Social Media

Is Facebook Dying?

A Look Into the World's Leading Social Media Site

The social media giant has made a lot of news within the last year - in a lot of cases, Facebook is the news. From Mark Zuckerberg's appearances in front of Congress to banning users due to their content, Facebook has been headlining the news since its inception into the app store. What should surprise you is Zuckerberg's ideas of heralding the Facebook company into a new direction.

Content That Delete's Itself

Zuckerberg says it best himself:

I just think that this is the future. People want to share in ways that don’t stick around permanently, and I want to be sure that we fully embrace this.

This seems to be in light of both the recent meetings with Congress over the Facebook privacy scandal, as well as the introduction of Stories on the Facebook app.

"Stories" is similar to Snapchat where you post a Story, (either a picture or video), that is only accessible for 24 hours. After the 24 hours, the Story is then "deleted". (As we are all aware, anything you post can remain on the internet forever...)

User's want a way to post that is not permanent. You can delete posts on Facebook that are made by you, however, if they are about you or show your image and they aren't made by you, then you cannot delete them. You can request for Facebook to remove it, but that is a hurdle all on its own.

Overrun by Old People

A study by eMarketer found that droves of young users are leaving Facebook for sites like Snapchat while those aged 55+ are flocking to the site. The 55+ category has now become the 2nd largest group on the site. The UK alone saw over 700,000 young users leave the site, which makes up just under 10% of those between 12-24 that use the site.

The run of the mill idea is that Facebook appeases to the older generation as a means for them to:

• Speak their minds
• Keep in touch with relatives
• Use as personal storage for videos and pictures

Whatsapp and Private Messaging

Last of all is the land of private messaging. Younger people want to ensure that their texts, videos, and pictures that they send to people will not be captured and sent to a variety of people. The Facebook company is looking into ways to better private messaging and ensure that personal data is not breached and to prevent others from using your messages in malicious ways.

My Position

Do I think Facebook is dying? It's a tough bout to get around. I know within certain clicks it works well, such as the military. There are a lot of guys I know way back from boot camp and those I currently work with that I keep better in touch with them through Facebook.

We are the generation where texting is more comfortable than calling. This is now turning into, "its easier to just message someone through Facebook and not have their number at all." It is as if having someone's number makes you indebted to them or that the possession of someone's number is only for close friends and family. It could just be that it's just so much easier to do it through Facebook.

With all of this in mind, I propose something a bit different. I think the current Facebook that we see now will die - it will be replaced by a much more private, Snapchat like service while still retaining the option to permanently post. This will allow for both parties, the young and the old, to retain happiness for the app.

I don't think Facebook is going anywhere, but then again, only time can tell.