Elder Bloggers Face Off with Facebook
by Grace Davis

A couple of months ago, invitations from my blog friends to join wildly popular Facebook started showing up in my inbox. I wasn't particularly interested. At that point, I had successfully evaded immersion into these social network "gated communities" and was perfectly happy to stick with blogging, flickr and Twitter, elegantly simple and pleasurable Web 2.0 activities that amply met my social networking needs.

Then Facebook re-positioned itself as a venue for folks beyond college age, the original user demographic. Facebook homepages, less dazzling than its younger counterpart MySpace, offered a myriad of applications (enabling one to send a virtual gift, or become a Zombie, or share movie lists), taggable shared photo albums, and groups for everyone from knitters to skateboarders.

My interest was piqued ever so slightly when the Facebook invitations that were once trickling into my inbox grew to the proportions of a flood. It was clear that my pals were on to something, so I gave in. When the zeitgeist beckons, the modern woman might do well to heed its call.

However, the zeitgeist has a dark side, as Nicole Freydburg discovered while perusing Facebook in search of elder-related groups:

...since everyone I meet through work is over the age of 65, I thought I’d look for Interest Groups on Facebook who are similarly engaged with elders in work, life or love. I searched for “elder” and “elderly.” I thought I’d find other 20 and 30-somethings working with elders. What I found instead, was shocking. I found very few groups - maybe one or two, that were elder-friendly. Instead, I found what I would define as outright elder hate groups. Some were violent and repulsive in nature.

Nicole listed the titles and number of members of the hate groups.

Prepare to shudder:

Violent groups:
Kill the Elderly: 4 members
Fuck old people and their stupid grey hair: 4 members
Fuck old people: 24 members
F*CK** OLD PEOPLE: 107 members
Asking old people for a quarter then throwing it in there face…..hahaha!: 143 members
I Beat up old people: 53 members
I like to beat the living crap out of old people. (sic): 15 members
If this group reaches 2′000 people, i will push a old lady down the stiars: (sic) 164 members
OLD PEOPLE SHOULD JUST DIE: 19 members
I run over elderly people but pretend they’re deer: 39 members
CITIZENS PROMOTING COFFINS FOR SENIOR CITIZENS BEHIND THE WHEEL: 16 members
A Solution to the Problem of Old People and Young Kids: 46 members

Hate groups:
I Hate Old People: 305 members
I hate old people because…: 56 members
Federation against degenerate elderly citizens: 13 members
Old people are aliens under disguise: the very inconvenient truth: 28 members
Old people drive like they fuck: slow and sloppy: 9 members
Children and old people should probably go to hell: 43 members
Old People Make Me Want To Puke: 24 members
An Old Person Has Fought Me On At Least One Occasion: 159 members
Senior Citizens Can Kiss My ASS..! 66 members

But, wait - maybe the creators and members of these groups are just having a harmless little poke at grandma and grandpa?

Former BlogHer Contributing Editor, Ronni Bennett of Time Goes By (temporarily offline at this writing) emphatically disagrees. To demonstrate the blatant bigotry of these Facebook cliques, Ronni applied her Time Goes By/TGB Bias Test "wherein the words “women” or “blacks” are substituted for 'old people'":

1. Old People Make Me Want To Puke
2. Black people make me want to puke

1. old people in school should be taken into the quad and be tarred and feathered
2. women in school should be taken into the quad and be tarred and feathered

1. I like to beat the living crap out of old people
2. I like to beat the living crap out of black people

1. Ugh yeah old people are so gross
2. Ugh yeah black people are so gross

Poet Sharon Brogan of Watermark questioned her membership in Facebook once she read Ronni's and Nicole's posts:

These posts -- which identify 50 hate groups on Facebook -- not racist, or sexist, but ageist to the extreme -- are distressing, and persuasive. Facebook appears to be tolerating this. Can I participate in a service that not only hosts, but apparently condones by inaction, attitudes that are not only offensive to me, but personally threatening?

Ronni, who also pens posts as alter ego, 'Crabby Old Lady', did not hesitate to shut down her Facebook account:

Crabby Old Lady is ashamed and embarrassed to have allowed herself to be part of this website. She has sent her objections to the press email address and deactivated her Facebook account. (Full removal is not allowed.) It would be good if other elder Facebook members would write on their own blogs about the site's tolerance of ageist bigotry and join Crabby in canceling accounts and writing to Facebook.

I will join Ronni in writing a letter to Facebook management protesting the elder hate groups. These groups are in violation of their code of conduct as well as the bounds of human decency. However, I will keep my Facebook account in the "I'm here, I'm old, and I ain't goin' nowhere" spirit of another former BlogHer Contributing Editor, Jeanne Sessums:

Ronni is right that those groups are violating FaceBook's stated terms of service. I don't think leaving FaceBook is the best way to raise visibility--I think staying and representin' is a better way...

Submitted by Grace Davis (view blog) on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 16:40

Comments

 

So much for Facebook's

So much for Facebook's reputation as the educated's alternative to MySpace.

  • Five Dollar Camera
  • Hypnotizing Chickens

    • Submitted by kperfetto on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 14:03
     

    Invitations declined

    I too was bombarded with invitations to join. I didn't because I am not that tech savvy and didn't want to get into something that would require way too much brain-power. Besides I blog, therefore I am! or something like that. Anyway, I am not terribly surprised--in order to recognize joy, there must be instances of hate,,,I should be wrong.

    Love,
    Babz
    www.lovebabz.blogspot.com

    Submitted by Lovebabz on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 15:10
     

    Facebook contact info

    Hey Grace,

    Do you have contact info so we can formally protest? I would love to see about 1000 emails go out from BlogHers...maybe we could make a change.

    Submitted by suebob on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 15:19
     

    I concur. Who runs that

    I concur. Who runs that joint over there? I wonder if this is something we could agree on en masse? A vote for action perhaps? I am happy to complain as an individual also.

    I am not a member. What a shame...I remember when it was good, dancing hamster-free networking for academics.

    I, Asshole

    Submitted by iasshole on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 15:57
     

    Unfortunately, I believe it

    Having had a few hate groups directed directly at me, I can say, I believe it. I'm surprised that there hasn't been response to this from Facebook. Perhaps reporting groups would help? I believe there is a link to do that.

    I've always hoped that Facebook will keep its college friendly features, but I don't believe that this means allowing hateful groups. I wasn't aware that there were groups doing this. Thanks for bring needed attention to this issue.

    Nickie's Nook
    and Nickie's Nook the Book

    Submitted by puppybraille on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 15:24
     

    Report this problem

    From Facebook:

    What do I do if I find an explicit, hateful or otherwise objectionable profile on Facebook?
    We don't want any content like this on Facebook. You can help us out by notifying us of any objectionable profiles. You can anonymously report offensive profile pictures and content by clicking on the "Report this Person" link located at the bottom of the profile page. You will be asked to specify the offensive content. Facebook will review your complaint and act accordingly.

    What do I do if I find an explicit, hateful or otherwise objectionable group on Facebook?
    You can anonymously report offensive group pictures and content by clicking on the "Report Group" link located under the group's picture. You will be asked to specify the offensive content. Facebook will review your complaint and act accordingly.

    Has anyone tried to call them? http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2379891724

    You can search for the Facebook CEO, CTO, CFO, VP of Business and Marketing on Facebook and send them messages through their profiles. ;-)

    ~Denise
    Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

    Submitted by Denise on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 16:26
     

    New to Facebook

    I only recently signed up to Facebook to see what the fuss was about and as research for work. I had no idea about the existence of these hate groups. I agree that reporting them to Facebook is the way to go and am willing to join in a group BlogHer protest. In the meantime Denise has provided contact info. Thanks

    Semantically driven and Safari suit

    Submitted by jaycee on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 17:09
     

    Thanks for bringing this up

    I have been reading Crabby Old Lady's posts about this and am glad you brought the topic to BlogHer.

    http://www.webteacher.ws/
    http://first50.wordpress.com/

    Submitted by Virginia DeBolt on Sat, 08/04/2007 - 17:46
     

    CEO's profile, other possible contacts

    Here is a link to the CEO'S profile on Facebook, where you can 'Send a Message', although he's clearly not eating his own dog food by the looks of the profile.

    On Linked In I found (if their profiles are up to date) Facebook's Director of Corporate Marketing, Melanie Deitch and their Director of Corporate Communications Brandee Barker.

    Surprisingly I found no mention anywhere on Facebook or Linked In of a Facebook community manager or similar sounding role.

    Elisa Camahort
    BlogHer
    elisa@blogher.org

    Submitted by Elisa Camahort on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 08:21
     

    Crone and Future Crone Activism!

    New

    Many thanks to all of you for your excellent commentary, righteous umbrage and calls to action.

    Special shout-out to Community Manager Denise and Elisa Camahort for providing Facebook contact information and links. I'm sorry I didn't add these in my original post. However, as my friends and our fearless leaders, Denise and Elisa made the effort to ensure that my bodacious elder-behind is covered.

    Finally, Ronni Bennett's blog is back up:

    Time Goes By

    If you haven't already, add TGB to your blogrolls. Read it daily. If you're a crone like me, you'll be grateful for Ronni's mighty voice, speaking on behalf of elder citizenry. For those of you hurtling towards cronehood, you'll find a wealth of useful information and important insights on your future.

    Best wishes from this proud Elder Blogger,

    Grace Davis
    Contributing Editor, Life-Elders
    State of Grace

    Submitted by Grace Davis on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 09:28
     

    Ronni Bennett Time Goes

    Ronni Bennett
    Time Goes By

    Thanks for the kind words, Grace.

    Facebook doesn't make it easy to send a message to anyone there, which always makes me suspicious of any website. And as far as reporting individual abusive messages - come on, Facebook! There hundreds, maybe thousands of them. It's not up to users to enforce a site's policies.

    I sent an email to the only address I could find on the site - the press office, of course. That was more than a week ago and no one has responded.

    One email of the sort I sent - to any office within Facebook - should be enough for them to jump on it immediately; at least that was so at every website I've worked for.

    I pondered staying at Facebook (although it generally doesn't interest me) as a stand against ageism, as Jeneane Sessum chooses, instead of boycotting them. I'm not sure which tactic does more good, so we might as well, among us, try them all.

    Congratulations, Grace, on taking on the Elders beat. I know you'll do a terrific job.

    Submitted by Ronni Bennett on Sun, 08/05/2007 - 10:28
     

    Thank you, Grace, for this

    Thank you, Grace, for this post, and the link to mine. After wrestling with this awhile, I've decided to stay at Facebook, and have just found and joined the BlogHer group.

    I'm glad to see it there!

    ~ sbpoet

    Watermark

    Submitted by sbpoet on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 00:21
     

    Hi Grace.

    I've been on Facebook a very short time and this makes me sad. I know there have to be groups from the student community regarding admitting anyone into the site, regardless of educational affiliation. I haven't searched and don't want to see, to be honest.

    I say we start a group that says something positive...Elder Facebookers In Your Face? ; ) Nah - probably something a little more gentle, perhaps. I was a social worker working with senior issues and family caregivers in a previous life, and I'll be a proud member.

    Laurie White blogs at LaurieWrites

    Submitted by lauriewrites on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 09:27
     

    And what about Amazon.com?

    I am not a member of Facebook, but just experienced something similar with Amazon.com I'll do anything to protect freedom of speech, but Amazon is actually selling DVDs on how to fight dogs and breed fighting dogs... I realize, not the same sort of hate as you are talking about here... but dead wrong.

    As Facebook, they do not want to take responsibility. It's all about the money - never forget it. I cancelled my account with Amazon, sent an email about it to my list of site members (about 14,000), and hope I cost them some money. I know of five accounts that were cancelled so far.

    We cannot accept hate, against races, animals, elders, or anything else. Free speech or not - a policy says volumes about your company. I say BOYCOTT. There's no other way.

    Anne Pierson
    Editor, RantingWomen.com

    Submitted by Anne_Pierson on Mon, 08/06/2007 - 10:26
     

    Thanks for the Info...

    I am so glad I didn't join Facebook, and even more
    so now that I've read your post(s).

    My original reason for not joining Facebook was
    that I believe it to be just another data mining site
    (i.e. MySpace, etc.). This "elder hate" issue, only
    adds to my list of reasons.

    I will definitely pass along the word.

    Thanks for the info.

    ~~ Life

    ----------------------------------------
    Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

    Submitted by Lifesinger on Fri, 08/10/2007 - 12:22
     

    Oh wow - just joined and I saw all this
    support - what next?

    hey all! This is so cool- I just joined Blogher today, and I'm so pleased to see the response against facebook. I hope I'm not too late to re-activate this discussion. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the petition suggestion.

    As a followup (unsuccessful) I called them August 7th. I called their main number, and spent about 25 minutes being popped around between voice mailboxes, most of which were suspiciously full. The receptionist would not transfer me to anyone in Public Relations unless I knew their name. So I ran to their website, and gave them a name at random (Matt Cohler, VP Strategy and Business Operations). His voicemailbox was also full. So I ended up leaving a voicemail on their overburdened “Press Hotline,” that I was Nicole Freydberg, freelance reporter in Edmonton and representing at least 50 elderbloggers (I needed an “in”), about to publish in the next two weeks on Facebook elder hate groups.

    Needless to say, I never heard back.

    BUT, if someone wants to help spearhead a petition of signatures, I'd be thrilled to help. Just let me know. Since I'm new here, I'm not sure how this messaging works, but email me through my contact information.

    I MOVED MY BLOG thanks to Ronni's suggestions about making blogs more elder-friendly. I found a place where I could use larger type, so the freydblog is now at http://www.thesaladdays.net

    Thanks all!

    C. Nicole Freydberg

    Submitted by nicolefreydberg on Sun, 10/07/2007 - 21:25
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