Social Networks: Teens Have “Facebook Fatigue”

The online gaming site, Rioworld, conducted a study in April about how teens between the ages of 13-17 spend their time and money online.  On average, researchers found that teens spend 2 hours online each day with 80% of that time spent on some type of social network.  Although Facebook is still the preferred social network among teens, some are starting to experience “Facebook fatigue.”  One in five (19%) teens say they do not use Facebook as much as they did last year, or they do not access Facebook anymore at all.  The declining interest is due to many factors: 16% say it’s because their parents joined, 14% say “there are too many adults/older people,” and 13% say they are “uncomfortable with people seeing my personal stuff.”

Many teens actually play video games on these social networks, and the majority of those gamers call them “addicting.”  The study also found that 43% of teens have spent money on a social network, including 7% that bought a “virtual gift” and 15% that bought virtual money to buy a virtual item. 

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