The network effect is unique to Facebook. No competitor is going to beat it until they get the same number of users.

Most people have no issue going through FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc on a regular basis.

But when you say we should start using alternative tools in parallel to FB so that we contribute to grow these networks and reduce our dependence, then it's suddenly a huge cumbersome task.

Let's admit that the vast majority of users is actually ok with what FB does with their data. Showing concerns about privacy without actually doing anything is a cheap way of looking good.

Sure, but we aren’t talking about ‘beating’ Facebook. We’re talking about why people work there.

Perhaps some of the things Facebook does can be done better by other companies.

They don’t need to ‘beat’ Facebook as a whole, and if the engineers motivations are the features they work on, perhaps they can get more satisfaction elsewhere.