Every teenage generation is known for defining what is “cool” and “trendy” for that time period. With social media skyrocketing, it’s only appropriate to see what network, app, or game the younger generation thinks is hip.
Facebook was founded in February 2004 – nearly a decade ago! That time period is long enough to send Facebook back to the dinosaur age in the eyes of the average teen.
And they aren’t too far off. The 35+ age group represents over 30% of Facebook’s user base in the United States. The 55+ demographic grew by 922.7% in 2009! Look at the age distribution below:
So why are teens drifting away from Facebook?
It could be for several reasons:
- It is no longer considered “cool” in their social circles. Tech trends establish themselves quickly with this tech-savvy generation, so when an innovative minority announce that Facebook is boring, the majority will follow suit.
- They have different interests. Every generation has products, games, and television shows defined by that generation, and they tend to be short-term crazes (for my fellow Millenials, who remembers Pogs, Crazy Bones, Saved By The Bell?).
- Their inexplicable need for instantaneous gratification. Instagram, Tumblr, SnapChat are not only fresh and innovative, but they are simple and fast. Facebook has grown into a social network giant, with so many components, pages, tabs, privacy settings, and more that people get lost in the clutter. It takes so much more time to stalk someone on Facebook than it does on Instagram. If time wasn’t considered valuable before this, it definitely is now, and the younger generation isn’t going to waste such a precious commodity on something as complex as Facebook.
- Facebook has been labeled a “bragging” site. What if teens just want to share with their intimate friends, and not publicize their information to the world? The distribution and privacy settings are too complicated on Facebook, and Tumblr makes it possible (and easier) to keep one’s audience smaller and more intimate. Tumblr may have become Facebook 2.0 in the eyes of teens.
- Privacy! With social networks sharing everything about you and more, privacy is even more of a luxury. Growing up in a world of open communication that is considered creepy and stalker-ish by many, this sense of privacy may be even more important to teens than to older generations. Facebook is not privacy-friendly.
Do you think Facebook will become the new MySpace?
I think it’s fair to say that the Facebook is no longer “cool” for teens and college age kids for a number of reasons. Primarily, Facebook is no longer a safe place to socialize openly with other young peers. Your parent, aunts, uncles, even grandparents are your facebook “friends” and can see just about anything you post. It’s hard to be cool when grandma keeps commenting on how adorable your profile pictures is.
Aside from that, Facebook is no longer the “next big thing” and there is no anonymity. Sites like 4chan are geared entirely towards anonymity while Reddit, Tumblr, and Instagram provide more interest targeted content. Google+ is also growing at an impressive rate, particularly in global markets, and it has a number of advantages over Facebook. It links easily with group video, chatting, groups around interests, and most importantly the ability to control who sees what data by putting your contact into “circles”.
I would be truly surprised if Facebook turned into the next MySpace. Even if the kids no longer see Facebook as cool, it has built up a large enough user base that even users like me, who want to leave for privacy reasons, remain semi-active for the sake of family/friend connections.
You bring up an interesting point about anonymity. How anonymous can a site be? 4chan has made it possible for people to post anything and remain anonymous, and has survived. Juicy Campus, however, did not survive. It’s mission was to enable “free speech” for college students, but quickly turned into a site with cruel gossip, rumors, and rants. Many universities banned it, and it eventually went out of business in 2009. That is an example of anonymity gone wrong.
But for sites that aren’t as anonymous, privacy has become a serious issue. Researchers from the University of Texas were able to accurately identify 30% of Twitter and Flickr users based on their social communication patterns, even when the accounts were stripped of account names and email addresses. We may see more users leaning toward more intimate and secure sites like Google+. Thanks for your comment!
This is right in line with my post about the two schools of thought for Internet Anonymity: http://mathieuserwin.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/how-many-of-you-are-there/
It seems there isn’t much privacy anywhere, anymore. Then again those who share personal stuff on facebook aren’t worried about privacy.
They either aren’t worried, or they aren’t aware of the risk!
Facebook’s “must be 13 to join” rule may reflect the company’s effort to protect younger children that are not mature enough to recognize the risk of sharing personal information. Unfortunately, it is really easy to fool the system and for a 12 and under kid to fake their age and join. Thanks for your comment!
I know it has become a popular pastime to predict the downfall of Facebook, but you present very compelling information regarding how it likely will occur. It is ridiculous to think, in the fast paced tech world, that Facebook will last the test of time. As you mentioned the upcoming 10 year anniversary, new generations will want to put their stamp on what the relevant social media platform is. The Verge article you linked to really clarifies the desires of teens to explore new platforms and may be correct in saying that Facebook has already lost them forever. I’m personally ready for the next big thing and would not feel bad about seeing Facebook fail to adapt, following the path of MySpace.
Thanks for your comment, Matt! Until you reiterated it, I didn’t dwell on the fact that Facebook will celebrate its 10 year anniversary in 2014. Since MySpace was the most popular networking site for only 5 years (2003-2008), Facebook’s life span so far is actually quite impressive. Though I do agree that I would not lose sleep over Facebook disappearing off the grid.
Teens in my area are all about Instagram, YouTube and Tumblr now – interesting that these are all very visual platforms, heavy on the video/photo post format. I found a great quote from Alice Marwick, a Fordham University professor: “Facebook is kind of the Walmart of sites. You can get all of your stuff from there, but teenagers want to buy from the Gap or Hot Topic.” That about sums it up! Read the full article at http://blog.laptopmag.com/the-7-most-popular-facebook-alternatives-for-teens
That’s a great analogy! It even explains why some individuals in older generations avoid it — Facebook is so complex — a less-than-tech-savvy individual will eventually give up. Thanks for your comment!