Facebook Messenger: A Change in Mobile Social Media

facebook messenger

 
Seeing as how social media and mobile devices seem to go hand-in-hand these days, attention should be brought to a certain piece of news regarding Facebook’s messaging service. As Engadget reported, Facebook will soon disable the messaging function from its main iOS and Android apps; this includes Windows Phones as well. “Wait,” you might wonder, “I still want to message people on Facebook if I’m ever at a restaurant having some lunch or a movie theater before the show starts.”
If this is the case, you’re going to have to download the standalone Facebook Messenger app.
 

Facebook Messenger: A Change in Mobile Social Media

 
In my experience, the Facebook Messenger app has not been very appealing. I can understand why Facebook decided to release it as its own app since, in theory, it can allow people to message people on the social media website without any frills. However, I often found the app to be rather clunky. It never seemed like it was as seamless as the standard Facebook app. In addition, the app wasn’t too friendly to my phone’s charge and it drained my battery in a matter of a couple of hours.
From personal experience, I’m not terribly enthused about this change. However, I’d like to allow myself the opportunity to step outside of the comfort zone of personal bias, in order to see if there are benefits associated with this change. While I may not understand the full scope of said benefits, I can see why Facebook decided to make this move and maybe a reputable online marketing firm can say the same.
Back in April, Facebook decided to eliminate the messaging function from its standard app but only in Europe. While there were criticisms at the onset – and understandably so – it could be argued that this change was for the better. It was reported that engagement showed “positive results” and that, more often than not, people responded back and forth to one another much faster through the standalone Facebook Messenger app than through the main Facebook app. If this endeavor had the reported success in Europe, I am sure that Facebook was comfortable enough to roll this out to other parts of the world.
What will the success of this endeavor be? It’s hard to say but what I can predict is that not everyone is going to be happy about the change early on. As someone who has utilized Messenger in the past, one can make the argument that this is a limitation of options for Facebook’s audience, which might become restless and eventually turn to another platform. Of course, this doesn’t mean that it will be the case. It can also be argued that any initial gripes are nothing short of “growing pains” and that the change will, in the long run, be a moderate one, if that. Time will tell.
What is your take on Facebook eliminating messaging from its standard mobile app? Do you see the value in Facebook Messenger or do you think that it has no place on anyone’s smartphone? Please leave your thoughts below!

Image source: Facebook

See also: Why the New Facebook Slingshot App Is the Best Way To Connect