Social media is a popularity contest. Or at least it used to be. Perhaps in some ways it still is. Either way, like the discovery of a new fossil fuel, we’re fascinated by it and have yet to lift our gaze from the microscope.
Study after study has looked at social media and how it affects the productivity of students, the longevity of (actual) relationships and the gullibility of the American people and how they absorb advertising without even realizing it.
Our curiosity prevails.
A recent Pew Research study focused not on how we’re building connections via social media, but how we’re breaking them. According to the study, the percentage of Facebook users who “unfriend” other users rose from 56 percent in 2009 to 63 percent in 2011. Like most waves of Internet evolution, it seems the trend is filtering through the younger generations before making its way to our parents; 71 percent of members between 18 and 29 deleted people versus 63 percent of those aged 30 to 49.
So why are we “unfriending” each other? Is this where social evolution leads once we depart from the high school cafeteria?
Our generation spends so much time online that the phrase “Building brand awareness and social media presence” could actually help you land a job if strategically placed on a résumé.
It could be about preference or professionalism. It could be as simple as coming to this realization: I don’t actually know this person, why are we friends online?
While some use social media as a means of promoting work or sharing music and photos, others use it to voice their opinion or broadcast to the world what they’re wearing, watching and eating. Others use it to incite social revolutions.
Some view social media as a way to connect on a professional level and therefore feel they don’t care or need to read about a former high school classmate’s trip to the veterinarian. Delete.
Some users tend to let loose in front of the camera or lack any sense of filter when it comes to updating their status. They don’t want these things to appear in the newsfeeds of their mother, grandmother or teacher. Delete.
Facebook users seem to be exercising more caution in who they befriend, but is the story the same for Twitter?
The two are constantly being compared — the Yankees and Red Sox of social media — and rightfully so. Each is its own class within the larger species.
It seems the goal of Twitter is to achieve as many followers as possible. Having a low follow count is like screaming in a soundproof room. Nobody will hear what you have to say.
Facebook is just a greater filter, and more and more people are taking advantage of it.
