The young generation migrates away from the social media giant.
(Photo thanks to SundayHeroes)
Whether turned off by the ads, scared away by the new privacy settings, tired of balancing your profile, or are just looking for a new fun social network studies have shown that younger social media users are using Facebook less and less. Where did Facebook go wrong? What different social media sites are being used for the younger generations to fill the void in their online social lives?
1.Ads are “Killing the Mood”
In December of 2011 Facebook started putting sponsored ads on the side bar of the website and after it went public sponsored ads started seeping into everyone’s newsfeeds as well. In the real world commercials, billboards, and advertisements are constantly pushed in our faces, but these ads are not tailored specifically to you and your interests. Facebook implements tracking cookies to see where else on the web you look in order to better adjust the sidebar ads to your interests. Spying on online actions and putting sponsored ads into news feeds is just an evolution of the product, but it seems to be a step in the wrong direction.
2. Facebook hits “The Golden Years”
It has been around for almost ten years now, since 2004 the social networking giant has been bringing people together in the online world. It has created a place to invent a new face, create invitations for events, and to keep up with old and current friends. But the truth is that it is old news. New social networking sites like Tumblr, Instagram, Snapchat, and Vine all have a new way to social network.
They are all about sharing small snippets of life. Pictures and short stories on Tumblr, cool pictures on Instagram, not permanent small pictures on Snapchat, and short videos on Vine. They all share three common themes: ease of use, accessibility, and they are solely about sharing for the purpose of sharing, sharing with specific people or with everyone in general. All these social media sites allow for the control of allowing certain groups access to certain material while others cannot.
3. Facebook as a Cyclical Time Trap.
According to a study done about the death of a social network “They say that when the costs — the time and effort — associated with being a member of a social network outweigh the benefits, then the conditions are ripe for a general exodus. The thinking is that if one person leaves, then his or her friends become more likely to leave as well, and this can cascade through the network causing a collapse in membership.”
It is difficult to have a Facebook account once everyone connected to you in real life has one as well. Balancing and filtering your online persona to accommodate everyone in your life becomes extremely tiring not to mention time consuming. It was easy when it was just teenagers and their friends because everyone from the same age group and background has the same social filter, however their grandmother does not, their boss would see them differently, and coworkers see things . The older generations follow the teens to the trends, however, once the older generation gets on the bandwagon, something new tends to come out and the cycle begins again.
4. New Social Media is taking its place.
A survey released this week by the Los Angeles Times shows that a higher percentage of teens use Tumblr on a regular basis than Facebook on a regular basis. “59% of respondents between the ages of 13 and 25 said they use Tumblr regularly; 54% said they use Facebook on a regular basis.” Facebook for teens and young adults is slowly but surely going out of style. It’s only a matter of time before Facebook as a social networking site is buried in the virtual grave, making friends with MySpace and Friendster.
5. Facebook affects our moods and real life interactions
Shawn Knight, a writer for TechSpot recently wrote about his removal of Facebook from his life and his eventual rejoining in his article “Why I left Facebook after 7 Years and how I was Forced Back in.” “I knew there was a problem when I’d wake up each morning and instinctively reached for my phone to check the latest overnight developments posted to my news feed. More often than not, whatever I found would put me in a foul mood even before crawling out of bed. Many things annoyed me, but the short list includes political rants, religious preaching, relationship drama and grammar that would disappoint a first-grade teacher.” Facebook has become a more integral part of our lives, affecting moods, emotions, and even relationships. I won’t go too in depth, my co-writer for MillennialInflux, Emma Gilbertson has a piece up this week about Jealousy, Envy, and how Facebook is affecting real life interactions. Check it out Here.
(Photo thanks to Techxt)
Facebook’s new layout has been announced and is able to tested with your profile at new.facebook.com. Mark Slee, the project manager for the new profile wrote his blog about the new features within the new site. Is it good? Is it bad? Is it too much change? Will it be enough to bring Facebook back to the top of social media sites? Let us know in the comments. But in my opinion it all comes down to an evolutionary moment for the site, Facebook as a brand already controls Instagram and is required for the use of Spotify and other online commodities. It’s one of the strongest and farthest reaching brands in the online world of today. As stated on Intuit’s blog titled The Importance of Adaptability in Online Project Management Software, “The hard cold truth about business is that, in order for any company to stand a chance at long term survival, it’s got to be able to change. Sometimes frequently, and the quicker the better.” Technology has made the world move at a much quicker pace, instead of news every day it’s news every minute, everyone is always looking for the next best thing. Facebook needs to adapt, and it needs to continue to change at a faster and faster pace solely to compete with the next best option. It could be said that social media has sown the seeds for its own demise.
(featured image thanks to msn news)