But first, some commentary: You're stupid!

For weeks now, we’ve heard nothing but how stupid the younger generation is for eating tide pods and snorting condoms. While I don’t disagree with that assessment of those actions, guess who else is stupid? Anyone who 1) ever joined a social media website thinking their identity/personal information, etc. would not be shared with other websites 2) believes Facebook is going to get hit with big fines and/or have to pay damages to users as a result of said sharing.

So with that said, I probably just spoke to at least half of my friends and called them stupid. Yes, if you believe either of those things, you’re stupid! I still love you but you’re stupid.

The ONLY way to keep anything you consider “personal” private is to NOT PUT IT ON THE INTERNET. You may think you can limit your privacy settings, etc. and for the average Joe user, he/she will not be able to access your stuff. But unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, you must have heard of hackers--a person who uses computers to gain unauthorized access to data.

More than that, anytime you click on one of those little quizzes to find out what kind of fruit or shoe you are, which Disney prince you’ll marry or what color your aura is, you are ultimately sharing “personal” information. The makers of those quizzes use that information to determine which businesses might want to target their ads toward you. What you determine as “invasive”, others call “smart marketing” because in this day and age of DVR’s, streaming and satellite radio where one has the option to avoid commercials, the advertising industry has had to come up with new and innovative ways to find target markets for their products and services. What you find annoying (and trust me, I do, too) is necessary for some businesses to be successful.

And back to the hackers—no Facebook will not be held accountable for neither selling information to marketers (because that is how they make money--you did realize it existed to make money right? Or did you think it was there purely for your enjoyment? Oh wow, you are BEYOND stupid!) nor for being hacked provided they took every appropriate measure to prevent hacking. Do you remember when Experian, the credit bureau, was hacked in 2017? You were much more at risk when that happened and do you know what? They did NOT have to pay any fines.

So shut up about Facebook already. Stop acting like it’s taking over everything. It may be. But guess what? You’re the one letting it happen. No one is forcing you to use it. Want to leave? Leave. Nobody cares. We may miss chatting with you but we respect your decision and we won't beg you to stay. Do I share things on this site? Absolutely. And sometimes I share too much. But I’m not on here whining about the invasion of my privacy either. So let me spell it out for you: Don’t want your personal information shared? Don’t put it out there.