UPDATED 07:03 EDT / NOVEMBER 28 2014

Bored with mom & dad spying on your Facebook? Here’s 5 alternatives

small__2962194797Facebook, Inc. is still the largest and most popular social networking service used worldwide but its younger user base is slowly dwindling.

According to a new report from GlobalWebIndex, Facebook has 1.35 billion active monthly users, but it’s userbase in declining in terms of new sign ups. It’s not that people are abandoning the service, it’s just that people are using it less.

The report also says other services are gaining traction tremendously. Tumblr’s user base grew 120 percent, while Pinterest’s overall member figure increased by 57 percent. For Facebook, it saw just a 2 percent and 6 percent increase, respectively. This isn’t such a surprise given the already massive user base Facebook has. Facebook is plateauing, which is not entirely bad, it just means almost everyone is already on Facebook.

But engagement is another thing. According to GWI’s report, most 16-24 year olds are using Facebook less than they did before. Fifty percent of teenagers stated they’re simply bored with the service, while another fifteen percent of teenagers said they’re spending less time on Facebook because their parents are on it. Despite users getting bored, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Facebook is dying.

“It’s something that needs to be kept under watch, obviously, but these trends are hardly reflective of a social network that’s “dead and buried” or suffering widespread desertion,” said Jason Mander on the GlobalWebIndex blog. “Facebook is just too ingrained within the fabric of the Internet (single sign-ons, Like buttons, mobile OS) to become irrelevant any time soon.”

If you’re one of those growing tired of Facebook, here are some suggestions:

Tumblr

Tumblr, owned by Yahoo! Inc., is a microblogging platform that doubles as a social networking platform. It allows users to post multimedia such as photos and videos, as well as other content to a short-form blog. You can follow others users’ blogs, choose to remain private, and even chat with other users to pass time.

Twitter

Twitter Inc. is another microblogging platform that is being utilized by many today. What makes Twitter interesting is the real-time feel of the service. When you follow someone –  a friend, an artist, a brand –  the moment something is tweeted you easily see it or get notified of the tweet. This makes it easy to stay on top of celebrity gossip, album releases, and it is even very useful in times of disasters.

Pinterest

If you’re into DIY projects or vision boards, Pinterest may be the right social tool for you. You can create pins of your interest which may simply be photos, or photo instructions, and share it with other users, and you can also follow other users to discover new ways of doing things.  It’s quite easy to get lost in the world of Pinterest because it is very visual. You may find yourself starting to explore a particular topic of interest such as brunch recipes and find yourself two hours later looking at DIY kitchen makeovers.

Google+

Not many are using Google+ as they see the search giant’s social networking service as a Facebook copycat and not many people are on it. Well, if you are hiding out from your parents and you don’t want them to like everything you post, or comment on every photo you put up, you can use Google+. It seems like our parents are attracted to things that are popular with the younger generation there’s a good chance they haven’t heard or even considered using Google+.

ello

But if you really don’t want your parents to be in the same social network as you are, try ello. Ello is a new social networking site that promises to never sell any of your information plus it is invite-only for now, or you can sign up for the waitlist. If it’s something your parents haven’t heard of, you’re good to go. Ello is just like Facebook without the ads which means you will get to enjoy more user content than see ads plastered when you open it.

All these services are free to use and it caters to various types of people. You can sign up for all of them and try them out for a week or two and see which fits your personality or lifestyle better than Facebook.

photo credit: laverrue via photopin cc

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