If you have logged into Facebook recently, than you have probably seen your Year in Review video. The video features a compilation of photos from various points throughout the year. However, there is a major flaw with the videos. Sometime the preselected photos remind users of a year they would rather not see. One user, Eric Meyer , a web design consultant and writer, had a particularly bad experience when his video showed him pictures of his 6-year-old daughter who passed away from cancer earlier in the year. Meyer took to his blog to express his anger with the new feature. Now Facebook has apologized for the unintended emotional damage.
Eric Meyer wrote in his blog about having to relive the death of his daughter due to the new Facebook feature:
“This inadvertent algorithmic cruelty is the result of code that works in the overwhelming majority of cases, reminding people of the awesomeness of their years, showing them selfies at a party or whale spouts from sailing boats or the marina outside their vacation house.
“But for those of us who lived through the death of loved ones, or spent extended time in the hospital, or were hit by divorce or losing a job or any one of a hundred crises, we might not want another look at this past year.”
Now the Year in Review project manager, Jonathan Gheller released a statement to The Washington Post, saying:
"[The app] was awesome for a lot of people, but clearly in this case we brought him grief rather than joy. It's valuable feedback. We can do better -- I'm very grateful he took the time in his grief to write the blog post."
Gheller has reported reached out the Meyer to personally apologize.
What do you think about the new Facebook app? Should it be pulled? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of the page.
