Facebook: Stages of social media grief

• Spread The Word
• Tweet

The popular social networking website Facebook appears to have a problem. And I’m not talking about its privacy, security or even application spam, but rather the fact that Facebook’s social network can’t mirror that actual social networks (or social groups) that people have.

And according to Mike Elgan at computerworld.com, because of this reason, users are beginning to notice a rather curious effect – the more you actually Facebook, the less usable it becomes. This may lead to many people quitting, or just minimizing usage.

The Facebook website is structured on the false assumption that people only have one social network, but that’s not the case at all. A 9-year old for example has at least 2 – parents and peers, a teenager may have at least 3, if you add “trusted close friends” to the list.

A middle-aged adult has many, such as former school mates, former colleagues and even current co-workers. But the thing with Facebook is that sooner or later, your social groups are going to clash in some way – and it may not necessarily be in a good way.

For example, Maria’s son posts a status update on his Facebook: “Having a great time at the beach with the parents!” Maria’s boss then reads that status, and posts a comment that says: “Didn’t you call in sick?” Computerworld.com has listed the five stages of Facebook grief.

The first is confusion, followed by discovery: for example you discover your old school friends are on there. Next is utility, which means it helps you to stay connected. The next is embarrassment, followed by withdrawal – meaning stop using Facebook altogether or post less.

You can read the full article via the link above.