There's a reason I deleted the Facebook app off of my phone years ago.. Personally, I think it's a toxic waste of time, for the most part.

However, it wouldn't have nearly 2½ billion active users if it didn't have SOME usefulness.. For me, living abroad, and having a wide range of family and friends scattered around the world to keep in touch with, I do find myself on website from time to time for a social catch up.. Like today, for instance.. when I saw something which only served to reaffirmed my decision to stay as far away from Facebook as humanly possible.

src

The Problem with Facebook

Ok, I know I'm going to get a range of hate comments about how a) there are many problems with Facebook and social media in general.. or b) Facebook is amazing, and who am I to drag it through the mud, etc. Any comment is more than welcome. I just want to clear the air by saying this is ONE problem (found on Facebook but also twitter and elsewhere) that I personally find to be not just revolting, but downright dangerous if left unchecked.. so here's the rant..

Call it fake-news or what you will, but I'm sure my newsfeed isn't the only one that's scattered with ridiculous and controversial news stories or articles being shared, liked or promoted without so much as a moments thought. People with an agenda are creating stories with controversial headlines and photos to stir up emotion and trigger users to like and share.

I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what someone reposted today.. obviously without any second thought to the veracity of the article..

_{[common, really..?]} src

Racial implications aside, it's obvious that this is a bogus claim.. and it doesn't take more than a minute to do a reverse google image search to make that clear. I know because I did it. The first hit to pop up was from the artists who created the jacket (which by the way they want to sell for an insane $2500).

A quick scan of their write-up confirms that the jacket is indeed made by using latex, leather and silicone, and most definitely NOT human flesh, let alone the skin of slaves..

But a gruesome over-priced Halloween prop, doesn't make nearly as eye-catching a story as the atrocities that happened during slavery.

To be clear, I'm not trying to downplay the injustices that happened at the hands of many during that time period, but using fake stories to trigger a political agenda isn't the path laid towards reconciliation or reparation.

Racial tension is not the heart of the problem with facebook.. this was just another example of what is though.. _Fake stories, memes, posts, etc, being mindlessly shared and spread without a moments consideration let alone fact-checking It is pervasive from all walks of life, from race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, veganism, politics, or pretty much anything that polarizes people.

It has become an unwieldy beast that has grown out of control, from deep-fake videos to insensitive memes. We have become desensitized to contentious effects that this kind of divisive manipulation manifests.

src

When you only seek out that which reaffirms your beliefs, there is little room for personal growth. It is an issue.. one of the bigger issues, with Facebook and social media in general..

But what, if anything, can be done to curb it? Let's take a look at some tactics you can employ to do your part.. in Part Two of this post..