Have you noticed that recently social media users are not that active as they were before? In the not so distant past, people used to spend hours updating their social status or socializing with old and new friends on social networks. Now it seems that a big part of the users have lost interest in these activities. Even teenagers are not that crazed over the social experience any more. How can something so popular lose its glam in seemingly an overnight? Here are some possible explanations.
Just a trend
Social media is nothing more than a trend. Today it is popular, tomorrow it is gone. As a matter of fact, it is surprising that it took so much time for users to get bored with it. If you do not find this explanation plausible enough, just think about the fact that there are trends everywhere you look – from fashion, music, literature to economy, business and technology. They all lose their colours in the end.
Socializing can be tiring
How many people have you added social friends? The average user has over 200 social connections. That means that even if they are not avid users it will take you a lot of time to go through the daily amount of content posted from your followers or friends (even now when the popularity of social media is declining). That can be more than tiring. In addition, your social profile makes you constantly available for all of your connections, including the ones you are not particularly fond of. You can never get a break.
Similar Information
Even though social media is regarded as massive source of information, it no longer offers diversity. Just think about the posts of your friends – music videos, pictures of kittens, mimes and posts about food. There is a little new that can grasp the user’s attention, unless you follow really inspiring individuals.
Reached its limits
It may also be possible that social media has given us all there is to give. Social websites now support various types of content, including pictures and videos. Also, many of them have added app services like games, for example. They also provide users an interactive experience by connecting them with other platforms and websites. What most social networks are doing today is simply changing their appearance – bigger profile picture, header images, new options menu… Again, they offer nothing new on the table.
Multitasking difficulties
Checking our social media profiles has turned into something habitual in our routine. However, due to our busy modern lives we need to do that on the go. For example, while drinking our morning coffee and watching the news on the TV or while we do our shopping. In other words, we often need to multitask in order to fit our social lives into our real ones. That can spoil some of our favourite activities. As a result, many people have decided to step out from the virtual world and switch to real-life mode.
Privacy fears
Social media websites know who we are – they store our names, likes, dislikes, activities and connections. That means that they can easily share this information with third parties. Are you skeptical? Just read your terms-of-use clause. Many users have already done that and have decided to stop socializing online. Others have read some of the thousands articles warning us of all the privacy dangers lurking in the online world.
Too accessible
Social media is more accessible than ever. Gone are the days when sophisticated social websites were open only to those who pay or those who have an invitation. Today, anyone can create a social profile in any of the popular platforms for free. In addition, thanks to smartphones and tablets, we can log in anytime we want and from anywhere we are. Gone is the thrill of having to wait all day long to get home and check your friends’ activity. Using social media has become too easy and easy quickly turns boring.
Although social websites are still very much alive and kicking, their end is already approaching. It is time for the next big thing to take the place of social media. But what would that be? The most probable answer is by another media or technology, while the least probable one is, unfortunately, real life.
