It's three p.m., and I'm mindlessly scrolling through the internet in another boring lesson of my geology class. First, I check my student email for anything school related. Second, I check for hot new hip hop music or laugh my butt off at world star hip hop videos. And third, I check out some sports news about my favorite teams. After that, I get on Snapchat or scroll through Instagram looking for funny videos or memes.
Wait did I forget something? I have a pencil, I did homework for my other classes and checked all my social media. What did I miss? Oh, I forgot to check my Facebook for today. I log on to look at my notifications, which are just birthdays and old messages. Lastly, I look at the pictures and videos my friends tagged me in. I'm done with Facebook for today.
Two or three years ago it would have been shocking if I did that, but lately I just notice Facebook is dead. Nobody uses it anymore, and if they do, they either post rants about irrelevant issues or post pics and funny videos. The only people I see using Facebook on a regular basis are people in their late 30's and older. The only reason for that is because they're playing Facebook games like Candy Crush or Farmville. My auntie is 30, and she's on level 551 in Candy Crush. I didn't even know there was a level past 25 (Yeah, I know I suck). Another reason is because my grandma has a Facebook account. Yeah, I was ready to leave the social media world too when I found that out.
It's really sad that it's like that nowadays, but it's the truth. According to studies from Buzzfeed, teenagers from ages 11 to 19, expressed waning enthusiasm for Facebook. They expressed they disliked the increasing number of adults on the site, get annoyed when their Facebook friends share inane details and are drained by the “drama” that they described frequents the site.
It honestly feels like people use Facebook to show off what they got and what they're doing. It's either that or one of your friends shares a Jerry Springer scenario about their life. Newsflash, most people don't really care; they give you a like and go on with their day. Facebook used to be easy to navigate and manage, but now it's more difficult than calculus. You had your status updates, photos, links and likes. Now there are marketplaces, logout ads, Facebook places, SocialCam integration, timelines, highlighted posts, Pins and numerous other third party integration. And it doesn’t seem to be slowing down. There’s a new feature being introduced every few weeks.
Because of this, a lot of my friends have been wondering how or where I am. I don’t always reply, but they can be assured I am very much alive and all the more eager to listen—just not through Facebook. I swear if someone sends me another game invite, I'm buying a one-way ticket to Mars.
