FB, Instagram shut down

CEBU, Philippines - It was probably the longest 40 minutes in the lives of social media addicts.

Users of both Facebook and its sister social media photo-sharing application Instagram found themselves disconnected from the servers around 3 p.m. yesterday, following an alleged “outage”.

Explaining to subscribers, Facebook acknowledged the temporary shutdown as it assured that it was fixing the problem and determining its cause.

“We’re aware that many people are currently having trouble accessing Facebook and Instagram. We’re working to get things back to normal as quickly as possible,” read the official statement.

Instagram also made a similar statement posted through another social media platform that was spared.

“We are aware of an outage affecting Instagram and are working on a fix. Thank you for your patience,” Instagram explained via Twitter.

A certain “Lizard Squad” claimed responsibility for the service interruption.

Apart from those who use social media for leisure, many use Facebook and Instagram to connect with family members and as aid in the practice of their professions and in business transactions.

“Imagine a world without Facebook.....dili naka malangay sa work, maglisod na’g paniid ang mga kauyaban sa ilang palalab kon magsige’g like sa ubang posts, di na ta makabantay sa mga nag-away ug bagulbolan, pero dugay na sab ta’ng kahibawo sa mga balita hehe...” posted DYLA radioman Jhunnex Napallacan moments after the site was restored.

The temporary loss of Facebook’s service, though, was detrimental to a Cebuana stylist and visual artist who got disconnected from her clients.

“I thought there was something wrong with my mobile Internet (connection),” shared Eloise Daniot, who said the outage affected her business negotiations online. — (FREEMAN)