Facebook is still the most popular social network, but its growth has slowed in the U.S., according to a new report out this morning from the Pew Research Center. Meanwhile, more Americans are now using multiple social media sites, allowing platforms like Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and LinkedIn to all achieve significant increases in user numbers over the past year, the report found.
It’s been said for some time that Facebook has reached “critical mass” here in the U.S., and these new figures go further to support that claim – the social network remains the most popular, but its membership levels here have seen little change from where they were in 2013. One exception to this is with the “older” adults demographic.
For the first time, more than half (56%) of internet users ages 65 and older use Facebook. Yes: grandma and grandpa are now on Facebook.
That brings to mind a recent article where 19-year old Andrew Watts explained how teens today really view today’s social media sites. In it, he referred to Facebook as “an awkward family dinner party we can’t really leave,” adding that Facebook is “dead” to teens, outside of its group functionality. In general, teens find Facebook “weird and annoying,” he said. Having mom and dad and now the grandparents, too, on Facebook, probably doesn’t help with that.
While Facebook may have lost its “coolness” factor, at least according to one report, its user base is still highly active. 71% of U.S. Internet users are on Facebook – the same as in August 2013 – and 70% engage with the site daily, up from 63% in 2013. 45% engage with Facebook several times per day.
And for the portion of the U.S. online population that uses only one social media site (28% do, down from 36%), Facebook is it. 79% of this group uses Facebook as their only social network.