FaceBook problems

[Jhanananda]

I just tired logging into FaceBook, and I found this message from them waiting from me"

Do you know the people you're sending friend requests to?
You've been sending friend requests to people who don't know you.
Facebook is a place for connecting with people you know well, like:

    Family
    Classmates and coworkers
    People you know personally

I understand that if I send friend requests to people who don't know me, I could be blocked.

I have sent no friend requests to anyone in months.  I know that my FaceBook feed has been hijacked my FaceBook, so that my feed does not get posted to the general wall of my friends there.  So, my conclusion is: either FaceBook is attempting religious suppression there; or they have serious management level problems.

They will not allow me access to my page anymore without clicking a box against the last line, which states, "I understand that if I send friend requests to people who don't know me, I could be blocked."  Since that would be a lie, I will therefore no longer visit FaceBook until FaceBook management publishes a retraction in a major publication admitting that they either: engage in religious suppression, or they have serious management level problems.

I recommend that everyone stop using FaceBook.

[Alexander]

You may have had your account hijacked by someone.. and if so, probably just because that happens to FB users frequently, and not because you're one of the handful of people on Earth who has figured out how to access samadhi.

I signed on as a 'follower' of yours back in july, although I haven't seen any posts from you since then, if you've made any. Granted I haven't really done anything at all on Facebook since 2010, when I lost all interest in it.

It doesn't matter though - facebook is just one of the new, fickle, stress-creating fascinations of modern people. It's something everyone's compelled to belong to by existence in the social world: where you get to share every trifle of your pathetic, empty life; comparing your dumb efforts to escape the pains of being human (in its loneliness, frustration, fear and finitude) with other cowards just like you. =)

[Michael Hawkins]

My enthusiasm for Facebook has been reduced to zero.  Part of it has to do with the knowledge that it is a data collection tool for the worldly authority structure (as is the Internet in general), and part of it is the fact that the site is designed to exacerbate the collective shortening of attention span.  I think that some people use it with a degree of skill, but ultimately I think we all need to step away from the Machine as much as possible -- get back to the natural world around us, while it's still available.

[Jhanananda]

I think you are right, Michael, so I am heading off again for more camping.  I do see how my influence in the world continues to erode, and it seems like a conspiracy.  Whatever you see happens to me is likely to happen to each and every one of you.  So, work together to form your own contemplative community (sangha).