Why Teens Prefer Tumblr and Ditching Facebook?

When Facebook was first developed in 2004, a lot of people (including myself) were skeptical. Many viewed the online platform as a way for teenage boys to keep tabs on their friends and potential girlfriends, send pictures of themselves posing in the latest fashion, and share an endless stream of useless information about their daily lives. Facebook was seen as a toy for the under 25s to develop their voyeuristic and narcissistic tendencies. However, if there is one thing capable of changing its stripes in record time, it's the internet. While in 2004 Facebook was primarily a tool for youth, it quickly transformed into a mutigenerational platform used for everything from keeping in touch with far-away relatives to career oriented self-promotion. It also revolutionized the way people communicate and made us excruciatingly aware of two very important phenomena: people love to observe other people, and they love to be observed.

The same phenomena that made Facebook so popular will also be its downfall. Just like with any addiction, one eventually needs more of the desired product in order to find satisfaction. In the case of the internet, people need better and updated versions of the same type of product. This is where Tumblr steps in.

Tumbler gives teenagers the ability to reach more people, share more pictures (and GIFs), and create their own online content. This means that they get a lot more visibility, and consequently, more dopamine. As one online blog so aptly pointed out, "Tumblr beats Facebook in everything. People spill their hearts out on Facebook and no one gives a s*it I spill my heart out on here and get props for it. You post something on Facebook, zero likes. Post it on Tumblr, 2,000 reblogs."

 According to a recent survey by Posterous co-founder Garry Tan....

              Tumblr was the favorite social network for the two age groups surveyed, ages 13-18 (teens) and 19-25 (young adults).

Here’s the breakdown per platform:

• Tumblr dominated, used regularly by 61% of teens and 57% of young adults surveyed.
• Facebook drew in 55% of teens and 52% of young adults.
• Twitter was used regularly by 22% of teens and 17% of young adults.
• Instagram drew in 21% of teens and only 11% of young adults.
• Snapchat (the newest of the platforms) earned 13% of teens and just 4% of young adults.

Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube and Google+ grew faster than Facebook as well.