[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #324: Facebook and young adults

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #324: Facebook and young adults
March 6th, 2013

FB questionMany public libraries have active Facebook accounts, and many 
of them originally joined Facebook in an effort to connect with their 
younger library users. But nothing stays the same, especially not in 
social media, and it may be that Facebook will not be the best way to 
reach young adults in the near future. There is both anecdotal and 
statistical evidence of a growing shift away from Facebook among young 
adults. That doesn't mean your library should abandon Facebook; it just 
means you should be aware that your audience is shifting.

  * Coming and going on Facebook
    <http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Coming-and-going-on-facebook/Key-Findings.aspx>
    (Pew Internet/Lee Rainie, Aaron Smith, Maeve Duggan) "Young adults
    are the most likely forecasters of decreased engagement. Some 38% of
    Facebook users ages 18-29 expect to spend less time using the site
    in 2013, although a majority of users across age groups anticipate
    that their Facebook usage will remain largely stable in the year to
    come."
  * The age of the brag is over: why Facebook might be losing teens
    <http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/1/4049592/the-age-of-the-brag-is-over-why-facebook-might-be-losing-teens>
    (The Verge/Ellis Hamburger) "When Facebook launched, it was cool to
    expose details about yourself, like what movies you like, what
    you're doing right now, and who you're in a relationship with. It
    was, dare I say, exhilarating - being able to share freely with the
    world without having to learn how to code or even how to apply a
    MySpace theme. At some point, adding these details, like hundreds of
    photos from a recent vacation and status updates about your new job
    amounted to bragging - force-feeding Facebook friends information
    they didn't ask for. What was once cool was now uncool."
  * Why teens are tiring of Facebook
    <http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57572154-93/why-teens-are-tiring-of-facebook/>
    (CNET/Jennifer Van Grove) "For tweens and teens, Instagram - and,
    more recently, SnapChat <http://www.snapchat.com/>, an app for
    sending photos and videos that appear and then disappear - is the
    opposite of Facebook: simple, seemingly secret, and fun. Around
    schools, kids treat these apps like pot, enjoyed in low-lit corners,
    and all for the undeniable pleasure and temporary fulfillment of
    feeling cool. Facebook, meanwhile, with its Harvard dorm room roots,
    now finds itself scrambling to keep up with the tastes of the
    youngest trendsetters - even as it has its hooks in millions of them
    since it now owns Instagram."
  * Teens say 'later' to Facebook, shift to photo chats
    <http://money.msn.com/saving-money-tips/post.aspx?post=19f6c246-fe83-4e2b-ad1d-121ac1fc07aa>
    (MSN Money/Michelle V. Rafter) "Young fans have helped make
    Instagram and Snapchat the third- and fourth-most popular free photo
    apps for Apple iOS, and the Nos. 19 and 22 most popular free apps
    overall, according to mobile app researcher AppData. Kids who've
    grown up hearing their parents lectures on the dangers of posting
    inappropriate material online like the ephemeral nature of Snapchat,
    which many use to send 'selfies,' pictures of themselves posing,
    making faces or being silly."

*/Business fact:/*

As mentioned above, Facebook may not be too concerned about losing teens 
from their site. The Facebook company paid $715 million last year to buy 
Instagram, one of the new, cool apps.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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