La meta is to use Meta less

In recent years, META has become one of the most influential corporations shaping modern social life. Through platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, the company has embedded itself into how people communicate, socialise, and access information. While these platforms are often presented as optional tools, in reality META has created systems of dependency that make disengagement increasingly difficult, raising serious concerns about autonomy, free speech, and democratic accountability.

META’s power lies not only in its technology, but in its exploitation of social dynamics. Its platforms rely heavily on network effects: people stay because everyone else is there. Social events, community groups, professional contacts, and even family communication are often organised through META’s services. As a result, disconnecting can lead to social isolation, missed opportunities, and loss of visibility. This generates a persistent fear of missing out (FOMO), which discourages users from leaving even when they are dissatisfied with the platform. Participation therefore becomes less a matter of free choice and more a form of social pressure.

This dependence grants META immense control over public discourse. Unlike traditional media, META does not create content but controls its visibility through algorithms and content moderation. These systems determine which posts are amplified, restricted, or removed, yet they operate with limited transparency. While META claims to enforce neutral “community standards,” the real-world effects of these policies are often uneven and politically charged.

One of the most controversial aspects of META’s moderation practices is its treatment of pro-Palestinian content. Numerous journalists, human rights organisations, and civil society groups have documented cases in which posts supporting Palestinian rights, reporting on civilian suffering, or criticising Israeli state actions have been removed or suppressed. Such content is frequently flagged under broad categories related to terrorism or security, even when it is clearly political or humanitarian in nature. Meanwhile, comparable restrictions are less consistently applied to pro-Israeli narratives. Although META denies political bias, the repeated silencing of certain voices suggests that its moderation policies tend to align with dominant Western geopolitical interests.

This suppression of speech is particularly troubling because META’s platforms function as de facto public spaces. For many users, especially in the Global South, Facebook and WhatsApp are not merely social networks but primary sources of news, political debate, and civic engagement. When a private corporation restricts access to these spaces, it effectively shapes political participation without democratic oversight. Decisions that affect millions are made by a company accountable primarily to shareholders rather than the public.

Europe’s response to META’s growing power has been limited. While European institutions have introduced regulations aimed at protecting data and competition, they have failed to offer meaningful alternatives to META’s platforms. The absence of strong European social media companies has left citizens dependent on an American corporation to mediate social and political life. Regulation alone, without investment in public or cooperative digital spaces, has done little to reduce this dependence.

In conclusion, META’s influence extends far beyond social networking. By fostering dependency through fear of disconnection and exercising control over speech, the company has assumed a role once reserved for public institutions. Its suppression of pro-Palestinian voices highlights the dangers of allowing private corporations to govern public discourse. Addressing META’s power will require not only regulation, but a rethinking of who should control the digital spaces in which modern democracy increasingly takes place.

Non Meta ways to connect

La meta in Spanish means the goal. I’m trying to reduce my use of Meta products and want to use some other applications

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My First Computer

If I’m not mistaken, it was Christmas 1986 when I got my first computer, a Commodore 64.

Kids of today do not have the patience that we had back then. Games were on cassettes and tooks five minutes to load. Occasionally my friends and I tried our hands at programming, copying text from a book. We typed reams and reams of text just for a little ball to bounce on the screen.

Simpler times. Great times

What is your view on Enoch Burke?

Enoch Burke is an Irish teacher at the centre of a prolonged legal dispute with Wilson’s Hospital School in County Westmeath — originally over his refusal to use a transgender student’s chosen name and pronouns.(they/them) He was suspended and later dismissed from his teaching role in 2022, but he has continued to turn up at the school claiming he still has a right to work there.

Despite being dismissed, Burke still receives a teaching salary because his appeal of that dismissal is ongoing. The school agreed to keep paying him while the disciplinary appeal panel considers the case. Burke technically remains employed at the school until his appeal is fully resolved and because he is still paid and considers himself a teacher there, the school is his workplace, he returns there every day but is not allowed to enter.

He has had periods of time in prison because he turns up at the school in defiance of court orders. He has recently been released from prision and has started to turn up at the school again.

My View

This is a very complex case. On the one hand I fully respect people’s right to be the gender they choose and to be addressed as such. On the other hand I believe that kids should should be taught that there are two main genders (male and female) and any other genders are an offshoot of those two. There are thousands of clours but there are three primary colours, red, green and blue.

In the case of Enoch Burke, it is a great pity that a settlement could not be made with the school to avoid him doing prision time. He is very stubborn however and should not continue to turn up at the school but instead find a solution with them.

What is your view?

FIVE THINGS I LIKE DOING

Of course I like spending time with my wife, children, wider family and friends, but here are five things I do for fun.

1. DRINKING BEER

I like a cold beer, especially on Fridays. Sometimes with friends but I sometimes have one or two cans alone with some food.

2. WATCHING SPORTS ON TV

I enjoy watching sports on TV. Football, Gaelic Football, Darts, Tennis – a wide range of sports. I don’t get as much time to do this as I used to but I still watch a little bit of sport every week. I watch Liverpool and Derry City football games and Gaelic Football games, espeically those featuring Tyrone

3. CYCLING

I like to cycle. I cycle to and from work when I can (4km each way) and I try to get out on the bike at the weekends. I used to cycle a lot more in the past, clocking up 400km in February 2021, but I haven’t got out much in recent times.

4. LISTENING TO MUSIC

I like to listen to music when I get the chance. Indie, Grunge, Rock, Irish Traditional music; I have a wide range of tastes. I get the opportunity to listen to music while driving or doing admin work.

5. DRINKING COFFEE AND EATING CROISSANTS

I enjoy drinking coffee and eating croissants. I don’t do this every day but every now and then, either around 11am or in the afternoon about 4pm. I enjoy drinking lattes.

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Online Communication

Daily writing prompt

In what ways do you communicate online?

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I first encountered the internet in the late 1990s at university. In those days online communication was via email.

In terms of communication the big two for me are Skype and Zoom. When I moved to Portugal in 2008 I started to use Skype to speak to family and friends and since the COVID19 pandemic I have been using Zoom.

In terns of social media platforms, I started using Bebo in 2004or 2005 and in 2007 I joined Facebook.

Facebook is good for sharing family news and photos. It’s a platform I think I should use less of but the fact that I have got so many contacts there, people who are not on other platforms, means that I feel a dependency towards it.

Instagram and Threads are an extention of Facebook. What I put on Facebook appears there too unless I opt out. I haven’t really made the most of Instgram and Threads is really erratic. Either 20 views or 20,000. Political posts seem to be prioritised on Threads.

In terms of other platforms, I have played with TikTok and Twitter (now X) but I don’t use either of these platforms much.

One things that really worries me is that we are becoming dependent on big American Tech companies. Platforms such as Facebook may have started out as a bit of fun, allowing people to connect with friends worldwide but now it is anything but. It is big business and it seeks to control politicial discourse by attempting to silence or at least reduce the visibility of opinions critical of the USA and Israel. X is trying to provoke open-revolt in many countries and regions with Elon Musk in cahoots with the extreme right such as Reform in the UK and the AfD in Germany.

One book I would like to read with regard to all this is Techno-Feudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis. In the book Yanis argues that capitalism has been replaced by a new system in which Big Tech platforms function like digital feudal lords, extracting “rent” rather than competing in open markets. After the 2008 financial crisis, massive money creation and weak regulation allowed companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, and Meta to build dominant platforms—what Varoufakis calls “cloud capital”—that control access, prices, and behavior through algorithms. Users, workers, and small businesses become dependent tenants rather than free market participants, while democratic governments lose power to these corporations. Varoufakis concludes that this techno-feudal order deepens inequality and undermines democracy, and he calls for the democratic control of digital infrastructure as an alternative.

You can see that Musk is trying to undermine democracy through his X platform through his support of far-right groups. Europe’s inability to build platforms to rival the likes of Facebook and X could lead to problems going forward.

Cornwall 2025

Thinking about a road trip, well it was a flight followed by a road trip was Cornwall in August 2025.

Why Cornwall?

Curiously, my cousin Elaine visited Lima in July 2025 and while we talked about our forthcoming trip to Ireland and a holiday destination for a few days, she suggested Cornwall. After a bit of thought I booked it.

Porthtowan Beach

After landing in Newquay Airport, we hired a car and off we went to Porthtowan Beach. There I met my Auntie Anne, my cousin Helen and her kids. A nice afternoon was had there.

Saint Ives

Then it was off to Saint Ives, where we stayed for two days. We enjoyed our time there as the place had a relaxed atmosphere and free parking.

Saint Ives is a beautiful place, so we spent the next two days at the beach and exploring the town. Some great restaurants beside the beach with a relaxed vibe.

Newquay

After two days it was off to Newquay, a beautiful part of the world. We stayed in a hotel near the beach which was nice but a bit more impersonal than the place in Saint Ives.

After a few days it was back to Strabane but it was a great trip. Our plane was rather small and cute, as you can see.