The contentious election for Philipstown Town Board — at least between Republican candidate Tim Greco and his detractors — brought up issues of Facebook, privacy and closed groups.
To restrict who sees your Facebook posts, click the down arrow at the top right navigation, select “Settings,” then “Privacy” on the left. You can set your posts to be visible to Friends, Friends Except Certain People or Specific Friends. You also can select who can see your list of Friends, who can contact you, who can follow you and who can look you up. For more guidance, see facebook.com/about/basics.
Of course, none of this prevents anyone who can see your post from taking a screenshot and sharing it.
Much discussion of the candidates and election took place within Facebook groups, which can be Public (click the +Join button) or Closed, in which administrators must approve your request.
Below are the most popular local groups, with the number of members as of Nov. 6, although many typically are “lurkers” who never post. For links to other groups, scroll down.
Group | # | Administrators | Status |
Cold Spring Neighbors | 556 | Andrea Hudson, Steve Laifer | Closed |
Cold Spring Neighbors (Not the Secret Neighbors Group) | 615 | Bridget Villetto | Public |
You Know You’re from Cold Spring When… | 1,156 | Villetto, Lori Marie | Public |
Philipstown Locals | 3,401 | Violet Rivenburg, Susan Kenny, Margaret Yonco-Haines | Closed |
Philipstown Locals Uncensored | 789 | Russ Cusick | Closed |
Beacon is My Home | 1,780 | Cusick, Scott Harrison, Scott Snell | Public |
Beacon, NY | 7,284 | Dave Gianna, Keith Décent, Todd Drake, Nils Huehnergarth | Closed |
Beacon, NY: Open Forum | 2,322 | Brad Fredricks, Phil Bram, Ori Alon | Public |
You Know You’re From Beacon When… | 6,021 | Kyrstin McCabe | Closed |
More Groups
Group | # | Administrators | Status |
Cold Spring Moms | 181 | Noreen Hegarty-Weber | Closed |
Cold Spring Merchants | 97 | Leonora Burton, Teri Barr | Closed |
Cold Spring Commutes | 83 | Drena Fagen | Closed |
Philipstown Freecycle | 766 | Nancy Lauretta | Closed |
Philipstown Perennials | 146 | Cindy Kearns Scott | Public |
Chicken People of Philipstown | 65 | Lydia JA Langley | Closed |
Philipstown Dog Lovers | 56 | Owen McGinley, Madeleine Sanchez McGinley | Closed |
Philipstown Gun Owners | 43 | Michael Bowman, Christopher Zaleski, Jackie GunsEmslie, Kevin McConville, Airinhos Serradas, Nicholas S. Cantellano | Closed |
Philipstown Debate Forum | 87 | Mary Ellen Yannitelli | Public |
Philipstown Bulletin Board | 719 | Russ Cusick | Public |
Bee People of Philipstown | 10 | Robert Langley, Lydia JA Langley | Closed |
Where’s the Poison Ivy in Philipstown? | 14 | Robin Gustafson | Public |
Philips – Town Bear | 111 | Margaret Parr | Public |
Beacon Buy, Sell, Trade, Loan, Barter, Giveaway | 8,544 | Beacon Experiment | Closed |
Beacon Works! | 3,080 | Beacon Experiment | Closed |
Artist of Beacon | 227 | Markie Baylash | Public |
I Love Beacon NY | 527 | Steve Mooso | Closed |
I like it when I see something corky/funny in town, and people tell me you live in Cold Spring now. That I love ❤️!
But then I get this unpleasant feeling of the many bubbles people in our town create. After last year’s election I decided not to be part of these groups even if in the group name has the word “good” is in it. Guess what — still a bubble and bubbles gotta be burst.
It is sad to me that so much community has moved online, particularly into closed groups owned and operated by a private corporation.
It used to seem that the main problem in these online groups might be oversharing and exclusivity — now we see that it is also psychological manipulation and disinformation campaigns. I, personally, choose not to use Facebook. I figure many believe this leaves me out in the cold, but I like to think it makes me part of an unnamed community: real life. It used to be that the best things in life were free. Now I believe the best things in life are offline.
Facebook groups are a simply a mirror and communication channel of natural, real-world social and political groups that form in a community. They can sometimes lead to a self-reinforcing bias bubbles and confirmation of false “alternate facts” as members echo and reaffirm each others false beliefs. Those types of groups are formed by and for those who want to engage in this kind of thing. The posts on those group pages typically reflect mistrust of others and the conspiratorial thinking of those who feel threatened by a changing community and a world they don’t understand. I attribute that lack of understanding to the purposeful misleading news and information sources they mistakenly trust.
However, other groups form to share empirical knowledge, informed opinions and new information between those with open minds, curiosity, a hunger for an understanding of our world, and an eye towards progress and improvement that only the true give-and-take of opinions and ideas can accomplish. They are necessarily closed groups to avoid the disruptions of the unreasonable, and those predisposed to attack others instead of discussing topics.