Here we go again: another Facebook controversy, yet again violating our sense of privacy by letting others harvest our personal information. This flareup is a big one to be sure, leading some people to considerĀ leaving Facebook altogether, but the company and most of itsĀ over 2 billion usersĀ will reconcile. The vast majority will return to Facebook, just like they didĀ the last timeĀ and theĀ many times before that. As in all abusive relationships, users have a psychological dependence that keeps them hooked despite knowing that, at some level, itās not good for them.
Decades of researchĀ has shown that our relationship with all media, whether movies, television or radio, is symbiotic: People like them because of theĀ gratifications they get from consuming themĀ ā benefits like escapism, relaxation and companionship. The more people use them, the more gratifications they seek and obtain.