Facebook is definitely and undoubtedly growing. But, there’s an underlying harsher truth beneath the silver foil. The growth is significantly only in developing markets.
As per latest survey reports, in the US, Facebook lost 6 million users in just one month. It lost 9 million in the span of six months and an additional 2 million in the UK over the same time period!
A question generally arises, as to why this aversion, all of a sudden?
Well, nothing is quite sudden, but a progressive sum.
Let’s walk the last decade (2004-15) and see where exactly did it go wrong.
Privacy is a big miss!
The entire concept of privacy has been somehow severely challenged by Facebook. And, by saying so I do not intend to be political by the farthest stretch of imagination. The increasing ambiguity surrounding one’s privacy is slowly but steadily driving people away from Facebook.
All of you would inevitably agree with me on this:
We have received friend requests from our parents (of all people!), our co-workers (not a welcome always!), friends of our friends (Nikhil? Suman’s brother’s sister-in-law’s brother! Oh!) and people we hardly know (Now, who the heck is Ryan??)!
And Facebook expected us to more than willingly share everything we say with all of these people!!
A conversation with a megaphone (read Facebook) is an oxymoron!Isn't it?
Facebook has been widely used not as a social network. Rather, the most important purpose it serves is that of an instant messenger.
The ability to publish whatever you wanted online was once empowering, when it was new and hip, and only a handful of people knew of it.
Today, anything you post on Facebook is “monitored” by your parents, co-workers, and even people you barely know!
Irrelevance (with due respect to social media!)
I sat down the other day for a good couple of hours, trying to analyse my Facebook profile. And, guess what? I observed something really interesting about my recent Facebook feed. All of my favourite posts are re-shares from channels that either I’ve liked or subscribed to, or my connections have liked or subscribed to.
Extensive survey reports have shown that the majority of the population use Facebook not for expression or communication. On the contrary, they use it for entertainment!
As a matter of fact, most people aren't really in the business of being entertaining.
The Talking Tom!
Facebook was never meant for two-way communication (as in, a real communication!). Responses don't come in real time, and conversations grow stale even before something substantial can develop!
Comment sections don't make for good conversations. They have been, and always will be, a platform to receive validation from one's peers!
There may be conversations happening on Facebook, but it’s all happening in the messenger, and not on the social network.
In short, it’s all talking and no listening (not one bit!).
The epilogue
Needless to say, Facebook is in an urgent need of better content as well newer, more interactive features if it desires to survive in the fast-paced competition-laced continuously evolving landscape. And, innovative ideas are “the” key.
Else, quite like the bubonic plague, Facebook will eventually die out.
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