Social networking giant Facebook has been asking its users who or what they usually sleep with, causing a number of them to brand the question creepy and intrusive.
The company started asking users the question as part of its ‘Did you know’ feature that was introduced last month. The aim of this particular feature was to prompt users to share more about their lives with their friends on the network. The site asked users to complete the following statement:
“I usually sleep with…”
However, this statement did not go down well with users who came across it, with many complaining about the question being a bit creepy and a little too personal.
Things that #Facebook wants to know these days. Creep. Creepier. Creepiest. pic.twitter.com/MiGCo1C4Lj
— Subhakeerthana (@bhakisundar) January 7, 2018
As a result of the backlash, Facebook has now removed this particular statement from the ‘Did You Know’ section of the site and claims that the intention of it was to get users to reveal what, if anything, they usually sleep with. This might mean such items as a teddy bear or a blanket, as opposed to names of people.
A spokesperson from the American social media giant said that the statement was simply worded poorly and explained that the intention of the statement was not to get people to reveal intimate details. The spokesperson highlighted that the statement seemed to have caused confusion among users and the company imagined that users might tell their friends that they sleep alongside their favourite stuffed animal. It was also confirmed that it has since been removed.
The ‘Did you know’ section was initially launched back in December and was designed to get users to share more personal status updates.
To use this part of the site, open the “What’s on your mind?” box at the top of the news feed and select the option “Answer A Question”. Users are able to skip questions they do not wish to answer and the responses are then posted as a status update. Examples of questions/statements include:
• A favourite class of mine was…
• The internet helps me to…
• My most treasured memory is…
• A crazy thing I did for love was…
• My favourite alarm tone is…
• The last time I cried laughing was…
• Would you rather get up early or late?
• The night before an exam, I…
• I was over-excited when…
• My favourite position to sleep in is…
• Someone once tried to flirt with me in…
This section fits into the company’s plans, as it has revealed that it hopes to change its news feeds in the coming months to show more posts from friends and family as opposed to business and media pages. The network is trying to retain its more “personal moments” that allow users to connect with their friends and family. Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg also vowed to “fix” the site and rid it of its problems as his own personal challenge for 2018.
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