>and then throw in a legitimate company like Apple or Google to make it "Facebook and Google" are cancer.
This is very much a matter of perspective. Prior to Apple launching the app store as a walled garden for ios and then launching it on macos proper, it was generally an untested assumption that users would not be willing to accept such a software delivery model.
Prior to Google, it was assumed that it would be unacceptable to require people sign up to and give personal details for access to software. Most software licences were distributed by emailing codes to the user. The web app with mandatory registration was usually only seen in enterprise grade portal-based software.
Today, the standard software experience requires so many accounts that /average users/ are turning in desperation to password managers to corral the hundreds of accounts they need for their month-to-month computing, and Microsoft has moved from "next-next-done" installers to actively pushing a walled garden on the population. Despite Android having full support for distributing packages as .apk files that can be installed without the app store in the exact way you would use an msi or a deb, I would anecdotally say less than 5% of apps are offered for download from their creators websites in this traditional fashion.
Sure seems like the tumors are metastasizing to me.
Besides the factual mistakes in your comment (for example, the majority of Google's numerous services do not require any kind of account), you seem to be talking about software distribution and licensing, while this article is about attention. There's a pretty strong case to be made that Facebook sucks up all of your attention and gives you nothing in return. You can't make that case against Apple and Google. One of them sells telephones, and the other provides access to all of the information in the world. The reason these can't be lumped together with Facebook is because Facebook lacks any kind of redeeming product. They give you nothing.
Many people value Facebook for the experiences it gives.
You sound like one of those people that 'doesn't watch TV' in the 90s. To many TV doesn't give any value at all -- it is mindless drivel. However, many others like TV. So it goes with Video Games as well. The product of an entertainment company is entertainment. If you don't find entertainment in the product then don't consume it, but don't act like a spoil sport when others like it. Stop purporting your own opinion as fact.
I have never seen a more foolish comparison than the TV one. If someone doesn't watch TV, at best the in crowd might think you are a fool and behind the times.
The shadow profiles maintained by Facebook is the equivalent of watching your TV by stealing the non-watcher's electricity.
Triangulation of other people's profiles based on your phone book is the equivalent of handing over your non-watching neighbor's address to the (physical mail) spammers and then going and collecting only the interesting stuff from their house by using their key without their knowledge or permission.
Calling someone a spoil sport for pointing out the problems that FB causes to non-users is the equivalent of turning up the volume on your TV to a 1000 and telling your non-watching neighbor that all they need to do to drown out the noise is to go get a TV and then do the same.
This is very much a matter of perspective. Prior to Apple launching the app store as a walled garden for ios and then launching it on macos proper, it was generally an untested assumption that users would not be willing to accept such a software delivery model.
Prior to Google, it was assumed that it would be unacceptable to require people sign up to and give personal details for access to software. Most software licences were distributed by emailing codes to the user. The web app with mandatory registration was usually only seen in enterprise grade portal-based software.
Today, the standard software experience requires so many accounts that /average users/ are turning in desperation to password managers to corral the hundreds of accounts they need for their month-to-month computing, and Microsoft has moved from "next-next-done" installers to actively pushing a walled garden on the population. Despite Android having full support for distributing packages as .apk files that can be installed without the app store in the exact way you would use an msi or a deb, I would anecdotally say less than 5% of apps are offered for download from their creators websites in this traditional fashion.
Sure seems like the tumors are metastasizing to me.