Facebook Stories allow users to share photos and videos that disappear after 24 hours. They were introduced in 2017 as a Snapchat-like feature within Facebook’s apps. Stories appear full screen at the top of the News Feed and aim to capture more candid, ephemeral moments from people’s everyday lives.
Some key points about Facebook Stories:
- They appear in the Facebook app, Messenger, and Instagram (which Facebook owns).
- Over 500 million people use Stories across Facebook’s apps daily.
- Stories automatically disappear after 24 hours.
- Users can decorate Stories with augmented reality filters, effects, text, and drawings.
- Friends and followers can react to Stories with emojis and send messages in response.
But what is the purpose of this frequently used but temporary format? Let’s explore the potential benefits for users, for connections between people, and for Facebook itself.
Benefits for Users
Facebook Stories offer certain advantages to individual users compared to permanent News Feed posts:
They Encourage More Authentic, Candid Sharing
Because Stories disappear in 24 hours, people feel more comfortable sharing silly, embarrassing, or mundane moments from everyday life. Stories enable self-expression without the pressure of crafting permanent, “perfect” posts.
They Facilitate More Engagement
The ephemeral nature of Stories leads people to check them frequently throughout the day. This brings more eyes to each Story, increasing the likelihood of reactions and responses. Views and comments on Stories are often higher compared to News Feed posts.
They Allow Users to Share Privately
While News Feed posts are broadcasted publicly to all friends by default, Stories can be shared to customized groups of close connections, or direct to just one person through messaging apps. This gives users more control over privacy.
They Let Users Be Playful and Expressive
Stories come with a range of creative tools for decorating photos and videos, such as customized filters, text styles, brushes, and stickers. Drawing and doodling on Stories is popular among younger users.
They Provide a “Highlights Reel” Format
Story archives allow users to compile their favorite or most memorable Stories into thematic highlights like trips, events, holidays, and more. This curates the Story experience into a personalized “highlights reel.”
Benefits for Connections
Beyond individual expression, Facebook Stories also aim to strengthen the social graph by facilitating bonding between friends, family, and followers:
They Offer Low-Pressure Ways to Interact
Viewing casual Stories gives a sense of virtual togetherness without demanding conversation. Quick reactions via taps or emojis are frictionless mechanisms for acknowledging others.
They Help People Feel Closer to Their Communities
By revealing off-the-cuff moments from people’s daily lives, Stories cultivate a sense of intimacy and familiarity between connections. This tightens social ties.
They Allow People to Share Experiences in Real Time
The immediacy of Stories lets people broadcast events as they unfold, inviting community participation in the moment. Friends and followers can cheer on users during achievements or send support during challenges.
They Facilitate Shared Memories Between Groups
When friends collectively post Stories while doing activities together, it solidifies shared memories. Looking back on these Stories strengthens bonds and nostalgia.
They Offer Conversational Jumping-Off Points
Reacting to Stories or asking questions in response opens opportunities for deeper ongoing conversations through direct messaging. This drives more engagement between connections.
Benefits for Facebook
As the owner of Instagram and Facebook, the success of Stories is also vital to Facebook’s business objectives:
They Increase Time Spent on Facebook’s Apps
The compelling, visual, and addictive nature of Stories gives people reasons to regularly check back throughout the day. This boosts overall time spent in Facebook’s ecosystem.
They Provide More Ad Inventory
The immersive full-screen Stories format offers prized real estate for ads. More Stories equals more ad impressions and revenue potential.
They Discourage Migration to Competitor Apps
By offering a similar Stories format, people don’t need to seek the Stories experience elsewhere. Mimicking competitors helps retain users within Facebook’s family of apps.
They Offer Valuable User Data
Stories activity provides insights into users’ interests, relationships, and habits – all of which can improve ad targeting and feed algorithm relevance.
They Attract Younger Demographics
Stories resonate strongly with teens and young adults, critical age segments for Facebook’s future. Embracing Stories helps attract and retain youth.
Criticisms and Challenges
Despite their popularity, some criticisms and challenges exist around the purpose of Facebook Stories:
They Increase Ephemerality
The temporary nature of Stories contributes to fleeting, disposable content and interactions over the web. Some argue social media is superficial enough without exacerbating ephemerality.
They Contribute to FOMO
The constant influx of Stories can increase users’ fear of missing out (FOMO) and social comparison. This fuels more compulsive app-checking throughout the day.
They Prioritize Immediacy Over Meaning
Stories reward rapid sharing over carefully crafted narratives. This caters to immediacy at the expense of depth, meaning, and impact.
They Spread Thoughtlessly
The tap-to-advance UI makes it easy to thoughtlessly mass-distribute Stories. This clutters friend feeds and facilitates mindless oversharing.
They Compete for Attention
Stories contribute to the problem of fractured attention spans by presenting another source of entertainment to distract from posts.
They Contribute to Screen Overload
More Stories means more time staring at screens, contributing to digital eye strain, sleep quality issues, and other concerns around excessive technology use.
The Future of Facebook Stories
Despite qualms some have around Stories, the format remains immensely popular and will likely be a permanent feature across Facebook’s apps. Potential future trends include:
- More ads: Facebook will likely increase the frequency of ads between Stories.
- Cross-app sharing: Users may eventually be able to re-share their Instagram Stories as native Facebook Stories.
- Algorithmic recommendations: Facebook may recommend Stories based on users’ interests and relationships.
- New creative tools: Additional AR filters, interactive polls/questions, music integration, and productivity features may enrich Stories.
- Deeper analytics: More precise metrics around views, responses, shares, etc may help influencers quantify Stories success.
Stories clearly resonate with the human desire to share moments from our lives. For all their pros and cons, the intimate glimpses Stories provide into people’s worlds explain why they are unlikely to disappear anytime soon.
Conclusion
Facebook Stories offer a mix of benefits and drawbacks for users, connections, and Facebook itself. On one hand, they facilitate authentic sharing, engagement, and intimacy between people. But they also contribute to some of social media’s core issues around distraction, ephemerality, and screen overload.
Despite valid criticisms, Stories now feel core to the Facebook ecosystem. Their popularity reflects how they meet innate human needs for both self-expression and social bonding. Stories allow people to reveal who they are while feeling bonded to others going through similar life moments. With strategic improvements, they can continue meeting these needs while minimizing associated harms.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| More authentic sharing | Increase ephemerality |
| Higher engagement | Fuel FOMO |
| Private sharing options | Prioritize immediacy over meaning |
| Playful creative tools | Promote thoughtless oversharing |
| “Highlights reel” format | Compete for attention from posts |
| Strengthen social ties | Contribute to screen overload |