Farewell to Facebook?

LIHUE — After it was reported that marketing firm Cambridge Analytica gained access to the personal information of 50 million of its users during the 2016 presidential campaign, will Kauai residents continue to use the social media platform?

Even though Cambridge Analytica denies misusing private information, many Facebook users have since left the social media platform.

Hanamaulu resident Kevin Brody said he uses Facebook a couple times per day on a computer that’s set up specifically for the social media platform, but in light of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, he’s not sure if he will continue to do so.

The data Cambridge Analytica used, he said, had already been mined and used by many other political organizations in the past.

“The previous administration had used data from Facebook to great advantage, so the idea that another side, I mean the idea that people are just waking up to it right now, is well, how can I say this, it’s naive,” he said.

It seems that people are more worried about one side of the political spectrum using the data then they are the other, he said.

“In other words, when the Obama administration used the data, they didn’t seem to have a problem. Now that it’s being used by the Trump administration, it’s ‘Oh my God, it’s a violation of our rights.’ No. Our rights were violated almost a decade ago and if you weren’t aware of this, then you are foolish,” Brody said.

Puhi resident Skylr Huihui, 21, said she doesn’t use Facebook that often anymore, but at one time was a frequent user.

“Not only for social media, but to get through to other people through Kauai Buy and Sell. Also for fundraising purposes, my parents use it for fundraising purposes and also just regular social media. I personally don’t use it anymore though,” she said.

As far as Facebook goes, her favorite thing about it are the recipes and a local page called Kauai Rants and Raves.

“I feel like that’s actually something really good, if anything ever happens you can just hop on there and everybody can help look for something or someone,” she said.

Lihue resident Martin Leheu, 23, has a Facebook account, but doesn’t use it that often.

“The way I see it, Facebook is not anything worth doing, because being Facebook, if you look at it, nobody really uses it for social anything. It’s all one big marketing scheme,” he said.

Leheu said he is frustrated with the social media platform.

“To me it’s basically socialism. It’s trying to share every little bit, trying to make it sound like we’re all equal, but really, it’s all just a bunch of bogus marketing and exploitation,” he said.

For Leheu, personally connecting with someone is more important than social media. He said the only thing he would really care to use is video chat because you’re actually seeing and talking with another person, but even that’s not the same as face-to-face communication.

“In the end, I would just say get off the computer and actually talk to a person yourself,” he said.

Lihue resident Sir John Michael said even before he heard about the Cambridge Analytica scandal, he deleted his Facebook account for personal reasons.

“Going into Facebook, airing your private life in public in the United States of America, where the NSA is openly monitoring all of our communications, you almost have to accept something like that is going to happen and is happening,” he said.

He views Facebook as a government information collection operation.

“It’s pretty much common knowledge. If you’re posting things that can be used against you or you’re posting something that could destroy your business or life, it’s really on you, because that’s airing your private life in public,” he said.

As for the Cambridge Analytica scandal, he said it makes him angry.

The purpose of Facebook, he said is to know what society is going to do, so they take information from a person and come to the conclusion as to what that particular person is going to do in the future.

A Kauai man who only likes to be referred to by the name “Tribal,” said the last time he used Facebook was in November. He said he got rid of the social media platform for many reasons.

“For one, social media, Facebook in particular, is notoriously culprit in using false information to sway the masses of people to be into a certain mindset,” he said.

Brody said he’s gone through great lengths to ensure his personal data is protected by having a computer specifically set up for the social media network. Facebook isn’t downloaded on his phone, he said.

“If I want to keep my data secret and separate, I have a more secure machine for that. I was in the military. That’s part of why I do this,” he said.

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Bethany Freudenthal, courts, crime and county reporter, can be reached at 652-7891 or bfreudenthal@thegardenisland.com