Let's just say that the "sour grapes" crowd are much more likely to pile on to stories like this.
Facebook provides me and my friends with immense value, I'm a very happy user, and as long as that value is higher than the annoyances of using Facebook, we will keep using it.
The reality is that Facebook's DAU numbers and engagement metrics just keep on rising. A bunch of disillusioned users on this forum is not a negative trend. Facebook's biggest enemy is themselves, because the corporate machine pressures everyone there into change for change's sake, which fuels user fatigue, which in the end will lead to some sort of exodus.
Now, if you think Facebook provides with you with something of value, good for you. You're using a service and you're happy about it. But that says nothing about the preferences of others.
That was exactly my point. OP claimed that it seemed like people on HN weren't using it based on the comments to this thread so far.
I'm claiming the opposite, that a majority of HN users are also relatively happy Facebook users, but that those users won't comment on threads like this. Because these threads always attracts the contrarians and turn into a pissing contest about who deleted their FB account first.
It's hard to manage, but with the right controls and tweaks, they could make it more comfortable again... and I'd start using it again.
Kind of a good counter-example: LinkedIn may be much smaller and less loved, but when you post something there, you know it's going out to your work colleagues, and it'll maintain the respective level of discourse. FB is just all over the map.
Facebook's DAU numbers and engagement metrics just keep on rising
and OP's
*If Facebook makes people unhappy, and the more they use it the unhappier they are, why does usage continue to grow? Not only are more people using it, a higher proportion are checking Facebook at least once a day.
are also true of heroin. And no, I'm not saying that Facebook is like an opioid but it just isn't a convincing argument about its value.
Perhaps start by unfollowing those that post the "political garbage, pointless memes, etc". Quite quickly you should start to see your feed be a little more streamlined / less noisy.
On a related note I went even further and unfollowed everyone so my feed is now completely empty. As such it proactively requires me to view profiles of connections that I care about or view my list of "close friends" which is a feed in itself. That said, I barely use it anymore (which was my original goal).
PS: the irony is of course that WhatsApp is owned by Facebook ;)
And no, phone calls are not an option. These are people I've never talked to on the phone in my whole life, why would I start now?
This is the point. We non Facebook users decided we don't care enough about that stuff. Or at least not until someone tells us about it in person.
There's no real problem with hearing half a year late that a friend of a friend, who is also a direct acquaintance of sorts, became a parent.