TOBY SHAPSHAK: App, app and away ...
Mute! Apps once alerted us to useful updates or messages, but their notifications have become an untamed beast
In the past two months I have deleted the Facebook app from my phone and turned off almost all my notifications. I couldn’t be happier. I have been slowly tuning out of Facebook, for a variety of reasons. Principally, it is that the social media network is no longer used for the sharing of personal moments and life events, but as a running commentary of what people are reading. After years of disdain and Twitter snobbery, I started enjoying Facebook for its glimpses into the lives of friends and family, especially those overseas. I wanted to read updates about family events, walks in the park with kids, beach holidays and everyday life. I get my news feed from Twitter. Facebook was my personal news feed. But Facebook has evolved into a news feed. People post links to stories they are reading (and the outrage at the end of the Jacob Zuma years) and topics that I really don’t want to read. Facebook’s algorithm essentially shows you more of the same, based on what you liked in the past...
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