LinkedIn and Twitter aren’t do so well as far as earnings go. Both companies have reported losses causing stocks to drop. Additionally, interest in Facebook has been starting to slow.

While none of the companies knows exactly why people are losing interest in these social media sites, speculation is that the public just isn’t as interested in social media as they once were. Coupled with recent privacy questions and issues, social media doesn’t have the pull that it once did.

Possible Causes Related to Losses

There are many reasons why all of these companies are reporting losses. Some analysts believe that, in LinkedIn’s case, the company’s restructuring had a lot to do with recent drops. Others believe that all three companies have lost their appeal to the greater public, and one company is telling its investors to drop social media stocks. If you spend some time looking at any of these social media sites, you may start to believe that social media just doesn’t have the pull that it once did.

Could it be the end of social media as we know it? Some argue that sites like LinkedIn are woven into the business sphere now, and that people are afraid to delete Facebook and Twitter accounts for fear of missing out on something. But those that already use the sites aren’t contributing to growth. Instead, those social media users are simply remaining stagnant. In order to survive the next few years and attract investors, all three companies have to show plans for future growth.

A Future for Social?

While nobody is telling companies to drop all social accounts right now (many still rely on sources like Twitter for daily news and information), social media certainly isn’t as relevant as it was just two years ago. As people move back to the basics in all things including the Internet, social media might, in fact, fade. Many companies still use sites like Facebook for business purposes, since Facebook is a free source to use for a company to put up some kind of website.

But as far as massive amounts of growth go, social media sites aren’t attracting new users. Even the current users that these sites have are starting to taper off. All of this spells bad news for social media companies that aren’t looking for viable ways to grow.

The purchase of other companies in order to expand a site (such as LinkedIn has done with Lynda.com) helps, but even that may not be enough. Social media companies have to show that they can expand and grow as fast as possible in order to keep investors interested, and right now it’s not looking too promising.

Should You Be Worried?

If you use social media sites for everything including storing photos, you may want to start storing those pictures elsewhere. But, you should do that anyway. The social media sites that you love won’t fold overnight, but growth is definitely starting to taper off, and that could mean the end of some of these sites in the next few years.