Facebook: Young Users See The Site As ‘Dead And Buried’
The Global Social Media Impact Study funded by the European Union has found a very disturbing trend for Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. Among older teenagers, the prevailing opinion is that Facebook is “not just on the slide, it is basically dead and buried”. Teens are now being drawn to social networks they find simpler, like Twitter and Snapchat.
Professor Daniel Miller of University College London covered the topic in an article for academic news website The Conversation:
“Mostly they feel embarrassed even to be associated with it. This year marked the start of what looks likely to be a sustained decline of what had been the most pervasive of all social networking sites. Young people are turning away in their droves and adopting other social networks instead, while the worst people of all, their parents, continue to use the service. Where once parents worried about their children joining Facebook, the children now say it is their family that insists they stay there to post about their lives. Parents have worked out how to use the site and see it as a way for the family to remain connected. In response, the young are moving on to cooler things. What appears to be the most seminal moment in a young person’s decision to leave Facebook was surely that dreaded day your mum sends you a friend request.”
Even more disturbing for Facebook is that most teens admit they are only keeping a Facebook page to stay in touch with older friends and relatives who still find the site to be attractive.
Teens are turning to other applications in order to stay in touch with each other, and privacy is definitely playing a huge role in the process. WhatsApp is now the number one way to send messages.
Additionally, SnapChat is gaining popularity because the messages erase themselves and don’t leave a trace on the other person’s phone. Snapchat just turned down a $3 billion offer from Facebook due to fears that Facebook did not take privacy concerns seriously.
Do you think that Facebook is on the way out as a social network?
