Facebook Society, by Roberto Simanowski, is a book before its time. Years before it became fashionable to criticize social media's hold on our attention and its tendency to atomize us, Simanowski had already thought through these effects. Somewhat dry at times, but this may be a byproduct of the translation.

I left Facebook late in 2016 and I haven’t returned since. The still unfolding saga of Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and the campaign to leave the EU, and the controversies over fake news have played a role, but I had started despising Facebook long ago.

Truth suffers on Facebook. We tend to trust and be influenced by our peer groups. But on social media our extended peer group may contain a lot of fake people,calculated to manipulate us, to influence us without even realizing it. Every moment Facebook algorithms calculate the chances that a person will act in a particular way and then it directs our behaviour in the sneakiest way possible.

In our eagerness to “connect” with people we are giving up our own freedom. There is a shift, from being free people, we are becoming resources for organizations, such as Facebook which with our voluntary assistance, are harvesting personal views and preference, in order to use or sell the information.

In his long 2018 letter (5.700 words, for God’s sake) he says, “In times like these, the most important thing we at Facebook can do is develop the social infrastructure to give people the power to build a global community that works for all of us.”

I’ ve read this sentence a few times trying to understand. Does he really say that Facebook should run the world? Does he really dream of a Facebook society?

This is the title of Roberto Simanowski’s recent and much-needed book, Facebook Society: Losing Ourselves in Sharing Ourselves, from Columbia University Press and translated by Susan H. Gillespie.

About three hundred years ago, the French mathematician, philosopher and writer Blaise Pascal wrote, “All the unhappiness of men arises from one single fact, that they cannot stay quietly in their own chamber.” Everyone, he said, feels his nothingness, his weakness, his dependence and his emptiness. Without diversion, man won’t be able to sustain himself. Diversion protect us from the thought of death the hunts every human being.

What this has to do with Facebook? Facebook has been presented as a utopia of communication beyond the principles of hierarchical and utilitarian thinking. Facebook has been entertaining the illusion that humans are on the road to a better world. It promotes what we call ‘small talk’, a placebo conversation the offers nothing other than killing time.

Its aim is to avoid to be in Pascal’s “quite chamber” that means to leave one alone with his own thoughts. Facebook and other social networks, offer permanent communication, they guarantee that you will be never be alone with yourself, they keep you permanently busy. Facebook, says Simanowski, “takes care of the problem of meaning in life by getting rid of any time to wonder.”

Facebook mode of communication hinders any productive and well-thought-out conversation. It does not encourage reflection. It restricts any attempt of discussion to the dualistic reaction of likes and dislikes. One’s popularity and evaluation is measured by the number of likes

Is this the global community that we would like to live?

The author has interesting points in this book. However, I find the sentences here highly convoluted, and that makes the reading experience hard (at least for me). It has lots of verbs in passive voice. The author used too many words or phrases that can be expressed in simple sentences It feels like this book will appeal to those in academics but not for those ordinary folks like me who use Facebook in a daily basis. I wish that the writing style is easier to read.

Thank you Net Gallery for this copy of Facebook Society by Roberto Simanowski.

This book was a little too technical for me. I felt like it was just dissecting words through the whole book and it was not as many pages as suggested.

I'm sorry this just wasn't want I thought it would be like the description.


Cherie'

A mix of psychology, philosophy and Facebook. If someone tells you that you're addicted to Facebook and you think he/she is crazy, you should give this book a try - it will put things in perspective.

Everybody should read this book. I highly recommend it. It is a great read for those who are always on social media.

Wow this is such a good book extremely informative and a must read for anyone active on social media. I can't recommend this book highly enough.

Thank you very much to NetGalley and the author for the ARC of Facebook Society my review is honest and unbiased.

A very interesting read about the psychological effect of social network and content sharing (or over sharing).
A book that should be read by each of us who are active on social networks
Highly Recommended!
Many thanks to Columbia University Press and Netgalley for this ARC

A surprisingly philosophical look at Facebook, friendship, and the positive and negative effects of social media on modern society. An interesting read.