If someone asked you how many social networks you actively use, how many would you list? To start, you need Facebook to share your personal updates, Twitter to share the latest news, Google+ for Hangouts, Pinterest for recipes, Instagram for your photos, Foursquare to share your location-based tips, LinkedIn for professional updates, Tumblr for cat GIFs and, before you know it, you're reflecting on how you find time to use all of them.
In a post on Quora, a user wrote, "I have noticed in myself … that becoming continuously and actively involved in a new social network often leads soon to the cessation of involvement in another one." A user in the thread replied, "It's difficult for any single person to maintain relationships in more than three communities at a time, [but] I'd say that a very social, highly engaged person can manage up to nine with success."
The ultimate consensus from this conversation? Apparently each person is different when it comes to keeping an active presence on multiple networks. While some can balance their usage, others ditch a network in favor of another that better suits their interests.
One recent study on social media usage revealed that the average user has two social media accounts. While some users find pleasure in multiple networks, there are people who have found a single community they love and stick with it, even when the temptations of a new social network arise. And there are others who have used various networks and narrowed their usage down until only one platform remained.
Avoiding Familiar Faces
For Matthew Shirey, a business owner in Georgia, he originally joined Twitter in 2008, and was a self-described "heavy user." Shirey also took Facebook for a spin, but left soon after because he grew tired of seeing all the familiar faces. "I got rid of Facebook because it was mostly old high school people who wanted to hang out on the Internet," he said. "They didn't want to hang out with me then — why would I want to hang out now?"
It may seem to be against the point for people to avoid a social network because of friends they have in real life. In fact, according to a 2011 study from Pew Internet, roughly two-thirds of social media users said staying in touch with friends and family is a major reason why they're on these platforms. But many users have found solace in networks where they are bound, not by the fact that they know people, but by their interests.
John Ellis, a retired neurologist from Amarillo, Texas, said his family and friends had suggested he join Facebook, but nothing they said about the service appealed to him. "I'm a bit of a recluse," Ellis said. "[I've] maintained contact with anyone I cared about via email, and saw no use in my life for MySpace or Facebook."
Instead, Ellis found Google+, a social network he said has often been a lost cause when it comes to inviting his family and friends to join, but he noted that it's not a bad thing. "I'd say that is a plus about Google+," he said. "Instead of blood relations and an echo chamber of friends, you get new people with fresh ideas and perspectives, without all the relationship baggage if you want to argue or disconnect from them."
Others, like Charlie Meisch, a policy communications consultant in Washington, D.C., feel less inclined to join a network like Facebook because they have significant others who keep them informed about updates from friends and family. "My wife is on Facebook so she gives me updates about people I wouldn't have otherwise seen," Meisch said. "With Facebook, there's still a part of me who would not find it useful. Maybe I'm being stubborn."
Meisch has been solely a Twitter user since he joined the service in 2008. "Twitter appealed to me because it wasn't Facebook. It feels more like a marketplace of ideas and information, and I think there's definitely an allure to connecting with a community based on interests."
Being Where Your Friends Are
While using a social network to connect with people over similar interests appeals to some, many are satisfied with a social network that connects them with their friends and family. For Zachary Kirker, a college student in Cincinnati, Facebook has been his first and only social network for that very reason. "It's where my friends are. I get on Facebook when I'm bored or I need to get ahold of somebody. It seems like everyone has it."
This is the power that comes with having an active user base of more than one billion people. In a 2012 study by Pew Internet, roughly 67 percent of online adults said they use Facebook. But, Kirker said, he feels less of a loyalty to the actual social network and more to where his friends reside.
"If you think back when Myspace turned to Facebook, my generation switched over — there was no one on Myspace and everyone was on Facebook," he noted. "If my friends dropped Facebook and went to Twitter, I would probably switch over."
With many social media networks, you have to work to build your following, said Bethany George, an executive-in-residence at an innovation center in Ohio, but with Facebook, "all my friends are there. They might not be on LinkedIn or Twitter, but they will be on Facebook."
George joined Facebook in 2005 as a graduate student and has since become a "heavy user" of the platform, not only personally but professionally. "It's great that I can use Facebook for multiple purposes. The user base is there professionally, so I don't have to worry about building that. On the supply and demand side, the market is there."
Ironically, though, George said that she is not on LinkedIn, and blames time for being the biggest deterrent. "I do realize the value of using LinkedIn as the network for professionals and being able to call upon people you may or may not know. So that's been on my to-do list."
Finding Time for Social Media
Finding time to be active on multiple social media networks appears to be an issue for many people, and there are countless articles offering tips and advice for dealing with social media burnout that may ultimately come from trying to keep up with all the content.
Shirey, the business owner from Georgia who originally used Twitter as his primary source of social networking, started feeling the stress and anxiety of managing multiple social presences when he joined App.net in August 2012. As Shirey began spending more time on App.net, he started feeling pressure to keep up with all the noise on every network.
"That's one of the main reasons I ended up deleting [my Twitter and Facebook accounts]. I felt the need to check and see if there were things there. I thoroughly enjoy every minute I spend on ADN, but then I'd get an alert on Facebook or Twitter and then I'd grumble and head over."
Shirey said he "threw a little party when I deleted my Facebook account," but quitting Twitter made him feel queasy. "I had put so much time into it that platform," he said, acknowledging that he had more than 31,000 tweets by the time he deleted his account. "But I don't regret quitting it at all. Now I don't feel the need to go check it anymore because it's not there."
For users who have only ever been on one social network, they don't understand how difficult it can be to quit a service, Shirey added. But for those who are considering using just one social network, he said people need to reflect on what platform makes them the happiest.
"What it boils down to for me is that I made the decision that social networking is supposed to be fun. Now I can go hang out with my friends and enjoy my social life. It's not work anymore."
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