A new study from the Pew Research Center says that the U.S. teens are abandoning Facebook in favor of Twitter as they find too many adults and too much drama on Facebook.
Twitter is becoming the new destination for online social media users, especially the young ones, as they complain Facebook is getting old and attracts too much drama, says a new study based on online behavior. Researchers surveyed 802 parents and 802 teens over the telephone. The study says that teens are more concerned about privacy as they share confidential information on social media sites.
"The key is that there are fewer adults, fewer parents and just simply less complexity," said Amanda Lenhart of the Pew Research Center, one of the study authors. "They still have their Facebook profiles, but they spend less time on them and move to places like Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr."
According to the survey, 60 percent of Facebook users have restricted settings for their posts, photos and personal information, whereas 25 percent allow friends of friends to see the posts on their account. It also shows that 94 percent of overall online users have an account on Facebook, which has not grown since the last year. However, online social media users attracted to Twitter have risen by 14 percent since 2011.
In an interview, Jaime Esquivel, a 16 year-old teen, said that Facebook "really seems to have more drama," according to an AP news report. He admitted to having a Facebook profile and checking it every day but refrained from posting any information or photos to communicate with friends, in fact, he said he preferred using Instagram. Facebook purchased Instagram in a $1 billion deal in April last year.
There has been a drastic increase in teens sharing their photos and personal information on social media sites since 2006. A sharp 11 percent increase in teen social media users posting a picture of themselves has been noted. About 70 percent of the teens share information about the city or town they live in, which has increased from 60 percent in 2006. Also, a 2 percent increase in teens sharing their mobile phone numbers has been witnessed since 2006.
Despite teens sharing their information on social media sites, they seem to be more cautious than before, says Parry Aftab, an attorney and online child safety advocate.
"They are sharing. This is their life," Aftab said in an interview. "But they tend to be sharing personal stuff far better than they ever did before.
