Absolutely zero. People would find another way to communicate, socialize, or whatever. The loss of Facebook would be a loss of jobs and income for people, but that’s it. Facebook serves no positive purpose in society, and it seems the best thing a person can do, is to delete their Facebook account.
Zero damage? No way. Millions of people would lose contact with friends and family that they have no other connections with. Companies that depend on Facebook advertising would disappear. People would be locked out of OAuth accounts on thousands of websites.
> Millions of people would lose contact with friends and family that they have no other connections with.
Not at all.
> Companies that depend on Facebook advertising would disappear.
Good.
> People would be locked out of OAuth accounts on thousands of websites.
OK? If you were federating your auth via Facebook it was only a matter of time until you were locked out for one arbitrary reason or another. This just seems like an acceleration of a good thing.
> It would be catastrophic.
From your perspective, I can see that. But there are other perspectives out that that are not completely beholden to Facebook.
Some people rely on their relationships with other people. They build support systems, form groups, and take comfort in the company of others. Being cut off suddenly and with no means to reconnect would isolate many people. This would be extremely damaging from a mental health perspective alone.
In addition, so many people have reconnected with old friends, family, teachers. One friend of mine used Facebook to find her birth parents. That avenue disappears completely.
I don't know why you would say it's "good" for these companies to disappear. These aren't megacorps. It's small, local companies that rely on FB advertising. Bed and breakfasts, wineries, anything that depends on tourism. They're always hit the hardest. Walmart isn't going to care if they can't advertise on FB anymore.
Your comment shows a lack-of-understanding and compassion for your fellow human.
Actual research shows the opposite effect on mental health from what you are saying.
When you don't have Facebook your friends and family just txt or email. I mean Facebook book hasn't even been around that long. To pretend it is something like water or electricity is just preposterous.
While I agree that FB disappearing wouldn't be that big a deal, the idea that email is an "obvious" alternative is quite problematic for the younger folk.
Data point: In 2009, the admin assistant in my department at university told me she's been getting quite a few upset incoming freshmen because of the requirement to have an email address for university classes - many of them had never used email before, and had communicated only via text, and IM apps. This was over 10 years ago.
I agree email isn't the best for social communication, but I find it silly young people would get upset about needing an email address. It seems pretty obvious to me that an email is required for a number of basic adult functions, especially if one doesn't want to make a lot of phone calls. I was in high school in 2009 and my entire peer group was already using email for things like summer job applications and booking appointments.
Also, I'm surprised the university wasn't assigning them .edu emails anyway. My younger brother is in college now and he loves the school email for getting student discounts.
They were assigning them .edu addresses. Their complaint was more about the school requiring them to use email (e.g. to get updates from classes, registration, etc).
I'm not saying all those who complained did not have email - likely many/most did. They didn't like being required to use it. However, there were quite a few who claimed they had never used email. I suspect that they likely had, but only for a few formal things (university applications, etc) - something they used perhaps once every few months. They probably didn't like the idea they'd have to check their emails so frequently.
Many do not text or email, they use Facebook's messaging system. They would not even have the information required to connect elsewhere.
There is also a huge difference between people making the decision to stop using social networking, and being suddenly and unexpectedly cut off from a support network. The former can have positive effects on mental health, the latter will certainly not.
I say this as somebody who deleted their Facebook account over a decade ago.
You've managed to ignore all possible context and depth in your sarcastic answer.
The question is not "Could Facebook be replaced?". The question is "What happens were it to disappear one day". They're different questions with very different answers.
