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The other thing that Facebook's self-censorship study turned up was that people are more likely to communicate something when they know their audience, or more importantly, know the audience will be receptive to it.

Facebook as a platform has become too intimidating for most people. It's too hard to guarantee a positive reception or even a reception, period; it's embarrassing to post something and receive no likes or comments.

Where we are sharing instead is in messages.

Most users now think of Facebook—the place to keep up on the activities of people—as a chore or timesink.

Looking back, it's clear now that this move was Facebook's first step toward becoming a platform almost entirely for passively sharing, browsing, and consuming non-user created content.

This move is not the point when Facebook stopped being about people, but rather, it was when Facebook made its first clear indication that the company knew its fade from relevance was coming if it didn't repurpose.

Interest in voyeurism on the Internet came to a close a while ago, and we've been watching its slow taper. Luckily, Facebook saw that and put strategies in place to avoid it.

That void left by public posts and content creation from users? Brands were more than willing to fill it. So rather than making their own content, users can post links, like pages, and integrate them into their own news feeds and, in general, use brands as a proxy for their own views if they are still into that whole "identity creation" thing.

Thanks to an observant company and our predictable behavior, Facebook isn't about connecting with each other anymore.

Users have come full circle—drawing each other in and then stalking, monitoring, and self-censoring to drive people away