“A study of how older teenagers in eight countries use social media has found that Facebook is ‘not just on the slide, it is basically dead and buried,'” Matthew Sparkes reports for The Telegraph. “Professor Daniel Miller of University College London, one of the researchers working on the project, said in a blog post: ‘Mostly they feel embarrassed even to be associated with it.'”
“[Miller says], ‘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,” Sparkes reports. “‘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,’ [Miller added.]”
Sparkes reports, “The Global Social Media Impact Study, which was funded by the European Union, observed 16- to 18-year-olds in eight countries for 15 months and found that Facebook use was in freefall. Instead, young people are turning to simpler services like Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp.”
Read more in the full article here.
Back in MY day, we only had Friendster, and it was uphill both ways, in the snow, and we were THANKFUL.
Yes, but did you walk 10 miles to school in that snow?
In my day the screens were all monochrome amber or green. The horror of it all.
…and all we had to play was Trade Wars and Karateka…
Sadly (for real) we wrote code in class and stored it on cassette drives. Apple IIs, Commodore PETs and TRS-80s.
No mice, either.
Cassettes? Punk. Hell, we punched cards in our high school computer class for a Wang system that took up the length of an entire wall. Now get off my lawn!
When you guys were young, you actually had schools? 😜
Punch cards? That’s for high-falutin’ sissies!
We had to use an abacus and our own blood on rocks for calculations.
I used Wangs later in the Army at War Plans in Germany. College first, then the Service.
Wangs?
Luxury.
When I were young, we ‘ad to swim across septic tank to find t’stylus in muck.
Stylus for our tablets.
Cuneiform tablets.
And yer tell that to young people nowadays and they just won’t believe you.
You were lucky,
Our dad used to cut us up into small pieces and send send the leftovers to Osama bin laden
Remembering going to school. That’s a sretch!
…AND UPPERCASE, ONLY.
😀
Back in my day, companies had to turn a profit in order to have their stock price go through the stratosphere.
What a strange concept for a company to have its stock price connected to its profitability!
we had to take the phone out of the bag to make a call.
“Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of ‘Friendster’ Civilization”
http://www.theonion.com/video/internet-archaeologists-find-ruins-of-friendster-c,14389/
Wiped out by an ASTEROID!
Back in my day we threw stones at each, small ones if we “liked”
The students at the high school where I work must be behind the curve. I catch them on FaceBook all the time despite frequent, gentle reminders that they should not use district resources for social media. It is still by far the most popular way for them to connect… if they are on a desktop computer. I don’t see what they access on their mobile devices.
Yes, this is a British article about European tastes. I see this as in no way reflective of real life. HOWEVER, I do notice that minorities (young and old) are abandoning Facebook for Instagram.
Facebook owns Instagram by the way. Everything you post on Instagram goes to FB.
I’ve pretty much abandoned FB, but I’m certainly not moving over to Instagram.
Facebook tried too hard to become too big. As soon as I started seeing my friends parents joining in 2010 I knew it was the beginning of the end. I really have no interest in what my friends parents are up to.
Haven’t had one yet but as soon as I get and auto-play video ad I’ll be deleting and not coming back
Auto play video ads are indeed the worst. As a business that has tried Facebook advertising it does absolutely nothing. no bump whatsoever. Google ad words does work Facebook doesn’t do a thing. Why Apple hasn’t moved in to dominate search is absolutely beyond me seri is a step why not just go in for the kill Google stock and probably Facebook as well would tumble the moment they made the announcement
Anyone who thinks or tries to think that Facebook is a good place to advertise must be a shareholder, like the person who down voted our posts… a complete fool.
Simple fact is people use to it to catch up with what friends are doing, not look for something to buy. Its becoming less and less of a good place to catch up with friends due to all the junk the news feed gets filled with. As with myspace, networks like this have a use by date and facebooks is getting closer
“Anyone who thinks or tries to think that Facebook is a good place to advertise must be a shareholder… a complete fool.”
This is what I don’t get – I don’t even look at the ads. And I certainly don’t click on the links. But someone must – right?
But I can’t stand FB, and probably only check it every other week or so – just to see what others are posting.
I would love to see Apple create it’s own Search Engine for the kill at least for weaken Googles platform.
Its.
http://gawker.com/5636765/facebook-ceo-admits-to-calling-users-dumb-fucks
Takes one to know one.
Well, we adults need something. Let the kids move on. If I was a kid I’d do the same. Facebook will survive as a social network mostly used for sharing family kind of things. Kids will go on it to see what’s up with the family, but they and their friends will want to do their own thing on alternative sites. I guess you can say Facebook has been usurped by the older folks. Hey, old folks want to socialize too, and have made Facebook their own. Not necessarily a bad thing, just means they’ll have more adults than kids using it.
Just be sure, all you Facebook using parent, to make your profile picture a shot of your babies. People love this. When you send them a friend request and they have a vague idea of who you are, nothing helps more than 2 or 3 unidentifiable toddlers in your profile pic. It also serves to hide just how fat you’ve gotten since high school.
If you have a lifetime’s worth of friends scattered around the world, Facebook is a tremendous resource. For us old farts, Facebook has rekindled many, many relationships that had grown cold because of distance.
As the kids who are now abandoning the site grow up and move away, they will probably come back so they can keep in touch.
And even as a fifty-something, getting a friend request from mom is a very strange experience.
The problem with Facebook is not the potential- it is the fact that they have absolutely no respect for anyone’s privacy.
Another little factoid: unless the terms of service have changed, everything you post to Facebook becomes their property for licensing.
correcto mundo.
And you think that the new sites that the kiddie-poos are going to will be better?
They are totally clueless about privacy or security issues. Except for those who think they are expert “hackers” They think that because they download hacking kits not realizing that in doing so, they have allowed themselves to be hacked! They will never admit it.
In a school where I worked on staff 4 years ago, a 6th grader posted a topless shot of herself on Myspace, and when the principal confronted her about it, she said: But, but, but, the picture was “just intended for my friends” The mother was equally clueless.
So if they go off Facebook, the world will be a better place. My daughter and her kids use it as it should be used.
I accept axiomatically that anything I post on the web is not private, and especially things I post on social networking sites.
And it’s doubtful that will change – Facebook provides the site, and you can bet you are playing in their house. That’s why discretion and vigilance are called for.
No Facebook for me and when Google kept pushing users toward Google Plus I posted a picture of Eric Schmidt captioned ” Who Needs Privacy?” as a profile pic.
Facebook, now there, is real spying on the consumer.
Facebook is like a coal burning ship in the middle of the ocean- it stinks, it will go no where, do nothing, and people will abandon it.
Funny that I read this post on MDN today. Here’s a Facebook post I’ve been preparing for New Years day:
Hello Facebook Friends:
Breaking News! I hope you’re sitting down — I’m leaving Facebook! I know, I know … earth shattering right?
As one of my New Year’s resolutions, I’m going to permanently delete my Facebook account. I’m tired of the targeted Facebook ads, FBs privacy stance — and frankly, just tired of checking it all the damn time. No offense Facebook Friends! I’ve loved seeing everybody’s posts and pictures over the years but the internet can be a real time-suck and when you’re in front of a computer and iPhone all day — FB can be a real distraction.
You’re probably thinking, “Hey, if you’re tired of it just quit. Don’t make a big deal about it!” But I don’t want anybody to think they were unfriended, that’s the only reason I’m posting this public proclamation instead of just quietly disappearing.
Here’s my contact info for anybody that wants it:
XXXXX
XXXXX
Feel free to call, text or email and maybe we can hook up — IRL!
To those that love and continue to use Facebook:
AWESOME! — CARRY ON! — ENJOY!
HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🙂
Note:
Apparently, I’m not the only one that’s tired of FB. I googled ‘how to delete facebook’ and it looks like they’re experiencing a mass exodus.
http://fusion.net/abc_univision/story/quitting-facebook-11338
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/12/my_breakup_with_facebook/
http://www.wikihow.com/Permanently-Delete-a-Facebook-Account
Hmmmm…. Debating Copy/Paste here. 😀
Well said.
And back in MY day there was The Palace. Anyone else remember it?
i quit immediately after i noticed older family members trying to friend me
So what? User error if you feel threatened.
so what ? so at that point i was already sick and tired of Facebook and once i saw the old family members rolling in one by one i knew it was game over and QUIT.
but you keep enjoying Facebook all you want
… but you weren’t concerned about the usefulness of Facebook when every corporation on the planet started encouraging people to “friend” them on their pathetic Facebook sites?
There’s a reason that every megachain chain retailer, restaurant, and junk peddler on the planet has a FB & a Twitter sticker on the front window — it’s their lazy way to advertise and datamine. Because talking to customers and asking what they want is too much work…
I think Facebook is on its way to becoming the IBM or Microsoft of social networks — and I don’t mean that as a compliment. What I mean is that it will reach a state where no one really likes it any more, but stays in business because it’s presence is so pervasive that people will feel they have to use it.
Like IBM and Microsoft, I expect Facebook to flatline for a long time, followed by a slow decline into irrelevancy once something truly better comes along. Then, again like IBM and Microsoft, Facebook will either reinvent itself as something else or go away.
——RM
Unfortunately FaceBook is the standard.
Young people may not use it now but as they get into their mid-20’s they’ll find they need it to connect with their families and eventually with their friends who are also on to connect with their families.
The trend with the young is not a movement.
The standard for inept social skills.
What will I do if FB goes away. I still have hundreds of selfies, duck face, butt shots and obscured face shots photoshopped to make me look hot and intriguing still to upload? What a dilemma!
I was trippin the day I got a friend request from my 90 year old grandmother!
I like Facebook- hate the ads, and pics of people’s dogs, kids, dinners, relatives. Most old farts never even use it very often. Your parents should be monitoring you whether you’re on FB or something else, anyway. Yes, it’s aggravating yet addicting- and like anything else on the internet- a hangout for Haters. Quit whining. Use it or lose it- just STFU about it.
The NSA “likes” Facebook.
Good. They’re the worst ones for posting up stupid crap, so let them sod off somewhere else and leave it to the grown-ups.
I’ve never had the pleasure of signing up for Facebook despite the numerous email request over the years. Does that make me one of the lucky ones?
Yes, investors in Facebook. This is that ‘clue’ you’ve been waiting for that tells you it is time to:
DUMP THE STOCK
😉
“If you sit by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by”.
I’m always amazed how Apple (mostly) manages to sit out trends that turn into fads (making huge savings in cap-ex and time spent developing) while jumping on the “right” bandwagon” at just the right time (most of the time).
Exceptions like “PING” only help to proof the rule 😉
Sometimes I like to believe that Steve, while in India, had a Yogi help him get drug-induced visions of the future, which he subsequently wrote down in a little booklet that he handed down to Jony and Tim on the last day of his life 😉
(Remember that story where he supposedly called Tim hours before he died?)
I’ve never read a face book. What is it?
Finally, I will be so glad when Facebook is dead and gone, the whole thing is just wrong.
I’m 34 and I loathe the platform now