As we all know, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter are all the rage in the world of teenagers. But what ever happened to Facebook, the once popular social network that was used by all in the past? Recent studies show that the U.S.’s proportion of 13- to 17-year-old social media users who are on Facebook dipped to 88% in 2014, down from 94% in 2013 and 95% in 2012. The cause that lies under Facebook’s drop in popularity is simply because teens, the trendsetters of society, have lost interest in Facebook.
As years roll by, Facebook has seen the amount of their users decrease as new social networks are appealing to teens of the recent generation. Surveys show that teens no longer see Facebook as a safe fun place as it was. Facebook being untrustworthy is most likely the result of the recent “discovery” of the social network made by older age groups. Because of the new older age groups on Facebook, teens have felt that their privacy is being invaded as some of their parents are also part of Facebook’s community. Aside from the lack of privacy, teens have classified the friendships made on Facebook as “meaningless”. Users friending strangers on Facebook have noted that their relationships are mostly based on numbers rather than actual friendship. Social networks that allow users to connect to those that they are familiar with in reality have appealed to users seeking a stronger relationship with their “real” friends. Or perhaps rather than having a friendship with strangers, teens are now more interested in having a “dominating” relationship with other users on social media. Social networks that offer “followers” tend to be more popular than Facebook, a social network that offers “friends”.
As teens stray away from Facebook, Facebook isn’t as popular as it was before. With the decreases of Facebook users, other social networks gain popularity. Who knows? Maybe teens will move on to something else in the future.
I think your comment about "dominating" other social media users is an interesting point. We see a lot of coverage about how the media affects us in the physical world, but what about how it affects us within itself? Are media companies using this "dominating" feeling to push people towards more forms of media?
ReplyDeleteI like your point of social media offering "followers" are more popular than one that offer "friends". By changing "friends" to "followers" it goes along with the need of attention where people acknowledge us.
ReplyDeleteI think since there are more and new social media sites the newer generations will go on the newer social media sites in order o be different than the previous generations. In addition, older, since more people were on Facebook it was not as private than the newer sites with less people. I think it is inevitable that the "popular" social media sites will change since things come and go. Also on social media, the number of followers you have don't really depict how popular you are in reality. A random person can follow you from across the world and that is your so called friend.
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