New Delhi: Teenagers are abandoning Facebook in their droves, a study by the Global Social Media Impact Study found. Instead youngsters are shifting to alternative platforms such as Snapchat, WhatsApp, Instagram and Twitter for their social media fix.
The research said one of the reasons for 16-18 year olds switching to simpler social networks is largely because of presence of their parents.
Professor Daniel Miller is on the research team and writes: “Facebook is not just on the slide — it is basically dead and buried. What appears to be the most seminal moment in a young person's decision to leave Facebook was surely that dreaded day your mom sends you a friend request.”
“Where once parents worried about their children joining Facebook, the children now say it is their family that insists they stay there to post about their lives,” said Miller.
“Parents have worked out how to use the site and see it as a way for the family to remain connected. In response, the young are moving on to cooler things.
“What we've learned from working with 16-18 year olds in the UK is that Facebook is not just on the slide, it is basically dead and buried.”
The 15-month study is due to be completed in 2014, and is also looking at attitudes towards online privacy: field tests in Italy found that 40 percent of Facebook users had never changed their privacy settings, while 80 percent were unconcerned about who could see their updates or access their data.
