Quick answer - no I'm not. There you are, no need to read any further. On the other hand, and I'm glad you asked, here's the long answer. No actually my data wasn't stolen. It seems I never answered that quiz or survey or whatever it was, nor did any of my many friends. I've done plenty of them over time, just must have missed that particular one. So it's all a bit academic anyway. And as I'm a British citizen living in Britain I was never going to vote for Trump in the first place. (Or the last place either from what I've seen.) How many of us have made a spelling mistake when filling in a paper form asking for a catalogue or some such? And then a few weeks later, or for the rest of your life, you keep getting junk mail from a variety of firms with exactly that spelling mistake perpetuated? What did you do? Probably the same as I did, bitch and grumble and throw it in the recycling. The same with advertisements on Facebook, except that it's easier to train your eye to glide past them without really registering them and they don't fill up your paper recycling bin. I've only ever bought one thing from a Facebook advertisement. A couple of years ago I got a T shirt which reads on the front "Never underestimate a woman who graduated from Cambridge". Now I admit it wasn't cheap, but what fancy T shirt is these days? I liked it. And for a while after I bought it I got lots of ads trying to sell me shirts saying "Never underestimate a woman who listens to Leonard Cohen" (which I do, so I suspect they got into my data at that point) and various other fairly appropriate messages. But here's the thing, I didn't buy any more T shirts. Because I have agency. I'm not a zombie who glassy-eyed goes out and does what the latest advertisement tells me. I can choose whether or not to take that action. And I promise you, game apps, that nothing on this earth will ever persuade me to play bingo, slots, or poker on-line. No matter how many times you run the ads. The thing is that out here in the arse-end of nowhere population is low. I'm ten miles from my daughter, we do go to a great creative writing group, but basically there aren't too many people around with my exact profile of interests. With Facebook I have contact with people all around the world. I'm in groups for writing, writing historical fiction, taking part in NaNoWriMo, listening to Leonard Cohen, using an Instant Pot, Thermomix, and air fryer, knitting machines, my old college and university, and one for pupils of my old school. I'm never lonely, there's always someone out there posting. In fact I have to admit to not reading absolutely everything because life is too short even when you're retired.For a know-it-all like me it's golden. I use the Facebook instant messaging a lot, too. Setting up a meet with old school friends? Group message. Being called in for babysitting duties by my daughter? She messages me. An invitation to attend the Scouts and Beavers fun day next Saturday? Link provided. It's free, it's quick, it works. And I would guess that, after a blip of people cancelling their accounts with Facebook it will prove to be just too useful to ignore. Stock prices will drop for a bit - good chance to buy in, if you have any money going spare and live in the US - but will recover in the long term, Until the next big thing comes along of course. Until then I'm sticking with it, though I probably won't be buying any more T shirts. I'm still working my way through those old Discworld Convention ones. Which I bought at the conventions, not on-line.
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Doreen lives in the empty bit in the middle of Wales, where since her retirement she has taken up writing. She says it's better than working any day. Archives
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