“Teenagers are now leaving Facebook.” – This statement may come off as a shocker, but it’s proven to be true lately. Teens may be Internet-savvy, especially when it comes to social networking sites. But teenagers are now shying away from Facebook. Why is Facebook losing its appeal to teens? Here are seven solid reasons why teenagers are leaving Facebook:
1. Parents and Other Relatives Are Also on Facebook
Having your mom on Facebook says a lot and reflects the exodus of teenagers to other social networking sites, though they may still check up on their Facebook news feeds from time to time.
For a teenager who wants to spend some time online with their friends, having a parent monitoring their behavior can be awkward and embarrassing. Some parents comment on their teen children’s status updates and pictures.
Let’s face it: teenagers would rather have their parents leave them alone online because they feel the need to have a life apart from the prying eyes of their parents, at least, in the online sense. Having a parent commenting on every picture and status update can make a teenager feel smothered with too much unwanted attention. And that can make them a laughingstock in the eyes of their peers.
It’s not just parents who “watch” their children on Facebook. Other relatives ranging from grandparents, uncles, and aunts are also guilty of lurking in their grandchildren’s, nieces’, and nephews’ Facebook accounts and also doing the same thing the kids’ parents are doing. This is another reason that reflects Facebook as a social networking site for “oldies”.
2. There Are Other Social Networking Sites That Specialize in Specific Applications
It’s not just Facebook anymore. There’s Instagram for picture sharing, Tumblr for microblogging posts and pictures, YouTube for music and videos, TikTok for short videos, and Snapchat for image chatting. Twitter is also another popular way to keep up with friends and talk to them because most parents are on Facebook.
In another way, Twitter is more open when it comes to sharing status updates through tweets and following the lives of your friends and favorite celebrities, which is a more intimate way to interact with them. Just knowing what a favorite celebrity ate for breakfast makes teenagers feel like they are connected to them somehow.
3. Facebook Remains Static and Boring
Over the years, Facebook went through some changes with the format of news feeds and profile pages, but that’s all there is to it. Nothing much has evolved and this could be the reason why Facebook is slowly losing out to sites like Instagram, which has a strong following among teenagers.
These days, they’d rather share pictures, and it’s an easier way for them to know their friends better than Facebook status. Plus, Instagram has a more novelty aspect to it, in the sense that you can edit a picture through filters before uploading and sharing it. And another thing, parents don’t hang out much on Instagram as teenagers do.
4. Ads, Spam, and Notifications
Scroll along the Facebook feeds and most likely, the user will notice ads, suggesting particular pages tailored according to the user’s preferences as listed in the “About” portion of the Facebook profile. The introduction of sponsored posts made it annoying as they clutter your feed unnecessarily and make finding useful posts harder.
Not only that, but there are also people asking their friends to like certain pages and pictures, or asking their friends to give them lives in Candy Crush or help them out in other online games. These are just examples of games and page notifications that can get annoying. It gives the impression that Facebook is now a step away from its primary purpose of being a social networking site. These ads and constant notifications can be an eyesore to teenagers.
5. Attention-Seeking Online Behavior From Peers
“Please like this page!”
“Please like my photo!”
A Facebook user probably encountered these types of posts from time to time. Teenagers also do this, by asking their friends to like their selfies or post the latest gossip. Unfortunately, these attention-seeking behaviors tend to be annoying and can lead to drama.
6. Facebook Drama
As connected with item #5, Facebook drama happens a lot, especially for teenagers. How many times has Facebook ruined relationships?
How many times have fights broken out online because of some Facebook comments or status updates? Teenagers do know how to think, and because of this constant online drama, this is the reason why they tend to hang out less on Facebook.
7. Shallow Friendships and Pretentiousness
Admit it, not everyone on your Facebook friends list is your real friend. It’s like there are only a handful of people there who can be considered real friends. And even if you’re close to some of your Facebook friends, seeing them online isn’t enough to give you a picture of their real selves.
Not everything seen on Facebook is real, and take this to mind: every picture upload, every status update, and every comment can be filtered to make it appear that the user is living out a great life.
This is where Facebook envy comes in, and as a user, it’s your job to remind yourself that not everything on Facebook is real, even with your so-called Facebook friends. Remember that it’s your job to feel good about yourself and not base your happiness on what you want to be like your friends on Facebook.
Seeing all these reasons why teens are slowly leaving Facebook, made me analyze my own Facebook behavior as well. I learned that I can do more productive things rather than waste my time away snooping on my friends’ lives. I learned to cook better, to interact with people, and to improve my writing skills by producing my best essays. Facebook is important in online social interaction, but it doesn’t have to be your life. You can use it productively and still enjoy the experience.
Disclaimer: Views expressed are solely of the author’s and in any way, do not represent the opinions of Chillopedia as a publisher!
