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Congratulations old people, you ruined Facebook
I remember how I felt the first time I found out that teenagers were no longer using email. My first thought was something along the line of, “Well that didn’t last long.” Here I am still teaching people how to set up an email account for the first time and the younger generations were already abandoning it.
They were abandoning it in favor of sending text messages. And why not, text messages are short, easy to send and don’t require a computer. And on most phones in the hands of teenagers, sending pictures and videos along with the message is a breeze.
Well, guess what’s happening now? Teenagers are starting to abandon Facebook. But this time for a slightly different reason. For them Facebook just isn’t as cool any more. Mainly because old people (like me) embraced it a little too easily.
In other words, we’re the adults showing up at the teenager’s party dancing to our favorite 80s hits. Not cool mom and dad!
So where are the teenagers going now? According to this article on the Los Angeles Times website, they are hanging out more and more on Tumblr and Twitter and still favor text messaging.
Don’t know what Tumblr is? Good. That’s exactly what your kids hoped you would say.
I have a college-bound daughter next year, I can attest to her disinterest in Facebook. They only use it for pictures. Twitter is the thing.
I had a Twitter account for over three years, and finally left it in disgust. It turned out to be mostly a bunch of people shilling their products or services. The teenagers can have it, if they really want it.
Had to click into your article after reading your title.;) I think I’ve been using Twitter longer than I’ve been using facebook. I’ve created a tumblr account but have yet to actually use it.
I’m really not liking what is happening to FB now. It’s turned into a Pinterest board. My wall is now page after page of graphics (most of which are quite neat) but there are very few links to articles to be READ or even many real statuses from friends. Content was my reason to be at FB, not pictures.
I abandoned Twitter because of the post length. Nothing much that is worthwhile can be said in 140 characters. All I can say about Tumblr is MORE pictures. Eye candy, no real content. Why would young people find it interesting?
As one of the “old people”, my memory may not serve me 100%, but didn’t the younguns have “My Space”? Just sayin’ . BB2U
I use Facebook mainly for gaming and keeping up with my high school and college friends. I rarely read what scrolls by. If my firiends want to get in touch with me, they private message me. AND I am setting up a tumblr account today. lol
So funny. My son posted a party through facebook, and all of his old relatives showed up. Poor kid, all of his friends left.
Tony thinks Twitter is all about schilling. Facebook is the same. I’m sick of companies updating their FB pages instead of their websites and demanding that I “like” their page (and grant permissions to post on my behalf and other potentially nefarious requirements” before I can do anything.
Auriette, I agree that FB is also very commercialized. And Dorothy, I also get very tired of the occasional rivers of graphics and forwarded photos, with no meaningful commentary.
I honestly don’t like ANY of the social media sites. But my one compelling reason for using FB is that it allows me to stay connected with my kids more easily. (My kids are all in their late twenties and early thirties.) If they had not been on FB, it is very very doubtful that I would have ever created an account.
Oh… one more thing! I have found one site that is so much less commercialized: Google+. It has not reached the high interest and participation level that FB and Twitter have, but it is growing.
I have G+ and even have a few friends there but for the life of me I can’t figure out how it works! Granted I haven’t tried very hard, but it is not user friendly—at least at first. I remember the first day at FB and understanding the basics instantly. Not so with G+.
Dorothy, G+ is a bit “techie” and you will find a lot of tech geeks there, but the tradeoff is that it doesn’t throw a lot of ads and junk at you. It’s a much cleaner interface, if more sparse.
Thank you everyone for your comments. They brightened my day, especially you, just8. I can just picture that party!
I’ve apparently hit a nerve with a lot of people on this blog topic. Wish I could post what one reader called me in an email reply to my weekly newsletter. Wowzers!