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It's not a Thing, it's just a Web Site

I have just been reading an article about a guy who's website was banned by Facebook's algorithms, and the lengths he went to to get this 'fixed', while dealing with faceless (kinda ironic, given the company) automated feedback pages.

What struck me was the lack of a 'so what?' attitude from this guy who is a self-proclaimed Digital Rights Activist who didn't even have a facebook account. Really, so what if he's not linked to by facebook?

Part of the problem here is that people accept facebook as a Thing - a tangible world in which they exist in some way. It's not, it's just a website.

It's not entirely surprising, because the online world has to be fabricated in our minds, or else we wouldn't be able to make any sense of it. But it's entirely illusory.

Now in this instance, I suspect the guy was just chasing an audience - it was for purposes of revenue or ego that he cared so much about his relationship with facebook.

However there are billions of people who seem to care because the illusory world of facebook is so alluring. So much so that, even a decade ago, they were willing to send copies their passports and driving licenses to prove their identity, just to avoid losing access to this web site!

And so addictive is this illusion that, if they were to decide to not use facebook, or whatever crapware is part of their illusion, they would feel pangs of longing, loss, and of emptiness. The longing is for something that doesn't really exist but, until awareness creeps back in, the longing will remain.

Of course, facebook will do everything in their power to maintain that illusion. Every opportunity on phone, tablet, or proper computer will be exploited to show you the world you think exists, triggers that you have inadvertently divulged to them will be pulled as often as required to keep you believing that you're part of a world.

So, we should really be working to belittle facebook in the minds of the addicted, to put into perspective what that illusory world really is - it's just a web site. I wonder if those people adept at role playing games could teach the world how to re-orient themselves with reality, since they are possibly already quite good at doing this.