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It鈥檚 Facebook鈥檚 20th birthday, but not everyone is eager to join the party. Nevertheless, reflecting on the past two decades, it鈥檚 undeniable that this social network managed to forever reshape the landscape of social media.

Just a quick look at Facebook鈥檚 journey can evoke an array of mixed memories. Whether it鈥檚 the awkwardness of your first profile picture, the iconic portrayal in 鈥淭he Social Network,鈥� or the hours of funny cat videos you鈥檝e scrolled through, people all around the world are bound to have vivid memories of their time on the platform.

Whether all you have are fond memories to look back on or you鈥檙e still an avid Facebook fan, not everyone is raising a toast to its milestone. Let鈥檚 take a look at why.

A Look Back On Facebook鈥檚 Birthday

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Having humble beginnings in 2004, Facebook (originally 鈥榯hefacebook.com鈥�) was the brainchild of 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg, taking root in his student accommodation, the platform was initially to connect Harvard students before rapidly expanding worldwide.

In a realm where platforms like MySpace were the norm, Facebook emerged as the dominant force in a world of slim social media pickings. Identifying gaps in available social networking sites, Zuckerburg knew he could create something different that would forever change the game.

Fast forward to now, Facebook鈥檚 reign as the supreme platform has been challenged over and over again. Competitors like Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, and others have come to take Facebook鈥檚 crown, luring users with enticing content and innovative socialising features and, while its popularity has certainly spiralled, it remains the most popular social network in the world.

Facebook has also been hurt by many knocks to its reputation over the years. Beginning with the famous Winklevoss twins court case, the platform has faced almost constant hurdles and obstacles to its success, the latest of which being a tumultuous week of public scrutiny regarding its child safety issues.

But before delving into Facebook鈥檚 current challenges, let鈥檚 take a closer look at how the platform reshaped the social media landscape in the past decades.

How Facebook Changed The Game

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To begin with, time to rewind right to the beginning.

Facebook immediately started to make waves as soon as it hit our screens. One of the first notable features was the ability to 鈥渢ag鈥� people in photos, followed by the introduction of the 鈥渓ike鈥� button for posts, enhancing user interaction and engagement in new and original ways.

Not surprisingly, within its first year, the platform attracted one million users, and by 2012, it boasted over one billion monthly users.

The platform went on to revolutionise how social media platforms utilised听advertising, and even modern-day politics. According to the BBC, Statista research revealed that in the five months leading up to the 2020 US presidential election, President Donald Trump鈥檚 campaign spent over $40 million on Facebook ads.

Innovative additions like Facebook Marketplace expanded the platform beyond socialising, while its 2021 rebranding to Meta signalled a shift toward the metaverse. Zuckerberg aimed to position Facebook at the forefront of technological evolution once again.

Under the Meta Platforms umbrella, not only has Facebook acquired other social media giants like Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, but it has also moved towards embracing the 鈥楳etaverse鈥�, a three-dimensional cyberspace where users can explore, connect with friends, play games, work, and even shop, akin to another digital realm.

Zuckerberg envisions Facebook/Meta leading the charge in introducing people to this novel digital space where reality and the digital world converge, demonstrating the power of Facebook in pushing its users towards a complete transition into a new digital era.

Will You Be Joining The Party?

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Today, with over 3 billion users worldwide, Facebook undeniably has achieved significant milestones over the last 20 years. However, not everyone is in a celebratory mood. In fact, many may have overlooked the milestone entirely.

Apart from facing numerous reputation setbacks and legal battles over the years, Facebook鈥檚 20th birthday arrives at a particularly awkward juncture.

Just last week, Zuckerberg found himself compelled to appear before a Senate committee and extend apologies to parents who attributed their children鈥檚 deaths to suicides or drug overdoses linked to social media.

鈥淣o one should have to go through the things that your families have suffered,鈥� Zuckerberg told the parents when having to face听intense questioning from lawmakers. Something that doesn鈥檛 exactly make for a great party atmosphere.

Unfortunately, this latest lawsuit has highlighted Meta鈥檚 blatant failure to adequately safeguard its younger users.

Since its inception, Facebook, under Zuckerberg鈥檚 leadership, has been embroiled in controversy and political scrutiny. From being reprimanded by the Harvard University administrative board to the US Senate today, perhaps Facebook simply bit off more than it could chew to begin with and has been paying the price ever since.

What was once a platform solely committed to connecting people exploded into a hotbed for advertisement, political debate, and even controversial experiments with user data.

For instance, in 2012, Facebook allowed researchers to conduct a psychological experiment on their users, demonstrating what they called 鈥渕assive-scale emotional contagion鈥�, according to NBC News.

While Facebook argued that users had given 鈥渋nformed consent鈥� to the tests in agreeing to Facebook鈥檚 Data Use Policy prior to creating an account, Sheryl Sandberg, then Facebook鈥檚 chief operating officer, was later forced to apologise regarding the company鈥檚 poor communication regarding the experiment.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.

NBC News continues to report that, in the wake of the Trump campaign, Russian operatives had听run a secret influence operation on Facebook. Though the details of this were never made clear, the disclosure significantly changed public perceptions of the power of social media and its lack of safeguards.

Furthermore, in 2018, UK consulting firm Cambridge Analytica was accused by journalists of improperly mining data from Facebook for use in political campaigns. Meta was subsequently forced to pay $725 million to end the lawsuit accusing it of failing to safeguard user data.

Further and even more worrying accusations could be listed for pages and pages (Zuckerberg has, after all, had to testify before Congress eight times), making it unsurprising that its latest celebration milestone feels somewhat overshadowed.

While it鈥檚 undeniable that Facebook, or Meta, under Zuckerberg鈥檚 leadership has spearheaded innovative changes in social media, the question remains: Are these innovations sufficient to offset its missteps?

So, as Facebook marks its latest milestone, the question arises: Will you join the celebration, or is this a party you鈥檇 rather skip?

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