Facebook and the Impact on Generations

    Facebook, Facebook, Facebook. If you are not aware of this platform, you must be living in a hole with no people, power, or technology. However, I know you do not live in a hole because you are reading this blog.  In Chapter three of The Essentials of Social Media Marketing, I learned about how to create an effective Facebook profile and about the demographics of the platform. Facebook has 2.91 billion users and is the largest social media platform. Surprisingly, the United States does not have the largest user base. India has nearly 330 million users, whereas the United States only has 180 million users. I could continue rambling various facts about Facebook, but I am sure my subscribers have no interest. 

    Since high school, I have always used Snapchat and Instagram. I have never used Facebook, until about two years ago. I can now say, with confidence, Facebook is the social media platform in which I use most. Facebook has so many purposes and loopholes. For example, Facebook reels show short videos of the most random topics. Animals, cooking tutorials, makeup tutorials, fitness influencers, cars and education are a few of the many videos which appear in my reels. Facebook also has ways to sell items through Facebook Marketplace. I have purchased all of my vehicles and sold my vehicles through Marketplace. I utilize Marketplace to sell clothes, shoes, and other trinkets as well. Perhaps the largest loophole for me is simply scrolling through my Facebook feed. I scroll and scroll and scroll and scroll. Thankfully, I follow less than 200 people, so it does not take too long to reach the end of my feed. 

    I think it is ironic that I use Facebook because I have always associated the platform with millennials and older individuals. My parents often tell me I am "such an old person" because I use Facebook. My dad goes through phases of deleting and redownloading Facebook. Right now, he is on one of those kicks. I spoke to my parents on the phone a couple nights ago and he said he deletes and redownloads Facebook about three times a week. On the other hand, my grandmother is a constant user of Facebook. She reposts dozens of posts a day and comments on all of my posts. My grandfather does not use Facebook at all. It is so funny how the various generations look at social media and use social media platforms. I am curious to how social media will look for my generation in 10, 20 and 30 years.