Love it or loathe it, everybody who’s anybody is on Facebook. What started as a meeting place for students and graduates has evolved into the most popular social networking site on the internet.
According to Facebook’s own statistics, it has more than 175 million users spending 3 billion minutes on the site every day (that’s in total rather than every individual user – although I know some people who must get close.) In addition, 52,000 applications have been created for the Facebook platform with 140 new ones appearing every day.
Facebook has experienced phenomenal growth, but there are signs that membership has plateaued and the glory days are over. Is Facebook a fad? Does it have a long-term future? Here are five symptoms that show you could be suffering from Facebook fatigue…
1. You’re not responding to every poke and invitation
Facebook fatigue starts subtly. Was there a time when you responded to everything, no matter what it was or who it was from? Did you play every mind-numbing game, give silly picture gifts, and pass on video links to all your friends? Are you still doing it?
2. There are no withdrawal symptoms
Have you accessed Facebook recently? Can you survive for several days without a Facebook fix? Can you take a vacation without popping into a cyber cafe or paying exorbitant mobile internet fees every 10 minutes?
3. Have you culled your Facebook friends?
The average Facebook user has 120 “friends”. The vast majority are people they have never met, spoken to, or socialised with. Lots of friends may be a badge of distinction for a while, but has it led to information overload and invite irritation.
4. Are your parents and grandparents on Facebook?
You’re using the same system as them? How uncool is that! Perhaps you should move on to LinkedIn?
5. Have you rediscovered the internet?
Have you started using ‘real’ email again? Have you noticed that the web contains other sites? It may be too late for you.
The warnings are clear; Facebook fatigue is real. Are you a sufferer? Perhaps you should ask for help at Twitter.com!
This article is pure nonsense.
Find something interesting to write about and write it, but if you don’t find it you could just rest.
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:45 am
6. Or people you never wanted to speak to again, find you and threaten you for not accepting them as friends.
In ‘real’ life, if I become friends with someone, they don’t tell all of their friends they’re friends with me.
Facebook is idiotic. Facebook is all about advertising and trying to collect as much info from everyone.
February 22nd, 2009 at 4:48 am
I only signed up to FB to try creating applications using their platform and to establish contact with long lost friends and family. It has never been about my “friend count” or “pokes” to me. Also, I never post any personal information on FB either.
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:29 am
Facebook (and this article) are pathetic….
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:50 am
Facebook is an excellent tool for keeping in touch WITH ACTUAL FRIENDS IN REAL LIFE. I never add anyone to my friend list unless I have physically met that person. I use it to keep up on friends in other states, and it is much nicer than sending emails back and forth. I can just go in at my own leisure and view pictures/videos and news about my friends.
It is absurd that people add anyone and everyone to create the illusion of having a life. It is this form of abuse that gives Facebook a bad rep. I don’t even add people I met in real life if I only met them for all of 5 minutes at some party.
learn2facebook peeple
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:58 am
Well I have Twitter fatigue, without ever using it for real.
Any news on Josh Catone? Where is he?
February 22nd, 2009 at 7:13 am
This article is pure nonsense, it was not even worth the time to click the link – far from reading it.
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:18 am
Haha that’s quite funny =D
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:43 am
It’s nice to break up the tech stuff and “business” with some pure fun.
Thanks!
February 22nd, 2009 at 2:13 pm
really funny, now here you are trying to promote twiter and linkedIn.i like facebook how many my old friends i have found there and we are sharing our old memories, college life pics and so many things.
February 22nd, 2009 at 3:15 pm
ehhhh…. Graig didn’t represent a single real sign of facebook fatigue. Facebook continues to grow and grow in popularity.
February 22nd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
The Twitter home page is enough to keep me from event trying it out, so I guess I’m have Twitter fatigue.
I use both Facebook and Linkedin. Lately I have seen an explosion of people I know on a personal Facebook and it’s good to reconnect with them. Linkedin has been for me only people I know on a business level.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:28 am
6. You write articles about it in inappropriate locations instead of doing real journalism.
February 23rd, 2009 at 6:17 am
I was wondering that too.
Found this:
http://mockriot.com/post/78841868/new-job
Looks like he’s left SitePoint – and blogging :(
Big shoes to fill no doubt.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:07 am
Amen to Facebook fatigue! I log in once a day to check for messages or notifications (have disabled the email alerts) but that’s about it ATM. I was quite into for a while there so probably just need a break.
I’ve heard one or two members say they have reduced their FB activity after the recent TOS debacle. Has that put anyone else off?
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I was too tired to read that :) What was it about in brief? Any good opportunity to shut FB down just like ICQ, mIRC altogether? :D
February 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
I just mess up Facebook’s business plan and lie about everything, interests I don’t have, join weird groups and generally do everything I don’t do.
February 23rd, 2009 at 8:26 pm
It’s clearly that I have facebook fatigue I have set myself to login to facebook every 2 days only.
February 23rd, 2009 at 11:59 pm
I have found Facebook very useful for connecting with old school mates that I lost touch with but I don’t use it everyday. I find it far less addicting than MySpace was at the beginning and therefore less prone to fatigue. Like some others said, Facebook is more about keeping up with people you really know as opposed to other sites which are more about friend counts and whatnot.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:34 am
ha. i have about 115 friends. i don’t know maybe 10 in person.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:44 am
The only reason facebook and twitter are still in the poblic eye is because CNN can not stop saying facebook and twitter. I was layed off 2 months ago. I don’t have much to do so when I am not applying for jobs I am keeping up on the news, or so I thought. Facebook and Twitter are spoken on CNN and average of 2 or 3 times every 15 minutes. How about some of the others like sqiidoo, hubpages, goofbucket, or goarticles. I mean come on, remember that everybody was all a twitter about myspace. Myspace and facebook have very many users, why isn’t CNN talking myspace up anymore. Or on the other hand CNN says it is for the little guy why not talk about goofbucket the smallest one I know. This comment may never be posted but we need to understand that there are connections here most us us know nothing about. Facebook and Twitter have got to have their finge into CNN. Sorry for the rant, I just feel facebook is not the best and wish people would recognize they are being manipulated by the media.
March 1st, 2009 at 5:40 am