Looking at secret Facebook groups

Sure, you’re on Facebook — but are you part of a secret group? Plenty of people are; an interesting piece in Wired talks about the pros and cons of these hidden corners of social media, which seem to be growing “amid the partisan rancor of the 2016 election and its aftermath.

“This flight behind figurative closed doors is at odds with the internet’s promise of open dialogue, but it is also a reaction to what people increasingly perceive as the toxicity of that openness,” the mag writes. “It is not a choice without risk. The first rule of secret Facebook groups is you do not talk about secret Facebook groups. The second ruleis that someone, inevitably, always talks about secret Facebook groups.

“And much like fight clubs, these groups are based on radical trust — where people of like mind can express their true selves — and have a tendency to slip into solipsism. Still, despite the risks to privacy and the devolution into echo chambers, private Facebook groups may provide an important refuge: places where new ideas can germinate while shielded from the toxicity of the open internet.”

What do you think? Email rrollins@coxohio.com.

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