Facebook uses us as Lab Rats

**Sooz** · 28th June 2014, 14:06

Looky here in mainstream news. Up front and in your face about how they manipulate us.

But because you have signed their account conditions, you are agreeing to being used as a lab rat.

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/d...628-zsp8m.html

Emotional states on Facebook 'contagious' research finds
Date June 28, 2014

Scientists at Facebook changed hundreds of thousands of users' "news feeds" to see if reading more negative or positive content could affect their moods.

In a research paper released this week, the data scientists say they set out to establish if the well-documented phenomenon of emotional contagion, where one person's emotional state influences another, can take place online.

For a week in January 2012, the researchers reduced the amount of either positive or negative updates shown in the news feeds of over 650,00 English-speaking users.

"This tested whether exposure to emotions led people to change their own posting behaviours," reads the paper.

The researchers, including one of Facebook's in-house data analysts and two academics, found showing users more negative or positive posts did have an impact on what users shared.

"For people who had positive content reduced in their News Feed, a larger percentage of words in people's status updates were negative and a smaller percentage were positive. When negativity was reduced, the opposite pattern occured."

The researchers claim the fact that both positive and negative tinkering brought about changes means this is a case of true contagion rather than simple mimicry.

The scientists said they completely removed all emotional status updates from a group of test subjects, who consequently experienced a "withdrawal", or lower levels interaction and expression.

There was no need to request permission from users involved in the study as they had already consented to Facebook's data use policies by having an account.

Facebook's data use policy allows these experiments with a clause explaining user data may be used for "internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research and service improvement".

The experiments were within the data guidelines as the researchers didn't view the updates involved, instead relying on a software to identify positive and negative words to assign sentiment.

The researchers suggest the research could be useful for public health issues given the link between mental and physical health.

**jimmer** · 28th June 2014, 14:32

good info, sooz.

I had a facebook page.
I opted out last year, canceling it.
feel better now.
another pet peeve?
google. I pay for my email service.
anything free is an oxymoron.

**Sooz** · 28th June 2014, 14:45

I was on Facebook for about 5 minutes a few years ago, because my son was on it. Once I learnt how it was a creation of the CIA, snooped on you and put you into a database, I flew the coop.

Here is how to permanently delete your facebook account for those interested.

http://www.groovypost.com/howto/secu...ofile-account/

**Sooz** · 28th June 2014, 14:49

BTW, I'm still waiting for startpage email to become functional. Apparently it is a private email, which you pay for.

They promised it last year, but still no news.

**Tonz** · 28th June 2014, 14:52

**norman** · 29th June 2014, 00:08

Originally posted by Sooz

BTW, I'm still waiting for startpage email to become functional. Apparently it is a private email, which you pay for.

They promised it last year, but still no news.

I signed up to be a beta tester for them about 2 or 3 years ago. I never got another word from them. A while back, I checked the web site and they said they were into the beta testing stage.................

**KosmicKat** · 29th June 2014, 11:52

Whatever I do online I do from the initial premise that it is being monitored by someone. It helps knowing that information stored on a computer cannot be moved, it can only be copied. Of course, copies can be deleted but most filing systems only delete the catalog entry that tells the computer where to find the information. The information itself is not destroyed until it is overwritten by new information, and in the case of magnetic media, there is almost always a trace of the original left simply because of the nature of the physical engineering and the limits of accuracy.

Myscha

**Moonlight** · 29th June 2014, 13:14

I was on FB for about a year and got really fed up with them changing stuff around all the time. When I understood about face recognition, out I went... That's a few years ago. Never missed it.

The book of faces is a double-edge sword, it can be helpful and it can be destructive.

**jimmer** · 29th June 2014, 14:06

I just deleted my 'offline' FB page.
thanks again, sooz.

**Sooz** · 7th July 2014, 10:10

Mike Adams weighs in to the Facebook manipulation project. He is SO right...

http://www.naturalnews.com/045891_mi...eam_media.html

I know I'm preaching to the choir here with members. Hoping to catch some guests who sashay through here.

We are getting through to people. Tipping point! Keep it up and keep posting far and wide.

**Tribe** · 7th July 2014, 15:26

Just in the process of copying any of the important things from my facebook account , then it's closed for good ! , total time waster for me and anyone that really cares enough to stay In contact can email me or txt ! It actually feels like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders . Don't like having to keep checking something in OCD fashion !

**ronin** · 7th July 2014, 15:32

i have to say i myself do not use facebook anymore,found it trivial and false.
people who you actually know posting false impressions of themselves.
on the other hand it is a good tool for people to connect.
my partner uses it for her business and this is all she uses and it is working for her.

like everything in life you can make things work for you as long as you don,t get involved with all the bull shiite.
you have a choice.