According to survey data compiled by market research firm Edison Research, Facebook's user base is shrinking, particularly in the 12-34 year old demographic.
The research in question gathered data from just users in the United States, and showed that 15 million fewer people currently use Facebook since 2017.
The data, however, appears inconclusive in several segments, in particular on why people are leaving Facebook, and what the impacts are for the company.
The research also points out that the social network's privacy-related issues and the various breaches of user trust may be having an effect on the share of users.
"I don't see how you can't say it's a significant drop. Fifteen million is a lot of people, no matter which way you cut it," Edison president Larry Rosin told Marketplace in an interview. "It represents about 6% of the total US population aged 12 and over. What makes it particularly important is whether it's part of a trend. This is the second year in a row that we've seen that number drop."
Users may not be abandoning Facebook entirely, but rather migrating to Instagram. The photo platform collects less data from its users and therefore ends up being a simpler alternative for users. Among the younger generation, Instagram has become the best alternative, clashing with Snapchat.
"There's conjecture about how Facebook became more popular with older people, if it affected young people. So we have to consider whether some of these other social media platforms, in particular Instagram and Snapchat, are more attractive to younger people. younger," Rosin said. "I should also mention that while we've seen dramatic reductions in use among young people, we're still seeing some gains among people, for example 55 and over."
Currently, Instagram has over 1 billion users and over 400 million monthly Stories users.
Source: The Verge
