Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread (Wikipedia). One of the most impactful and widespread innovations within the past two decades is Facebook. Facebook was invented in 2004 by Mark Zuckerburg when he was only a sophomore in college. Studying at Harvard for computer science, he wanted to make a platform that connected Harvard students to other Harvard students. Little did Zuckerberg know, he made the first and most successful social media app to ever exist. Zuckerberg as well as the people who helped him create Facebook are known as the innovators, the ones who drive change and aim to fill a gap within society. Apparently, “after one day over one thousand people had registered,” (History.com). So many people became early adopters of Facebook because it was the first of its kind, simply put. Many of these early adopters and the early majority were college students. There was nothing comparable in the world to Facebook, which is how it has the fame it has today.
As time progressed, Facebook became more popular for people of older demographics as well. Many middle-aged people started making accounts and were categorized as the late majority. People love to be a part of what is new and coming, and Facebook was exactly that. However, as good as the idea of Facebook was, Zuckerberg was notorious for getting himself in trouble. Because of that, there were a lot of people who were late adopters of Facebook and even more who were late adopters who wound up dropping Facebook altogether. After Zuckerberg admitted that Facebook was stealing a lot of their user’s personal data, many people pulled out of using the platform. Plus, lawsuits were in full effect once this information was released to the public as well, giving Facebook a bad reputation that Zuckerberg never wanted. On the other hand, bad press is still press, and Facebook was getting a lot of it. I think the negative effects speak for themselves, but despite all the negativity that Facebook was getting, there are still so many people who stayed loyal. On top of that, there are still over 2 billion active Facebook users (History.com) to this day, which means that there are positives that outweigh the negatives.
As always, there are laggards who still don’t have Facebook and don’t ever intend on having it. These types of people usually want to stay clear of social media and are rightfully afraid of their personal information being sold or monitored. The selling point of Facebook is the fact that it can connect you to anyone, anywhere, at any time. The potential Facebook had back at Harvard in 2004 was nothing compared to what it blossomed into today and it has certainly made history as one of the most noteworthy innovations.
Sources:
Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, February 13). Diffusion of innovations. Wikipedia. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_innovations
A&E Television Networks. (2019, October 24). Facebook launches. History.com. Retrieved February 28, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/facebook-launches-mark-zuckerberg#:~:text=On%20February%204%2C%202004%2C%20a,that%20was%20only%20the%20beginning
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