I wonder how many are loosing interest in FB because so many folks are using the platform to pitch to them ;-}

True dat!

If that was the case we would have all stopped watching TV 30 years ago….

Fb is a false sense of connectedness. Perhaps they are looking for a real connection to people and not something on a time delay. I too am tiring of fb…but am on it because new people are still coming on and finding friends is good too.

Open Facebook and you find (in no particular order, based on my page this morning):
- useless drivel
- ads
- links to more ads
- links to more useless drivel
- pictures of someone’s cat
- pictures of food
- pictures of someone eating the food (above)
- pictures of someone’s party
- pictures looking up someone’s nose after the party
- a rant that Facebook is now exposing people’s phone numbers
- (etc)

Richard is right. There’s a lot of useless junk on facebook, and maybe these teens are catching on. Were the 13-17 year olds the only group that has seen a significant drop in use?

You don’t hear anything about that other site, what was it called again, MySpace. I am afraid that may be the way of Facebook, because teens get bored and the parents are “In their Face”.

I’ll the 10 more years before these teens get married and Facebook won’t even be around then.

Was going to comment on the thread, “Social Networking vs The Printed Image”, but this thread (and post) will suffice.

I don’t think it’s just the teens, and not just FB. I’ve been using a term to describe the fully wired generation as “the lost generation”. Too much time spent on screen. Sometimes I feel like a full time student. While I’m fascinated with all the information and media, it is a somewhat vicarious endeavor. Not unlike armchair quarterbacking (as opposed to playing). There is an illusion of connectedness in our wired world, which seems to sublimate real interaction. Sometimes this also seems to be a crutch or barrier to a real connection. I wonder if todays youth see and sense this in themselves and others.

I don’t think I get as much of my own work done as well as possible when highly wired to all the networks and feeds. I’m finding myself trying to disconnect more, in favor of blue skies and be here now living. Maybe these teens have an intuition for what feels better (happier). Maybe it’s just a sub-cultural pendulum swing.

The cycle is Ironic in that we discuss and link these things on the very media…
I found this article provocative:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/technology/07brain.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&hp

[...] but until then this is a pretty cool piece of tech to mess with. That is if everyone doesn’t get sick of FB and leave before they implement [...]

I think social networking is here to stay. It is a relatively “new toy” to the world. Society’s fascination with the new concept of social networking as Facebook has brought about has caused an artificial high in activity. As the novelty wears off, activity will adjust to a normal level. Where that level ends up is yet to be seen. Now whether or not Facebook remains at the top of the game…thats a whole other question. It will come down to who can execute the concept of social networking the best.

I could compare it to when I first got my Android phone. I couldn’t stop playing with it when I first got it. Now I only play with it occasionally but its more of a tool now. It not any less valuable to me…my usage of it has simply adjusted to a normal level.

a related article, talking about how social networking is a mindset here to stay, especially for the young and younger: http://mashable.com/2010/07/09/gen-y-social-networking/

Oana

That is a really good point David. I had not thought of it that way before, but it is true. An artifical high that cannot be sustained. Same with Twitter. I rememberering reading something about Twitter and how many people sign up, but never even tweet a single thing. Novelty, hype, etc. It will all level off at some point.

I know tons of people who DON’T use Facebook and have no desire to do so. People with tons of disposable income. Seems that all of these new “toys” are generation based and people on FB seem to be out to find some acceptance of “them” that they can’t get in face to face interpersonal relationships in their own lives, whether it’s due to lack of time or lack of friendships.