Has Facebook Gone Too Far?!

People are curiously questioning whether Facebook is secretly eavesdropping on their personal conversations. Regardless if this is for advertising purposes... has Facebook gone too far??

Some claim that they believe Facebook can hear their private conversations because advertisements are so personally targeted towards things that they claim they haven't even searched yet. Who knows what our smartphones are actually capable of doing?

In 2016, reports revealed that Facebook generated $5.38 billion in revenue- with $5.2 billion of it being from advertising. Therefore, accuracy of advertisements is critical in targeting consumers and creating effective posts. The means they use to achieve this accuracy might be unknown to us as consumers.

However, Facebook issued a statement denying the claims and affirm that they are not listening in for advertisement or any other reasons.

They might "claim" that they aren't listening, but the real question is: do you believe it?

Regardless, it's always better to be safe than sorry, and just in case here is how to disable microphone access on the Facebook app:

1. Click on the Settings app
2. Scroll down to "Facebook"
3. Click on the Settings option 
4. Switch Microphone to off

Out With the Old...And In With the New

I find myself consistently trying to keep up with the new "slang" that seems to be updated way to often... so I thought I'd start to make a list to keep track.

Here is a list of some words that have taken on a completely new meaning thanks to social media:

1. "Poke"

• Old Definition: jab or prod (someone or something), especially with one's finger.
• New Definition: a way to attract the attention of another person on Facebook by using the ‘poke’ facility (usually randomly by someone you haven't talked to in a few years).

2.  "Feed"

• Old Definition: give food to.
• New Definition: a place to go in order to see what people in your social circle are posting/doing with their life that you in reality don't care much about. 

3. "Friend"

• Old Definition: a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection in person. 
• New Definition: a person you met once at a bar and decided to add on social media in order to get a better follower ratio. 

4. "Tweet"

• Old Definition: the chirp of a small or young bird
• New Definition: a posting (usually of an irrelevant opinion or rant) made on the social media website Twitter that is limited to 140 characters- thankfully. 

5. "Tag"

• Old Definition: a children's game in which one chases the rest, and anyone who is touched then becomes the pursuer. 
• New Definition: a way to link someone to an embarrassing photo on Facebook or Instagram in order for them to be attached to it forever whether they like it or not. 

With the fast pace lifestyle of the internet, I'm sure there are even more meanings being created right now. Is there really anyone that can keep up with all these absurd new meanings???