socialnetworkpeopleJoshua Porter on Bokardo writes about possible reasons for teens leaving MySpace (and by extension, other social networking sites).

He quotes Yuki Noguchi from the Washington Post to the effect that, as we know, teens are fickle and they end up leaving old sites for new ones…just because.

But Porter goes on to examine the reasons teens gave Noguchi for leaving a social networking site, and points out that there’s more than just fickleness at play.

Although Porter positions these findings with relation to teens, I think they’re equally as valid to all users of social networking sites…and a cautionary tale for those who run them:

Security reasons - Noguchi gives the example of someone stealing a teen’s identity. Cyberstalking, identity theft, and fraud are all reasons people can be hesitant to share info on social networking sites.

Snooping by parents and schoolfolks - Think of privacy issues in general and you have something of concern to every age group. When your employer, potential love interest, or nemesis has the ability to research you on MySpace or Friendster, you may think twice about sticking around…especially the more you hear stories like bosses checking up on prospective hires.

Social pressure - Noguchi gives the example of a youth who was criticized for not ‘top friending’ more of her friends. That’s not as likely to happen with adults, but managing your online identity - especially when it’s spread across multiple sites - can be time-consuming if you want to stay part of your online social group.

That’s where their friends are - People join and belong to social networks because they’re of benefit to them - socially, romantically, or in a job-related networking way. Once people start leaving a social network, these benefits dry up and it’s time to move on.

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