I noticed something interesting these last few days… If you’re unaware (or totally oblivious), Facebook has been rolling out changes yet again to their main site. It seems they are notorious for doing this at least once a year, and sometimes the new changes haven’t been very intuitive. However, this last round of updates to the user interface has been nothing short of fantastic. Notifications, messages and events are all conveniently accessible from the side bar without having to even navigate away to a different page. It’s very smart, and is a welcome change to the otherwise drab layout of the home page.
However, just like every time before, this hasn’t stopped throngs of people from raising their voices in protest, criticizing not only Facebook but the creators as well, and silly fan pages claiming that the site should be reverted back are popping up as well. All of this made me realize… Why do people on the Internet feel like they are entitled to so much, especially to a free service?
I could possibly understand if people were paying a premium to have access to the site, and felt that their voices (and dollars) should count. That’s a bit reasonable. But for a free social networking site? To be honest, I don’t know why people think their opinion on some layout change is that important. I also don’t quite understand why people get so upset about it either.
For some reason, people don’t like change, especially to something they love and are familiar with. Even if the changes are for the better, people become frustrated when they can’t immediately do the same action they used to have memorized before, instead of finding the new (and much simpler) way of doing things. Are people that addicted to Facebook that one simple UI change can cause them so much frustration? I know what will happen: People will get used to the changes, just like they have before, and they’ll forget they were ever upset. But still, the fact that people get so bothered in the first place makes me feel… weird. It’s just a website, people. If you’re that annoyed, then quit.
It’s not just Facebook that experiences this, but any popular site that has many regular visitors. Whenever there is change, the first reaction is to panic. Again, it’s silly, and I can’t help but wonder why people feel they are so entitled to having their favorite websites stay in the same layout and format for years and years? If it were up to the common people, I’m sure Facebook would be stuck with the old, clunky UI from several years ago, simply because people wouldn’t want to alter what they are familiar with. But people don’t realize that most changes aren’t simply cosmetic. A lot happens under the hood, so to speak, and with each of these updates, our favorite websites are becoming more and more compliant with new web standards and features. In return, that gives us access to cooler applications to tinker with, such as the beloved FarmVille and other games. Without changes, we would have never seen applications that are now (sadly) being played by millions worldwide daily.
So next time your favorite social network, gossip central or message board gets an overhaul, take some time to really find out what has changed before you whip out your “Internet Entitlement” badge… Which, by the way, also makes you look like a spoiled 12 year old kid.