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posted by mrpg on Thursday March 07 2019, @12:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the peek-poke dept.

Submitted via IRC for Bytram

U.S. users are leaving Facebook by the millions, Edison Research says

All the bad press about Facebook might be catching up to the company. New numbers from Edison Research show an an estimated 15 million fewer users in the United States compared to 2017. The biggest drop is in the very desirable 12- to 34-year-old group. Marketplace Tech got a first look at Edison's latest social media research. It revealed almost 80 percent of people in the U.S. are posting, tweeting or snapping, but fewer are going to Facebook. Marketplace's Kimberly Adams talked with Larry Rosin, president of Edison Research.

[...] Adams: But if we look at Facebook's earnings report, they are still reporting an increasing number of active users. What's behind the difference between what the company is saying and what your survey found?

Rosin: When they're producing those numbers, they're typically talking about their global platform. This is a survey just of the USA. Furthermore, we're asking about usage. We're saying, "Do you currently use Facebook?" Facebook is probably measuring it on, "Do you ever open the app, or do you ever use it on any level?"


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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday March 07 2019, @12:43PM (8 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 07 2019, @12:43PM (#811118) Journal

    Not leaving FB, just spiting away with their parents

    Adams: Are those people going somewhere else or leaving social media altogether?

    Rosin: We only show trace numbers of people leaving social media altogether. They're obviously just transferring their usage. The big gainer, interestingly, is under the same roof as Facebook. It's their co-owned Instagram.

    Adams: Do you have any sense as to why people are leaving Facebook in particular?

    Rosin: The survey didn't specifically ask, “Why are you using Facebook less?” or “Why have you stopped using Facebook?” among those who say that they have. There's tons of other information out there, whether it be the politically related aspects to Facebook. There's conjecture about as Facebook has become more popular among older people, whether that's affected younger people. Then we have to consider whether some of these other social media platforms, in particular Instagram and Snapchat, are just more appealing to younger people. I should also mention that while we've seen dramatic reductions in usage among younger people, we're still seeing some gains among people, for instance, 55 and older. That is maybe not the advertising target Facebook is necessarily looking to work on, but it's not as if all is lost there.

    --
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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Thursday March 07 2019, @01:17PM (7 children)

    by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Thursday March 07 2019, @01:17PM (#811126) Homepage Journal

    I'm fifty-five, I expect Cousin Chuck is sixty-two or so. My older sister is fifty-eight.

    Most of my entire high school class of 450 is on Facebook, as are the classes of the other high schools in my area. To the best of my knowledge, all of my high school classes that are young enough not to require personal caregivers are on Facebook.

    Significantly, Facebook is widely used for political organizing so all The Old White Men are on it.

    Facebook isn't cool anymore; maybe Rupert Murdoch would like to purchase it/

    --
    Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
    • (Score: 5, Interesting) by kazzie on Thursday March 07 2019, @03:41PM

      by kazzie (5309) Subscriber Badge on Thursday March 07 2019, @03:41PM (#811152)

      At the other end of the scale, my local parent-and-toddler group do all their announcements and organising through Facebook (plus a few old posters on places like the church hall noticeboard).

      Back when my wife was helping to run the group (and did the whole publicity thing) I set up and maintained a Wordpress-based website for the group, so announcements were double-posted to the website and Facebook. (Paid for all the hosting fees myself, didn't bother handing the receipts to the treasurer.) I felt it was important not to "force" people to accept Facebook's TOS in order to know what events were planned for next week, etc.

      When my wife stood down from that role, I tidied the site up, made a note of all the passwords for the site, the hosting, and for the throwaway e-mail address I used with the hosters to pass along, and paid for a year's hosting in advance for them.

      Several months down the line, the website's gathering cobwebs, as the new "team" are quite happy doing it all the Facebook way.
      Ah well.

    • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Thursday March 07 2019, @05:36PM (5 children)

      by stretch611 (6199) on Thursday March 07 2019, @05:36PM (#811233)

      ...so all The Old White Men are on it.

      Old... A few years younger than you... not many... so still old.
      White... Yup.
      Man... Again, Yes.

      But I sure as hell am not on Facebook. I was on it a dozen years ago only because of an ex-GF that was on it. I never posted or commented on anything and deleted my account in early 2008 when they changed their privacy policy and noted that they would use analytics to group you in with your friends.

      --
      Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 07 2019, @06:10PM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 07 2019, @06:10PM (#811256)

        Just because I look and sound like Gabby Hayes does not mean I use Facebook.

        • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 07 2019, @06:13PM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Thursday March 07 2019, @06:13PM (#811258)

          P.S. I forgot to add "Dadgummit!". The mind must be going.

          • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Thursday March 07 2019, @08:21PM (1 child)

            by stretch611 (6199) on Thursday March 07 2019, @08:21PM (#811326)

            Get off my lawn!!!

            --
            Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
            • (Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 08 2019, @04:40AM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday March 08 2019, @04:40AM (#811459)

              P.S. I forgot to add "Dadgummit!". The mind must be going.

      • (Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Friday March 08 2019, @07:00AM

        by MichaelDavidCrawford (2339) Subscriber Badge <mdcrawford@gmail.com> on Friday March 08 2019, @07:00AM (#811478) Homepage Journal

        Use, the Red Hat CTO's brother Bruce.

        Bruce Tiemann is a Chemist; last I heard his focus was on Laser Dyes; he I and a couple others built a _very_ dangerous dry nitrogen laser after I advised Bruce to use a stolen walk-in refrigerator door as one plate of the required capacitor.

        You Don't Want To Do That.

        Bruce is on Facebook; he, I, Ricketts House's Bob Mackey, Old Techer Dave Weinshenker - I don't recall his house - and some other Institute Alumni along with lots of other politically astute folk from all over the political spectrum are presently discussing the advisability of Locking Her Up on Bruce's Facebook Wall.

        Next Question?

        --
        Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]