Facebook Changes Leave Users In an Uproar

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — These days it’s all about staying connected especially when it comes to social media. “I’m far away from home, so I just see what my family is doing,” says one USC student. “It’s a nice way to stay connected with people I don’t have numbers for and for people I went to high school with,” says another USC student. But what happens when social media goes too far? “It’s like you can stalk people on Facebook now,” says a USC student. “It’s not the same at all,” says another USC student. For Facebook it could mean losing users. “I think more people are moving from Facebook to Twitter, so I think it will become obsolete, kind of like Myspace,” says one USC student. “When you are a consumer product you have to take a lot more into account when you make changes, says Doug Fisher, Journalism Professor at USC. When users logged into Facebook Wednesday morning, they found lots of changes, including an updated newsfeed, larger pictures and even recommendations on things each user may be interested in. But, users aren’t too happy. “People get used to things they don’t want changes they like what they have and so you can’t just go making changes,” says Fisher. “It’s very confusing, I don’t know what’s going on,” says one USC student. “It’s like you get all of these updates that I don’t really care about,” says another USC student. “If you like something you automatically go up, I don’t like that,” says a USC student. And angry users could affect Facebook’s fan base. “They’ve also tended to ignore what they’re users have to say, so I don’t know what will happen this time,” says Fisher. Already users have made Anti-Facebook groups, on Facebook. The company released the following statement to ABC news: “We’re constantly working to make facebook better, and we’re gathering and evaluating feedback on all of our products and will continue to make improvements over time.” And even though the latest change has many users upset, the social media site still has it’s die hard fans, who will stay. “Yes I will,” says one USC student. “People are used to Facebook, a lot of people aren’t going to just go over to another social media site,” says Fisher. “It helps me connect, it helps me make friends,” says one USC student. “I’ll stay on Facebook, but like I said, I’m more of a Twitter person, I’m always on there, and check my Facebook ever so often,” says a USC student. “I love it,” says another USC student.