"I'm pretty sure I know the ones that will" - Facebook manipulation

[Primroze]

Is it just me, or are people who ask you to share their heartstring-pulling viral Facebook posts with the words "I'm pretty sure I know the ones that will" sinking to a new manipulative low? These posts are often about serious issues of concern, such as mental health and bereavement, but I'm convinced many of them are started by unscrupulous analytics companies identifying target markets for advertising.
AIBU?

This is the latest one that has appeared on my timeline this morning.

The guy who posted it is an absolute tool, he has over 2000 Facebook friends and considering he posted this 23 hours ago he can’t even muster up 10 people to respond. Says it all.

I’d unfriend him if he wasn’t family.

What about people who post ‘be kind?’

I have a neighbour who is the most horrendous bully. She’s been ‘managed out’ of two jobs for it. She regularly posts that.

A guy I went to school with has had some mental health issues in adulthood and is terrible for sharing lost dogs from years/miles away or total urban myths. It’s often pointed out to him that the post is old/wrong and he’ll reply something like ‘oh ok, thanks’ but still shares similar posts regularly.

@TheRebelle

There’s one going around at the minute that says something like “don’t be offended if I didn’t tag you but I tried to pick people who would be fun” then goes on to talk about lifting each other’s self esteem, the irony seems to be lost on some people

Oh that's so true and so funny. I'm never tagged in those! You have to roll your eyes though. I'd love to post ''who could be offended!?'' but I won't .

@Malteser71

What about people who post ‘be kind?’

I have a neighbour who is the most horrendous bully. She’s been ‘managed out’ of two jobs for it. She regularly posts that.

People never identify with being bullies!

Even if they are literally giving you and just you the silent treatment and love bombing every body else in the group. I've had this experience twice. The two women behaved in a text book similar way. Both took a dislike to me for no reason that had anything to do with me, but felt the victim of my existence I think. Both felt entitled to carry on sidelining me with their more forceful extravert personalities and being LOVELY to everybody else!

Those two bitches both identify with being lovely

I’d unfriend him if he wasn’t family

This is the problem isn't it. It's always some family member or work colleague and it would just cause too much fallout if you did unfriend them. I think they know this as well.

What about people who post ‘be kind?’

They’ve missed off the end of the sentence which is “...because I’m an absolute arsehole but, like all bullies, I can’t take what I dish out”.

Or their protestations that they are so kind that they are always there for you really means “Talk to me about all your problems so I feel I’m important to you AND I can gossip about you afterwards which will make me feel even more important because I am In The Know”.

There’s one going around at the minute that says something like “don’t be offended if I didn’t tag you but I tried to pick people who would be fun” then goes on to talk about lifting each other’s self esteem, the irony seems to be lost on some people hmm

Like the one when Caroline Flack died. All about being kind. Was so hard to resist commenting on the irony of that one.

Oh I got so annoyed by this, there was the one at the time going round about tagging the beautiful people and bekind. Without thinking that maybe the people you didn’t tag or have MH problems or have low self esteem are now feeling shit about themselves.

My SIL does this constantly, it’s like some competition between her and her friends to validate how ‘beautiful’ they all are. 🙄

If they know who will share they know I'm not one of the mugs

You all should be asking them
"Oooh, who won't share? Do tell"
Ruin it for them or get yourself blocked. Either eay it's a win😂

I don't see them as sincere anyway, they are just a cut and paste job. No actualsincere thought has gone into them by the poster anyway

@Notanotherhun

People still use Facebook?

No. No one uses it. Not one single soul.

Is it manipulative though? Surely you roll your eyes and scroll past. I never think X will think that I don't believe rapists belong on prison if I don't like or share her post.

I unfollow anyone in my family who does this. My friends are not the sort that would do this in the first place.

I LOATHE it when they tell you to put something on your own time line to show you really care. Toss off. I'll reply to you on your thread on your timeline if you are having a bad time because I like you. I will not be bullied into doing something utterly pointless to prove to you how spineless caring I am. And now you have attempted to manipulate me, I like you so much less.

At least when people had to handwrite actual chain letters, they had to go to some effort. That must have stopped a lot of them, when copy/paste doesn't. There's nothing new about the manipulative nature of them, though. I just ignore, and fortunately, don't get many anyway. I suspect people would worry about my character change if I started posting them.

"you're first @ is getting pregnat this year!!"

Tag someone you know starting with M, if they don't answer in 5 mins they owe you a maccies!

Your Birth MOnth TeLls you whaT You ArE getTTng for XMAS ths year! (apparently, its pregnant, in prison for me)

Girls on this list need a trip to vegas, and some gin // getting pregant (its always pregnant, so many pregnancies)

At the most innocent level, they seem awful awful attempts at conversation starters. But mostly they are shared by groups and pages, in a bid to bias some algorithms into thinking they are super active groups.

Also, the "please share this, to let someone know there is always someone listening" ...somehow, I don't think me sharing a copy-paste is going to inspire someone to reach out to me.

And all the MLM invites... They all have similar group names "Megan's Mummy bargins ", SuperSweet Beauty"

They're stupid, but I don't feel manipulated by them. I just judge the person that posted it. Why not share their personal story connected to whatever the issue they're spamming about instead of lazily re-sharing rubbish? It's likely that a personal story will touch more of their followers.

The ones I see most often at the moment are the

Argos has 30 TV with slightly bashed boxes which they cannot sell! Like, comment and share to win one! - Page created today.

British Airways are giving away a holiday for 4 as the previous person cancelled. Like, comment and share to win one! - Page previously called TUI Holidays.

@slashlover
I have seen that Argos one and one from B&Q for showers , I can not believe people would fall for this but I guess there must be a few .

I agree that most of the missing pet / child ones are either way out of date / nowhere near me and even if I did see them I probably would not remember or recognise them from a picture I looked at for 2.5 seconds 3 weeks ago .
The ones that do make me think are the missing adults/ older teenagers ( with no apparent MH issues ) I often wonder if this is real why has that person run away is it because they are trying to escape a abusive relationship , the last thing I would want is for me to let some abuser know where their other half / parent / family member etc is

@TheRebelle

There’s one going around at the minute that says something like “don’t be offended if I didn’t tag you but I tried to pick people who would be fun” then goes on to talk about lifting each other’s self esteem, the irony seems to be lost on some people

I despise that one. Even when I'm tagged as a fun one...

@BrightYellowDaffodil, YES. Be Kind (to me)