Why nobody likes Facebook anymore

Facebook has become one of the largest sites on the web, and by far the largest online community. It has been praised for it’s usefulness, it’s networking capabilities, it’s relevance to the new age of technology. But to what extent is Facebook actually useful now? Does it really help us connect with our friends? Does it really help our productivity? Is it even fun to be on just to waste time anymore?

It seems to me people on Facebook have an inordinate amount of friends. Maybe there truly are people with upwards of 1000 friends, but I myself don’t even know anyone with nearly that many acquaintances. How many of these are actual friends? I wonder if when I add a friend, I do it just because I enjoy seeing my friend count go up. I wonder if I do it just because I need to feel connected. Do people today actually have any intention of communicating with their recently added Facebook friends? The people I communicate with through Facebook are the people I don’t know well enough to communicate with via some more intimate means.

Facebook also seems to bring out the worst in people. Maybe it’s the ability to say whatever you want from behind the screen, but people say things on Facebook that seem like they’re intended to get people upset. Especially when it comes to political debates (gun restrictions, presidential elections, government shutdown, etc.), people without any intention of having insightful discussion post blatant opinions just to get others riled up.

Facebook has the potential to allow friends to truly connect and collaborate, but recently newsfeeds all across the world have been taken over by these pesky Vine videos and “deep” statuses. This mixed with a convolution of friends and outrageous statuses make the newsfeed a very chaotic environment.

Having to navigate through all of these weeds on your newsfeed isn’t even the worst part. Have you ever even left Facebook feeling satisfied? Studies show that in fact, people are typically left unhappy after using Facebook, and those who use the site consistently experience a decline in satisfaction with their lives over time.

While these studies are largely correlative and Facebook may not be the cause, it is quite likely that is it. The reasoning is that Facebook has turned not into a place for people to communicate, but instead for people to simply broadcast. It has become a way to show your peers, whether you are parents or students, your fantastic photos from the beach or which college you recently got into. It has essentially turned into a bragging device in disguise to show how well your life is going, what your relationship status is etc. Most people probably don’t even realize that they’re doing it too. When I see my friends’ photos from a seemingly fantastic night out while I’m sitting in my room at my cramped desk at 2am trying to finish my homework, it sure doesn’t make me feel satisfied with my day.

If this is what Facebook has become, how relevant will it actually be to our future?

Kiran Jagtiani is a freshman mechanics major from Philadelphia, PA