Would you accept a job at Facebook?

After 2 long years of introspection, I can finally say that I would not accept a job at Facebook.

Being in my final year in the MS CS program, taking this choice has been a pivotal decision for me. Facebook has been one of my dream companies as an undergrad student. I remember wondering how it would be to work in a ‘cool workplace like FB and google.’ I realized the wrath of these companies behind the shiny covers once I graduated- I couldn’t be happier that I did not take a job but enrolled here at Stanford.

On a personal level, I find Instagram and Facebook severely addictive yet flustering. It challenges the holistic view of life and oversimplifies it in terms of followers, in terms of friends, and whether you have the blue tick. It is impressive that a portion of the users can effectively re-route their negative emotions, and deduce fun and fulfillment from these apps. However, the negative effects of these social media, especially on young impressionable minds, are widely known. Numerous research studies have proved the rise of depression and other mental health issues among young adults. There have been several claims that these apps are well aware of these effects and leverage these issues for financial gain. Being one of the people adversely affected by this rat race, I would never want to return or contribute to this vicious cycle anymore.

Here at Stanford, I attended talks about the macroscopic implications and effects of Facebook and Instagram. User modulation and data privacy are very blurred lines when it comes to social media. There have been occasions when Facebook was caught in the wildfire for misinformation spread in sensitive situations, and the repercussions were poorly handled or shrugged off. Being related to such a company would be extremely ethically challenging for me. Since the stink is so deep, I doubt I can bring much difference to the company.

That being said, it is next to impossible to find a ‘perfect’ job, especially in tech, where all companies are closely intertwined with each other. I look out for a balance between feasibility and ethics. For instance, I interned at Nvidia in the Summer of 2022. Yes, the same company gives computing power to Facebook and Google for their malicious deeds. Once again, it is also the company that supports major groundbreaking innovations for the betterment of society. For me, it is this balance that can help me sleep at night. I can choose projects that I ethically align with, given the vast extent of hardware and software resources. Finally, I realize it is a luxury to have choices in job opportunities, but wouldn’t it be fair to use it to make the world a little better?