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Facebook Survey Suggests Continuing US Loyalty After Cambridge Analytica Data Scandal (bbc.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the business-as-usual dept.

A Reuters/Ipsos survey found that Facebook users in the U.S. remain loyal to the site, despite the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal that exposed the data of 87 million users. The survey "found no clear loss or gain in use since then," reports the BBC. From the report: Conducted online, the Reuters/Ipsos survey questioned 2,194 American adults between April 26 and April 30. The poll has a margin of error of three percentage points. Some 64% percent said they used Facebook at least once a day, down slightly from the 68% recorded in a similar poll in late March, soon after the Cambridge Analytica story broke. Asked if they were aware of their current privacy settings, 74% of Facebook users said they were, and 78% said they knew how to change them. Among Twitter users, this was 55% and 58%, while for Instagram users, it was 60% and 65%.

20 of 103 comments (clear)

  1. "The mob is fickle, brother... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...they will forget within a week"

        -- Connie Nielsen, Gladiator (2000)

  2. What else do you expect? by techno-vampire · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I don't use Facebook, but from what I can see, most people who do act as though it's an addiction. Would you expect heroin addicts to quit just because there was a report of heroin cut with rat poison in their area?

    --
    Good, inexpensive web hosting
    1. Re:What else do you expect? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      100% this. That and they don’t understand what privacy and their data is to begin with. Also stupidity. Lots and lots of it.

    2. Re:What else do you expect? by fafalone · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It doesn't take being addicted to not care that everything you put in a semi-public profile is available to various 3rd parties. They couldn't access private message contents, which is the only thing anyone should think wouldn't be public. I don't care that some company might have scraped my public profile info through one of my friends installing an app; even though I only add in-person friends I'd still never presume anything visible to dozens of people wasn't publicly accessible to apps on the platform.
      While I have a well thought out reason why it won't keep me off Facebook, I suspect an even larger contingent has that vague 'it's not really a secret anyway' attitude combined with the even bigger lack of direct consequences: What impact has this had on them that they can see? None. And not because they think just others were effected like your drug cut, but because even if their data was collected; so what?

    3. Re:What else do you expect? by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 2

      That and they don’t understand what privacy and their data is to begin with.

      Or they do understand, and just don't care. Seriously, what "Bad Thing" will happen to me if Facebook knows my shopping and browsing history? The only consequence that I can see is advertising more attuned to my interests, which is hardy "bad". Maybe I will also get better recommendations for movies and books. The way I see it, the more they know about me, the better.

      Also stupidity. Lots and lots of it.

      But you're one of the smart ones, right?

    4. Re:What else do you expect? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      I don't use Facebook, but from what I can see, most people who do act as though it's an addiction. Would you expect heroin addicts to quit

      So you're not in a very good place to comment on people's behaviours. Your analogy of the heroin addict is way off the mark. Here's a better comparison sans analogy:

      Would someone who shared something on a platform knowing full well it gets shared with advertisers for marketing purposes quit that platform because the media discovered that the marketing purpose was politicial?

      There's no adiction involved. As I said from the onset the only people at all who think this is even remotely an issue are the media. The users who ultimately are happy with uploading things to the internet ultimatley don't give a shit if someone reads the things uploaded to the internet.

      That said there is some evidence of Facebook adicition, but that is hardly normal across the entire population.

    5. Re:What else do you expect? by dontbgay · · Score: 3, Informative

      It's not abour YOU neither. Facebook is inescapable as far as personal information and browsing habits go. The Like buttons and the Share buttons on damn near every website follow you around the internet. Even if you haven't made a personal profile, all those page clicks are logged. And even if you don't see a button on the page, there are pixels you can add to your site to track users. It's marketing. Plain and simple. They've hooked the entire internet (mostly) on seeing who is doing what, and doubly so if you're a host or online shop. The angle you're playing is trite and insignificant when you consider what you're up against. The only way to win, is to not play. And since you're here, you've made your choice.

      --
      Sig not found.
  3. Surgeon General finds... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Studies show continued cigarette loyalty after Surgeon General's warning.

  4. The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a month. by SlashGodet · · Score: 2

    No "suitable" replacement is possible. A replacement as enticing and persuasive-by-design will feature the same faults. Because the faults are ... ***features***

  5. No. One. Fucking. Cares. by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Look technorati of Slashdot, 99.9999999999% of the human population gives zero fucks about online privacy - well actually that's not true, because 99.999999999% of the human population of Earth will actively seek to *undermine* their own privacy if given any opportunity, and be happy doing so.

    Do you get it? No? Well then, carry on in ignorance and fear. Just live with the pleasure of knowing you are "right" to be afraid, whatever that means.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re: No. One. Fucking. Cares. by greenfruitsalad · · Score: 2

      99.9999999999% of population leaves less than a finger of a person in the other group. It makes you sound like my wife when she compares who does how much around the house.

    2. Re:No. One. Fucking. Cares. by mlw4428 · · Score: 2

      And they wouldn't be wrong. Look at what the EU is doing. Entire companies are having to halt operations in the EU, because they cannot meet or are unwilling to meet the new regulations the EU is putting in place. There's no reason the US couldn't do the exact same thing, except for HURR MUH MONEYYIIIEESS that some capitalist pig feels he's entitled to over my right to NOT be spammed by his shit brick company.

  6. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The """faults""" are by design, but the only fault - getting caught and provoking media attention - will be fixed either by Facebook or by the next iteration that arises after Facebook crashes and burns.

    Incidentally, since the true catalyst for the media outrage this time around was the tangential association with Trump and the idea that Facebook's actions were indirectly helping Trump's campaign, the lesson for next time will be to discriminate even more aggressively against any candidate that the media has unanimously aligned itself against.

    Captcha: fascism

  7. Survey by dohzer · · Score: 2

    Take this quick survey* to find out your Offical Facebook Loyalty Level.

      *Run by the company that replaced Cambridge Analytica

  8. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by arglebargle_xiv · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Yup. It's like saying "nine out of ten heroin users would continue to use it even when warned about the dangers of contaminated needles".

  9. 2 Rules to explain most human behaviour by VirginMary · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Rule #1: People are stupid.

    Rule #2: If some human behaviour seems incomprehensible to you, see rule #1.

    --
    When 1person suffers from a delusion,it is called insanity.When many people suffer from a delusion,it is called religion
    1. Re:2 Rules to explain most human behaviour by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      Define in this context. Who are stupid?

      The people who don't abandon a service which the media discovered did something it said it was doing from the begining?
      The media for blowing up this in incredible surprise?
      The people who thought that anyone on Facebook gave a shit when their data which was collected for marketing purposes was sold for marketing purposes?
      Or the people who thought that just because the magic word "election" was used, something would change?

  10. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Yup. It's like saying "nine out of ten heroin users would continue to use it even when warned about the dangers of contaminated needles".

    No it's not like saying that at all. So people's data was used to help target an election campaign...

    The election tomfoolery is just the tip of the iceberg. What about stalking? Identity theft? Burglars knowing when you're out of state on vacation? Getting passed over for a job because some busybody in HR discovers that you've smoked weed a nonzero number of times? Expressing an opinion that's protected by law in your home country, but when you happen to travel to a different country, you get arrested or maybe even just disappeared, merely for having said it?

    So, yes, it is like saying that.

    --
    Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
  11. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by JackieBrown · · Score: 2

    How would you fix that? Limit what people are allowed to say or share?

    People choose to allow their lives to be public. It's not necessarily a smart choice, but it is their choice.

    I have a facebook account that is essentially an online photo album for my friends and family to see. My wife has one that she uses to share everything under the sun. Short of making her wait until we return to town from a vacation to post vacation pics, it's her life and her choice.

    We both are aware of the risks. She gets allot more out of her facebook experience than I do but I have a safer online presence than she does.

    Heck, my Slashdot profile would get me in much more trouble than my facebook one.

  12. Re:The mob is fickle, brother...forgotten in a mon by farble1670 · · Score: 2

    How would you fix that? Limit what people are allowed to say or share?

    Pass laws limiting the use of harvested data, and / or require express consent from the owner to do so.