Personally, the influx of links from these relatively content-less sites has really decreased the usefulness of my news feed--in fact, I get a little bothered whenever I see this stuff appear. That said, it’s evident that _someone_ wants these links to be on Facebook, given that _someone_ had to post them in the first place.
Perhaps it’s just evidence of the split between newsfeed presence and wall presence (i.e., it could be consistent to argue that those who post Upworth yadn BuzzFeed links don’t necessarily want them to gain attention beyond the Wall on which they’re posted), but I prefer to see it as a microcosm of two contrasting groups of Facebook users: one that sees Facebook as a way to share “fun”, “light” content, and another that wants it to be a meaningful exchange of personal information and ideas.