I apologize for not updating regularly, it's likely I'll be moving my thoughts to my LinkedIn (www.linkedin.com/in/comiller1). A version of this post will appear there too, great way to try out their long post feature. My only excuse is being a combination of busy and distracted. I needed to put my thoughts out though on this. Facebook has done it again.
This time, they've dehumanized 700,000 users through subjecting them to an experiment in emotional manipulation. The question of whether or not what you see on your news feed affects how you feel has always been a pressing question. Some days you read your feed in delight at kitten videos, while other days you may be rolling your eyes as you see someone showering praise upon your least-favorite political pundit, and by the end of your browse you're ready to flip a few tables.
For one week Facebook tweaked the feeds of a select group of users. One group was shown only positively toned posts, the other was shown negative. In a shocking revelation, people who saw happy posts felt happier. They seriously thought it would be the other way around and people who saw said posts would feel like miserable shut-ins.
Now research is great, it gives us new insight into our own psychology and can help to make a better platform experience. The only real sin is that the 700,000 guinea pigs did not know, and therefore couldn't consent to the study. I mean, is it really too hard to ask someone if they'd like to participate as a study subject? You know, send a message asking, "Would you be interested in participating in a study on the emotional influence of social networks?" Offer some compensation too, like money or a gift card of choice, maybe some free advertising if the subject is a page maintainer.
Then again I'm not surprised, especially with how Facebook handles privacy. It would be asking too much to request a little integrity.
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