Imagine a person receiving a “you got a friend request” notification on Facebook. You would be forgiven if you imagined a teenager glued to his smartphone. However, a more appropriate image would be of an elderly using her smartphone. Facebook, with over 2bn users, launched over 15 years ago (The Economist, 2019). The giant worked its way in the daily lives of hundreds of millions of people. Parents express frustration with their teenagers glued to their smartphones’ screens, endlessly scrolling through feeds via the “infinite scroll” feature. Interestingly, however, do young people increasingly shy away from the platform. In fact, according to eMarketer, a consultancy, are 16-year-old Americans less likely to use Facebook than 60-year-olds are. Facebook’s shifting user demographics show a similar trend in the UK, where over-55s make up Facebook’s largest user group (The Guardian, 2018). What are some of the reasons that young people swipe left when thinking of Facebook? But, more specifically, why do Nan and Pop swipe right?
Facebook has had a rough couple of years with scandals such as Cambridge Analytica, and Russian meddling. A few reasons for youngsters leaving Facebook are listed. First, teenagers being teenagers, it’s not cool to use the same social media as your parents (Tech.co, 2018). Second, it’s addictive. Pew Research Center reported that 54% of US teens believe they spent too much time on social media (Pew Research Center, 2018). Among social media, Facebook is ranked first, with an average of 38 minutes spent per day (eMarketer, 2019). Thirdly, there’s a shift in popularity to video instead of text (The Conversation, n.d.) This might explain the growing popularity of Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.
But, how come older people flock to the platform? A study by Coto et al., (2017) posit various reasons for this phenomenon. First, improved social interaction prevents loneliness and isolation. Also, because of limited mobility, Facebook, and social media in general, enables the elderly to maintain social connections. Interestingly, the elderly use Facebook ‘the old way’ by growing friends, share photos, and status updates (among other things). Lastly, the platforms are widely popular because of healthcare-related benefits. The elderly frequently use it to gain information on healthcare services. All in all, the elderly use Facebook as a means to improve the quality of life. Be it healthcare or social connectedness.
Sources
Youngsters are avoiding Facebook-but not the firm’s other platforms. (2019, July 20). Retrieved from https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/07/20/youngsters-are-avoiding-facebook-but-not-the-firms-other-platforms.
Sweney, M. (2018, February 12). Is Facebook for old people? Over-55s flock in as the young leave. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/feb/12/is-facebook-for-old-people-over-55s-flock-in-as-the-young-leave.
Cawley, C., Fogden, T., Turner, J., & Conor, C. C. (2018, June 7). 4 Reasons Why Facebook Has Lost Young People Forever. Retrieved from https://tech.co/news/facebook-lost-young-people-forever-2018-06.
Jiang, J. (2018, November 30). How Teens and Parents Navigate Screen Time and Device Distractions. Retrieved from https://www.pewinternet.org/2018/08/22/how-teens-and-parents-navigate-screen-time-and-device-distractions/.
Williamson, A. (2019, May 30). US Time Spent with Social Media 2019. Retrieved from https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-time-spent-with-social-media-2019.
Brake, D. R. (2019, October 8). The social implications of teens leaving Facebook. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/the-social-implications-of-teens-leaving-facebook-99362.
Coto, M., Lizano, F., Mora, S., & Fuentes, J. (2017). Social Media and Elderly People: Research Trends. Social Computing and Social Media. Applications and Analytics Lecture Notes in Computer Science, 65–81. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-58562-8_6
