Facebook is now considered more of a social burden than a loved networking site by its teen users, a new study suggests.
According to a report by the Pew Research Center, teens’ enthusiasm for Facebook is waning, lending credence to concerns, raised by the company’s investors and others that the site may be losing a crucial demographic of young users that has long fuelled its success.
The study surveyed 802 teens between the ages of 12 and 17 last year to produce a detailed report on their on-line habits, the ‘Huffington Post’ reported.
According to the report, the social networking site has become a “social burden” for teens.
“While Facebook is still deeply integrated in teens’ everyday lives, it is sometimes seen as a utility and an obligation rather than an exciting new platform that teens can claim as their own,” the report said.
However, the report said teens aren’t abandoning Face book, deactivating their accounts would mean missing out on the crucial social intrigues that transpire on-line, and 94 per cent of teenage social media users still have profiles on the site, report said.
They’re simultaneously migrating to Twitter and Instagram, which teens say offer a parent-free place where they can better express themselves, it said.
As many as 11 per cent of teens surveyed, had Instagram accounts, while the number of teen Twitter users climbed from 16 per cent in 2011 to 24 per cent in 2012.
Similarly, 5 per cent of teens now have accounts on Tumblr while 7 per cent are on Myspace.
