Is Facebook losing it’s “hip” status, among teenage users?
One social media expert says it is, because their parents are on it.
Charles Palmer, a Harrisburg University Professor of New Media, says teens are leaving the social media site because of their parents. "When facebook gets to a point where my grandmother has a page, it’s no longer that cool status for certain audiences."
Palmer said when parents are on Facebook, they’re in on a kid’s conversation which aren't always conversations they them to be in on. "It’s the same argument as my mom is listening at the back door so we have to be careful."
Tysha Brown says a lot of teens feel that way. "You don’t expect your parents to comment on a picture or status, because it seems uncool to a lot of people."
Brown told us, at one point she blocked her mom from Facebook.
Many teens are turning to other types of social media, like Twitter and Instagram. Not surprisingly, these are two of the biggest competitors for Facebook.
Palmer says teens follow the trends which are constantly changing. "You have to remember you’re talking to an audience that isn’t just on the cutting edge, they are beyond the cutting edge and find the coolest thing."
He also says, just like a lot of trends, it will be cool again. "It’ll find it’s cool, it’ll lose it’s cool, it’ll come back into favor, it’s just what will happen in the model itself."
