In the past few months I’ve heard a lot about Instagram and Snapchat from either conversations I’ve had or just overhearing people at Starbucks. The funny thing is, all of these occasions happened with people under the age of 15. When talking about social media with my three cousins (12, 14, 15) I was told about how much they love/use Snapchat and Instagram. I heard things like, “oh my gosh I LOVE Snapchat” or “I have like, 400 followers on Instagram. So yea.” I knew these sites were popular, because I use them often, but then I asked if they use, or at least have a Facebook account.
“Oh my gosh, Facebook is for like, old people” is what I heard from my 12yr old cousin. She then continued to tell me how “It’s all about like, Instagram and Snapchat now.” I was left speechless. “for old people?” I believe she just means people like me (26yr old) and not grandparents, but it still amazes me that Facebook seems ancient in comparison to these semi-newer social media sites. There were many thoughts going through my head, but I came to a realization: social media feels the need… the need for speed. But first, let’s get scientific.
If we can get what we want, when we want it (now), and through the means in which we want, then why wouldn’t we? Instant gratification is a great thing, our body even tells us so. You see, we have something called Dopamine in our bodies and we get small bursts of this chemical every time our phone vibrates, we hear a ding for a new email, or we see that enticing red notification icon on our phone. This is because dopamine is related to achievement, rewards, seeking/finding, etc. So when we achieve a task, get pleasure from doing, and feel the sense of euphoria our body releases dopamine. That’s why a ‘like’ or comment on a cute picture we post online is so appealing to us. We post/record/tweet/snap all on social media with the reward being a notification from many people, which results in much more dopamine being released. The problem is that dopamine is highly addictive. Alcohol and drugs also release dopamine. How does this relate to Facebook being for old people, though?
Let’s face it, Facebook has become one long, never-ending feed of news stories and “Friends’” personal views on different political issues; with a hint of baby pictures and YOU WON’T BELIEVE THIS articles. And for all of Facebook’s active users who try posting witty status’ or funny memes it’s known that those posts will (almost always) stay on your Facebook page forever. So maybe, possibly, eventually your post from 3 days ago will pop up on my timeline and I’ll ‘like’ it, but that’s only if Facebook decides to show me. Otherwise, your funny meme landed on crumbling ground. The gratification is not instant. Facebook is just part of our daily routine now, and is more like a newspaper than an exciting new toy to play with. And do you know who the majority of people are that still read newspapers?… Old people.
To keep with the newspaper analogy, wouldn’t you rather watch a news story on TV instead of reading it later in a newspaper?
Intro: Instagram. With Instagram we can forget all the PC language of Facebook and focus on only looking at the pretty pictures (and videos) from our friends. And forget pressing a ‘like’ button, just double tap your phone’s screen and you instantly released dopamine from your friend’s body; and they sure do love that. Also, Instagram is (mainly) a mobile app so our instant gratification addiction is always, literally, right at our fingertips. Younger generations have caught on to this concept, and it’s quite scary.
Intro: Snapchat. Now if Instagram wasn’t “instant” enough for you, luckily we have Snapchat. Each post, image or video, is uploaded in 10 second increments, whether it goes to one person or many. To view the post you simply tap and hold your finger on the screen and in 10 or less seconds it is gone. Talk about a short attention span. As soon as you lift up your finger on a ‘snap’ the video or image stops and/or goes away. We don’t even have time to pay attention to something for 10 seconds. That is exactly what my younger cousins were talking about with their statement about Facebook being for old people. In today’s world speed is everything and “if you’re not first, you’re last.” So while Facebook still remains the champion in the social media world because of its mass, instant and consistent speed of newer sites may be just the thing needed to outlast.