Facebook Trending Down

There is an article on CNN (found here) about the dip in the usage of Facebook. The writer of the article, Doug Gross, interviewed many teenagers about this, and noticed that Facebook is "trending down with teens".

It’s kind of funny, in my opinion. Just a few months after Facebook first began, it hit its first million users. And, until date, it is described as the “most used social network” (as in the picture below).

According to the article, Facebook usage is winding down, especially with teens. It’s true that teens are beginning to use newer means of social networking, such as Tumblr, Instagram, Vine, or Snapchat. This is what the article hints toward.

At the same time, I believe it could be a matter of age.

I made a Facebook account soon after I turned thirteen, and I still use it a lot. I log into it almost every day, even when I knew that I wouldn’t have anything to look at. The teenagers interviewed for the article are in their late teens, one being eighteen years old and another being sixteen. Both described their Facebook use declining, but is it because of other sites or because of their age? My own sister, aged seventeen, doesn’t use her Facebook account that often, but she doesn’t use that many other social networking sites, the exception being Tumblr. The age increase could lead to a Facebook decrease because of the increasing work load that older teenagers face.

I, on the other hand, as I mentioned, log into my account every day. It has become a pattern for me. I check Facebook as often as I check my email. I don’t use any other social networking sites as often I as I do with Facebook. I have a Tumblr account but I barely check it. I agree with Nicole Uvieghara, as she said in the CNN article (describing Instagram), "It makes you feel relevant and wanted because of the number of followers a person can have and the likes you can have on your photos.” Although I don’t use Instagram, I believe my limited use of Tumblr is attributed to the fact that I have no followers on the site. On Facebook, though, I have over 200 friends. Granted, we all don’t interact on the site on a daily basis. But there are some people on Facebook that I do interact with a lot, with likes and comments or messaging.

I definitely agree with the article on CNN, that new social media sites are drawing the attention away from Facebook, but maybe that’s not the only reason.