast hide audience. Facebook has been failing to protect a lot of users’ personal information throughout the year. Some issues were surrounding Facebook that had been leaking confidential personal information through a coding error in play. New and old accounts are still buying real Facebook Followers to stay competitive in their marketplace. Why not try doing it to cure depression as well? Social stigmas and social reputations are very real in this high-tech world, and we can’t legislate popularity away.
Why Not Sell Online Validation?
In 2018, Facebook discovered a security issue that gave hackers access to information that could affect 50 million accounts. The “View As” option lets users see what their profile looks like to other users, which consists of three separate bugs. It gave the hackers the chance to get access tokens and digital keys that help people stay logged in to the site without re-entering their password that could be used to take over other users’ accounts.
Facebook Accused of Failing to Provide a Safe Environment
A media advocacy group, Reporters Without Borders, has filed a lawsuit against Facebook in France. It accused the platform of failing to provide a safe environment for users in violation of its terms and conditions.
On Monday, The lawsuit was filed with prosecutors in Paris. It argues that Facebook has been engaging in “deceptive commercial practices” through allowing disinformation and threats. It has also been said that Facebook has been flourishing despite its promise to the user that it will “exercise professional diligence” in creating a “safe, secure, error-free” environment.
Reporters Without Borders, based in Paris and known for its French initials RSF, has stated the social media platform. They said that the promises made in Facebook’s terms and conditions were “largely mendacious” and contradicted by the “large-scale dissemination of hate speech and false information on its networks.”
The group has supported its claims by issuing statements from former Facebook employees. Two lengthy reports were detailing hate speech and threats against French journalists. The work of fact-checking organizations and examples of disinformation and false information on the platform were issued.
Reporters Without Borders (RFS) said they hope that prosecutors open an investigation into Facebook. The group also has stated that they want Facebook to live up to its commitments. “We expect Facebook to effectively respect the commitments it has made to its consumers, rather than pretending to implement them without this being the case,” the group said.
An Update Regarding The Facebook Case
Last Tuesday, Facebook stated the accused of failing to secure a safe environment. The social media platform has shared their statement that they have “zero tolerance for any harmful content on our platforms, and we’re investing heavily to tackle hate speech and misinformation.”
Followed by another statement, “Our enforcement will never be perfect, but while nobody can prevent misinformation and hate speech from the internet entirely, we continue our research, experts, and technologies to tackle them most comprehensively and effectively possible.”
Even so, the lawsuit doesn’t include any significant revelations about Facebook. But, it does underscore pressure on the company from regulators and advocacy groups worldwide to address the issue, including hate speech and disinformation.
This is not the first time Facebook tried to address disinformation. Earlier this year, Facebook also had a collision with several media industries. The company briskly banned news content in Australia as lawmakers induced to implement media code that forces Big Tech to pay publishers for new shares on their platforms.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been trying to label false claims to reduce their visibility in users’ feeds. Even so, the issues persisted. On Thursday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been set to face questions from lawmakers over the role of social media disinformation in the attack on the US Capitol earlier this year.
How To Protect Your Privacy On Facebook
Protecting your privacy is your right. So if you are worried that Facebook caters too much information on you and think it makes it too freely available to others, don’t worry. You’re not the only one. CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushes Facebook to fix its privacy problems, but there are ways you can do to keep your personal information safe until then.
Learn to tweak your Facebook with these two tips that can protect your privacy on the most extensive social media network.
- DELETE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
It is essential to be mindful of what you share. Tweak your personal information you have to put on Facebook over the years. From places, you have visited, lived, connected your phone number, birthday, and more. Your first step to preventing leaking your information is to know what you are sharing, what to delete and what you don’t want Facebook or other people to know.
- PRIVACY CHECKUP
One good option Facebook has made is the privacy checkup. Here you can control many aspects of information that Facebook knows about you. Checkup would only take 5 minutes. Be vigilant and see where your privacy is lacking. Change your settings to have a secure account, preventing hackers from accessing any valuable information about you.
Yes, Facebook is Safe for Facebook Followers
In the end, Facebook will always have something to lack. As one of the most extensive social media networks, they insist on fixing the privacy problems for users to have a safe environment. With the help of genius engineers and experts, it is also on our part to help the platform fix the problem. There are a billion users around the globe – Be vigilant and mindful of what we share.
According to experts, the global COVID-19 pandemic has caused increasing mental health challenges around the world. Its effect will be felt for the years to come. This is why the social media giant Facebook has been working with some leading authorities worldwide. Some of these authorities are It’s OK to talk, NAMI, and Kids Help Phone.
Moreover, the social media giant’s aim in partnering with such organizations is to help address the crucial areas of mental health. That includes coping with loss and grief, handling financial stress, taking care of overall emotional health, as well as managing substance use.
In order to invest in the most critical areas of mental health, Facebook introduced a feature called Emotional Health. This is a centralized resource center available on the Facebook app. In addition, it contains information and tips from leading mental health experts.
Additionally, the resource is accessible all over the world. It would also contain relevant information from mental health officials. According to Facebook, it will soon build on features and topic areas based on the guidance of its national and global partners.
Facebook’s Way of Connecting People with Services
Facebook also announced that it would roll out several features that would help connect people to services like expert support and resources.
Below are the organizations and resources that people could connect with across Facebook apps:
World Health Organization Digital Stress Management Guide
This resource provides people with easy-to-follow techniques which are designed to promote mental well-being and reduce stress. It is now accessible on the WHO Health Alert chatbot on WhatsApp.
Sticker Packs Created With WHO
Facebook and the World Health Organization have created a sticker pack which is now available on messenger. They aim to facilitate conversations around mental health that can lead to support through the said sticker packs.
Partnership with Crisis Text Line
Facebook has expanded its partnership with the Crisis Text Line, intending to prevent suicide and self-harm. The partnership will bring Crisis Support over Messenger that people could use to help manage their mental health.
New Mental Well-being Guides Available on Instagram
Facebook and Instagram are taking mental health seriously and have taken several efforts to adequately address it. In fact, it has partnered with The Jed Foundation to help teenagers understand how the amount of time they are online could impact their emotional well-being.
In addition, the social media giant has also collaborated with the Korea Suicide Prevention Center. This collaboration aims to provide guidance on how men can talk about their mental health without feeling ashamed.
According to Gabriella Stern, the Director of Communications at WHO, making information about mental health more accessible is vital. She added that the World Health Organization is pleased to collaborate with Facebook to support the said goal for World Mental Health Day this year.
New Facebook Watch Show: A Show that Focuses on Mental Health
Recently, Facebook announced the Peace of Mind with Taraji (working title) for Facebook Watch. It is a talk show hosted by Taraji P. Henson, a Golden Globe Award-Winning Actress, and co-hosted by Tracie Jade Jenkins, her long-time best friend and the Executive Director of Henson’s Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation.
The talkshow is an original series that would shine a light on people who are facing mental health challenges today, especially those in the Black community.
This series will feature personal interviews with experts, celebrities, and everyday people. It aims to provide support, bring awareness, and help eliminate the stigmas of mental health issues.
Moreover, the talkshow is set to premiere later this year. Each of its episodes will focus on various topics about mental health. In addition, multiple content clips are set to released every week.
Facebook is Partnering With Experts for Advancement of Research
According to Facebook, the cornerstone of people’s emotional health is expert research. This will help them understand areas such as healthy social connections, mental health, and loneliness.
Furthermore, Facebook has also collaborated with The Aspen Institute. This step was taken to advance its collective understanding of loneliness, technology, social connection, and how they are connected.
In addition, this collaboration was able to bring together over 60 cross-sector experts. They came from the area of technology, health, government, and non-profit. Moreover, they aim to share research and identify gaps to inform future research and possible solutions.
The social media giant has already launched a summary report of the collaboration’s findings. Apart from that, Facebook and The Aspen Institute will be hosting a second roundtables series. This will go deeper with international experts to work further on this effort.
Conclusion
On the other hand, Facebook is aware that many people can feel the pressure of presenting a perfect image of themselves on Instagram. However, many people have also found communities of inspiration and support on the said platform. This is why the social media giant is conducting research to understand the thin line between better inspiration and feeling good. Facebook also wants to understand the pressure of living up to a certain standard. This way, it will be able to address the issues across its platforms and make a solution for them.
Moreover, the social media giant announced that it would be hosting a listening session with mental health experts. This will help the platform understand how social comparison is viewed on Instagram. This will then lead to the creation of resources, programs, and tools that Facebook can put in place to help people– especially the young ones– in managing these pressures.
There is no doubt that Facebook can understand the crucial issues revolving around its platforms, especially in terms of mental health. For this reason, it has taken a number of steps to address them and help people who are suffering from mental health issues.
