6 Reasons Why Medium is Better Than Facebook

5 min readMar 3, 2018

I have a secret to confess… I don’t get Twitter.

Let me rephrase that, I’m a millennial who doesn’t know how to use Twitter and is kinda confused why it’s even a thing.

Yep, people like me are the reason why marketing directors lie awake at night sweating about the elusive ‘millennial market.’

I’ve been using Facebook since before social media was a thing.

But I’ve just decided that I like Medium more.

Why?

1. The content doesn’t feel like highly curated crap spewed out by the viral machine.

Facebook is especially good getting you to hit that like button or click through to a Bored Panda article. I’m constantly bombarded by ’30 Hilarious Pranks by Students That Went Wrong’ or ’10 Fluffy Puppies That Squeak Instead of Bark.’

Do I click on those little parcels of happiness? You bet I do, but I click on them like a drug addict unable to control my habits. Do I enjoy reading those posts? You bet I do! But I enjoy them like a drug addict hooked on dopamine.

Let me be clear, Medium is not free from click bait headlines. Listicles are popular for a reason. Yet, the content is of a higher caliber. Here you’ll find writers, thought leaders and entrepreneurs —the don’t have the time to produce crappy content full of fluff.

2. I’m reading stories written with grit, I’m reading stories written with honesty, and I’m reading stories written with vulnerability.

See the common thread here? All the posts you’ll find on Medium take you on an emotional journey. This site is all about experiences and how they translate to words and then into stories. I’m a writer because I’m a reader and I love how a simple 500 word article can take me on an emotional roller-coaster through the darkest depths of someone’s soul.

By reading stories on Medium, you are passively developing empathy skills and widening your world view. That passive study translates to social skills that improve your ability to lead and progress. It promotes awareness of other and teaches us that we are not alone in our fears or tribulations.

3. I’m in control of what I see.

If you are a marketer trying to speak to people younger than 35, I wish you luck. We hate being controlled and shoved into target market boxes. In an era of fake news and selective advertising, we are painfully aware of the curation of content and will go out of our way to avoid it.

Sure, Medium has a featured home page, but they also have a bunch of other tabs and tags to choose from. As a plus, you won’t just be shown the content the algorithm thinks you like, you’ll be shown content by new creators that’s slightly outside of your usual reading sphere. It’s not perfect, but it’s purer than Facebook’s all-seeing algorithm.

4. Intellectual Value

I challenge you to find a post without some nugget of wisdom. Even if the writer is just using Medium as a journal of sorts, each post is embedded with the author’s thoughts and dreams.

Every story in Medium has a purpose and each story is somewhat educational. Just check out the top stories with the keyword ‘cute.’ Right now, the top one is this:

“Interview with the cute girl who brews my coffee every morning” — read it here.

The post is a kinda funny, kinda sad story about the author trying to ask out a barista. It leaves you wondering just how brave this author is… and confirms my suspicion that Barista girls are generally kick ass. It might be lighthearted, but we still get some good intellectual and emotional value out of it.

If something as fuffy as the word ‘cute’ has some sort of educational value, just imagine what articles you’ll get for the keyword ‘software.’

5. I feel smarter

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results”. — Einstein (probably)

I’m sure you’ve heard the claims that scrolling through your newsfeed on Facebook makes you depressed. Well, it actually does. There are multiple studies confirming the fact. You’re fine if you use it to engage with people, but just scrolling through will leave you down in the dumps. This article on Forbes dives deeper into the science behind newsfeed depression.

With Medium, I’m scrolling through a feed that isn’t proven to give me depression and I feel much, much smarter about it. Feeling smarter about my choices is the metaphorical cherry on top that makes this site so much better than Facebook.

6. I’m not hunted for data like a turkey on the eve of Thanksgiving

Here’s a shock for you… Facebook knows what’s on your other browser tabs.

It takes data tracking to a whole new level. Even Medium has been infringed upon by Facebook logins and account linking. Putting something as simple as a ‘share’ button on your website can feed the ravenous data machine. Creepy right?

Look, to be honest, I’m not that fussy about the targeted ads data mining supports. I actually prefer being targeted by an ad that might apply to me. But, Facebook goes the extra mile when it comes to collecting data about you and it goes about it in secret. Guess what the official term is…

“Data Harvesting.”

No thanks, Facebook aliens, I’m not comfortable with you harvesting my data.

The internet is changing, baby!

When this teen wrote a viral post about what people his age thought about Social Media, people had a light bulb moment. Out of 3000 words, just four rocked the kingdom of Facebook to its core…

“It’s dead to us.” — Andrew Watts

I am going to stop volunteering for depression and move to something worthy of my time. Maybe you should too?

Never miss out on great advice again

I don’t have a fancy eBook to entice you, but I’ll send you an adorable kitten photo that’ll make you smile!