For anyone who has recently updated their Facebook app they will notice that at the top of their screen is a tab to see their friends' stories. When I first saw this I was so confused. Had I opened Snapchat or even Instagram? No, it was Facebook all right.

Facebook has now created a stories feature which I assume is to try and make Snapchat obsolete. Facebook may have been unable to purchase Snapchat in 2013, but they certainly aren’t unable to imitate them. This new feature allows people to share short videos or disappearing pictures with their friends. They can use filters too. This is literally Snapchat and it’s super annoying. I don’t open up Facebook to send goofy pictures to my friends. Just like I don’t use Instagram to do it either.

In my opinion I see this newest roll out failing just like it has been with Instagram. Most days I don’t have any Instagram stories on my feed and when I do most of the time it is just the person telling me to add them on Snapchat. I foresee a similar fate for Facebook stories: neglection and Snapchat promotions.

Why in the world is Facebook trying to copy Snapchat? Did they not get enough negative feedback when they tried it with Instagram? Are they still salty from not being able to buy Snapchat in 2013? Are they trying to knock a competitor out of business? Is it going to work?

If it wasn’t obvious yet I am not a fan of Facebook stories. To me it seems like they are trying to monopolize the social media world. If they can’t buy it, they are going to copy it. Anything to increase profits. We have seen Facebook evolve over time. It has absorbed parts of each popular social media site. In 2009, its real time feed mimicked twitter. Now, in 2017, they are stealing Snapchat’s stories. While I believe progress and change is a good thing for apps, blatantly copying another company’s product is wrong.

I actually do like Facebook despite my rampage about its newest addition. To me Facebook is all about sharing posts with friends and family. These posts are not meant to go away. You can go back and look at them. You can use it to tag your friends in videos they might enjoy or in posts they’d find funny. But Facebook is not meant to be like Snapchat. Snapchat is all about the moment. Short picture conversations with your friends. Snapchats aren’t meant to last. Facebook is a completely different type of social media platform than Snapchat and I don’t think they should mix.

I don’t think Facebook needs to add stories to stay current. The number of Facebook users continue to increase 13 years after it was launched. People enjoy using Facebook for what it is. I truly do not believe that the addition of stories will take anyone away from Snapchat. If that was the ultimate goal then they need to rethink their strategy.