Twelve years later… what is Facebook?

Posted on by Amelia Elliot

When I first started using Facebook in seventh or eighth grade, it was only a platform for interacting and staying in touch with friends. I used the site to post daily status updates and added pictures to my “Muploads” album from my Blackberry. It wasn’t until three or four years ago that Facebook’s direction shifted. People don’t use the site to interact anymore.

Facebook’s platform changed and has become more complex. It used to be the site to quickly check Newsfeed and go back to work.  Now, users spend hours scrolling… and time is wasted. Logging onto Facebook is honestly something I almost dread. I know I’ll spend at least 20 minutes or more aimlessly scrolling through Newsfeed, tagging my friends in memes, and watching random videos. I’ll always have a Facebook… I think because it’s what I’m used to, but it isn’t my “go-to” anymore. I know when I go on Facebook so much other content is going to clog my feed. I used to only see status updates and photos from friends, and I miss that!

It even went down the other day!!

A solution to fixing the overflow of information on Facebook is that its users should control Newsfeed. There should be a filter to select what you want to see and don’t. If someone isn’t feeling the political posts, they shouldn’t have to see them. This would make Facebook user’s able to connect with each other again without all of the heavy features that don’t have to be there.

The site also went down in October… definitely time for some fixing!

2 thoughts on “Twelve years later… what is Facebook?”

  1. I agree- now a days I almost dread opening up my phone and getting any notifications from Facebook. I like your idea for tailoring posts, however, do we think the Facebook algorithm could be strong enough to detect when people refer to subjects such as politics in passing without naming any candidates or parties? I also think tailored content might also keep us less exposed to the world around us. Despite the fact that I often disagree with long Facebook political rants, it has allowed me to learn more about other’s opinions. Perhaps muting political conversation for a few days at a time, for example, around elections, could be beneficial. That way people are not allowed to ignore it forever and will be forced to be exposed to differing opinions.

  2. Amelia, I completely agree that the general use for Facebook has drastically changed since its creation in 2004. As it was once a platform to connect with others, as most wanted more friends than their peers, it is now a platform strictly used to check up on things while scrolling up and down your newsfeed. Within regards to the newsfeed, I agree that the user should have some control over what they see, but total control with specific filters would take away a dynamic aspect Facebook looks to use in order to reach their users; the algorithm! But as you said, it is definitely time for some change and hopefully with these hearings, Zuckerberg will change what he has to but also adapt to find the group he’s missing on; millennials.

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