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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Our View: New tool saves lives ... Zipcar rolls onto SOU campus ... DEQ warns Mountain View Paving to cease operations ... Our View: New tool saves lives ... Zipcar rolls onto SOU campus ... DEQ warns Mountain View Paving to cease operations ... Kent Bush: Facebook isn't going anywhere Comment By Kent Bush More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Kent Bush More Content Now Posted Apr. 9, 2015 at 7:03 AM By Kent Bush More Content Now Posted Apr. 9, 2015 at 7:03 AM » Social News There is nothing more tragic than shallow analysis. I saw a report in a journalism publication this week that hailed the end of Facebook. That it will be the butt of jokes like MySpace soon. Google Plus is dying, and so will Facebook. That would be a great theory if it were supported by more than one relevant fact. The trend is not a decline for Facebook. The social media site is actually growing. It is just growing older. It is true that young social media users left Facebook for Twitter. They are also leaving Twitter for Snapchat and Instagram. No matter where the kids go, their parents and others will follow and they will leave there for the hot new fad. But Facebook is 10 years old and still growing. That is no trend. It has become a news site for stories ranging from Aunt Betty’s “I have a cyst on my wrist” to The New York Times’ “Terrorists attack” and everything in between. Families and friends stay connected in the online community. I doubt that advertisers are very concerned about the age of users increasing on the platform. After all, that group can make purchases without asking for someone else’s credit card. If you want more proof that Facebook is still relevant, it turns out that you can now be legally contacted on the site. Facebook has become a hub for relationship announcements. The joke is that a relationship isn’t real until it is “Facebook official.” I love the relationship choices on the site. “It’s complicated” has to be my favorite. Anytime I see that status, it always seems to be on a person’s page with whom I would assume any relationship would be complicated. I think being married and having your estranged spouse hiding from you to dodge being served divorce papers would be pretty complicated. Facebook can even come to the rescue for people with those complications. A woman in New York was able to serve her estranged husband divorce papers on his Facebook page. That may sound crazy, but in the past, when people were hiding from divorce papers and refusing to be found, judges allowed publication in a newspaper to suffice. Sure, every responsible adult and intelligent child reads a local newspaper, but if a person is intentionally estranged and hiding from a spouse, how do you know which paper in which to publish that notice? If they are active on Facebook, you know where to find them. I am sure attorneys worth their hourly rate will be able to challenge the service by saying the message was viewed by a third party or use some other method to challenge the legality of the method. That is what attorneys do. Regardless, Facebook isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Will the demographics change? Sure. But the site that started as a college hook-up helper has truly morphed into founder Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of a social network to connect the world. Kent Bush is publisher of Shawnee (Oklahoma) News-Star and can be reached at kent.bush @news-star.com. By Kent Bush More Content Now DailyTidings.com By Kent Bush More Content Now Posted Apr. 9, 2015 at 7:03 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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