I remember sitting in my college apartment, laptop open, as I eagerly set up my Facebook account for the first time. It was an exciting new chapter in my life, and Facebook seemed like the perfect way to connect with classmates, share updates, and stay in touch with friends from back home. Fast forward to today, and the once-revolutionary Facebook now struggles to keep up with the demands of the modern world.
As Facebook struggles to keep up with the evolving digital landscape, newer, more mobile-centric platforms have emerged, threatening to usurp Facebook’s position as the go-to social media network. Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, among others, have rapidly gained popularity, particularly among younger users who are more inclined to use their mobile devices for social networking. These platforms have been designed with mobile users in mind from the very beginning, which in my opinion has contributed to their success… and has hindered Facebook’s parent company Meta.
My feelings towards Facebook in this is really more in regards to the blue mobile app that you use to access Facebook, not the company as a whole. The app is disjointed and feels old. There are a lot of issues with the app, on both iOS and Android, but the glaring issue that Facebook has failed to address is the lack of a full-featured responsive web design. This shortcoming has hindered the platform’s ability to provide a seamless and consistent experience across various devices and is what I think is the fundamental problem with Facebook as a whole. While many businesses have embraced responsive design to ensure their websites are easily accessible and functional on both desktop and mobile devices, Facebook seems to have missed the mark.
It’s no secret that Facebook’s transition from a desktop-focused website to a fully mobile version has been anything but smooth. In fact, the issues and limitations of the mobile app have become increasingly apparent over the years, and I’ve personally experienced several of these frustrations.
The absence of a responsive design has resulted in a disjointed experience for users who access the platform on different devices. For instance, I was trying to tag someone in a post being written for a client of ours. I tried crafting this while using the Facebook app on my smartphone. To my dismay, I realized that the app wouldn’t allow me to do so. At first, I assumed it was like so many times where a feature wasn’t present within the app or the mobile version of Facebook, so I tried tagging the business through Facebook’s desktop site. Unsurprisingly, it worked seamlessly! This experience served as a stark reminder that Facebook’s mobile app still has a long way to go before it can catch up to its desktop counterpart.
In an attempt to compete with these emerging platforms, Facebook has often resorted to either acquiring them or launching new ventures that emulate their features. The acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as the introduction of Facebook Stories, are prime examples of the company’s efforts to stay relevant in the ever-changing social media landscape. However, this strategy has done little to address the fundamental issues plaguing Facebook’s mobile app.
Facebook’s struggle to adapt to the mobile era has left it vulnerable to competition from newer, more innovative social media platforms. The lack of a responsive web design and the limitations of the mobile app only serve to highlight the need for the company to address these fundamental problems if it hopes to maintain its position in the social media landscape.
It’s difficult to predict what the future holds for Meta and Facebook, but it’s clear that they must prioritize improving the mobile experience if they wish to remain relevant in the ever-evolving digital world. Until then, users like myself will continue to grapple with the blue app’s shortcomings, all while reminiscing about the days when Facebook was the undisputed king of social media in my college apartment.
