I remember reading an article back in 2008 about how Facebook, which
at the time boasted around 100 million active users, was just a passing fad. Once
the cool kids realized that everyone, including their own decidedly uncool parents,
had signed up to Mark Zuckerberg’s creation, then they would soon cancel their
accounts and go looking for their social media kicks elsewhere. In theory, this
would happen in much the same way as when some hipper-than-thou teen turns
their back on an obscure indie band for having the temerity to start selling
records.
But for several years after I came across
that dismissive article, Facebook continued on its meteoric rise, and garnered
many more millions of users worldwide. It seemed the prediction that the cool
kids—or Millennials, as they’re labeled in marketing and sociology circles—would
desert Facebook in droves just didn’t hold much water. But then about a year
ago, SnapChat appeared on the scene and quickly began stealing away Facebook
users.
Snapchat is essentially a social network
where users send video and photo messages which quickly disappear after they’re
viewed. The concept seems absurd at first. But when you consider that many more
images are now uploaded daily to the network than its rival Facebook, and that multi-billion
dollar offers to buy the company have been batted away by its ridiculously
young founders, then you have to start believing that Snapchat has real appeal.
It’s important to note this appeal lies mostly
amongst 13 to 24 year-olds. Though claims of a growth in the 40+ year-old
demographic probably alludes to the marketing and social media professionals
who want to see what all the fuss is about. There are no official figures on
members, but with Facebook reportedly shedding tens of millions of members each
month, particularly in the same demographic and mostly in the United States and
Europe, it’s not hard to guess where they’re going.
There are two main reasons for this trend. When nearly everyone can see what you post,
and it sits there forever exposed to the world, the chances are you’re being
ridiculed by other kids not in your “offline” clique. Not to mention being monitored
by your parents who have been on Facebook for three years along with your
teachers, strangers, and even perverts who can see a lot more than you think
due to Facebook’s complex privacy settings.
Facebook’s founder famously claimed in 2010
that privacy was dead. It seems the tide is turning on him, and the notion that
people would willingly give up their private information. Even amongst older
demographics, Facebook fatigue seems to be setting in, but still we keep our
accounts as we become addicted to the cringe, shock, and simple nosiness that
Facebook facilitates. Well, the cool kids are now saying hasta lavista, baby to Facebook, or whatever Millenials say these
days.
The other reason for the rise of Snapchat
could be related to a generational shift in values. Generation X and Baby
boomers placed more value on material things that lasted, commemorated, and
could ultimately be bequeathed to the next generation. Think silverware, fine
china, properties, mink coats, and masses of photo albums. Today, relative to
20, 30 or 60 years ago, property ownership and the notion of a “job for life”
are beyond the reach or imagination of most Millennials in the developed world.
As “Selfie” was declared the word of 2013, narcissism and hedonism seem to be
the primary values of many. A complete cynicism, and rightly so, towards
politicians, corporations, and virtually all institutions has created a “lost” generation
of self obsessed techies with the attention span of a gold fish. Global mass
consumerism has meant that things and objects lose their value and simply become
tools to experience life with, which may not be a bad thing in the long run,
but it certainly shakes up some of the previous generations’ value systems.
(First appeared in Venture magazine -January 2014)
