Facebook Is Losing Users In the US and Canada (engadget.com) 103
User growth in the United States in Canada -- the company's most lucrative ad market -- has declined, Facebook reported as part of its third-quarter earnings. Engadget reports: The company now has 196 million users in North America, down slightly from 198 million last quarter. In a statement, the company said the decrease was expected, and could continue through the end of the year. "As expected, in the third quarter of 2020, we saw Facebook DAUs and MAUs in the US & Canada decline slightly from the second quarter 2020 levels which were elevated due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic," Facebook wrote in a press release. "In the fourth quarter of 2020, we expect this trend to continue and that the number of DAUs and MAUs in the US & Canada will be flat or slightly down compared to the third quarter of 2020."
The company had previously reported a large surge in growth at the start of the year due to widespread coronavirus lockdowns. Facebook isn't seeing the same slowdown everywhere, though, and the social network is continuing to add new users in Asia and its "rest of world" markets. The company also continued to tout its "family of apps" metrics, which combines Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. That number rose to 2.54 billion "daily active people" in September, according to the company. The slowdown also doesn't seem to have affected Facebook's revenue, which was up to $21.4 billion for the quarter, an increase of 22 percent from last year and better than analyst expectations for the company.
The company had previously reported a large surge in growth at the start of the year due to widespread coronavirus lockdowns. Facebook isn't seeing the same slowdown everywhere, though, and the social network is continuing to add new users in Asia and its "rest of world" markets. The company also continued to tout its "family of apps" metrics, which combines Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger. That number rose to 2.54 billion "daily active people" in September, according to the company. The slowdown also doesn't seem to have affected Facebook's revenue, which was up to $21.4 billion for the quarter, an increase of 22 percent from last year and better than analyst expectations for the company.
Yeah (Score:3, Informative)
Re: Yeah (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
I would +10 your comment if I could.
FB and twitter are infections on this world that should be eradicated.
Re: (Score:1)
Agreed. This place has a severe hard-on for facebook and the other "big tech"-companies. All attention is good attention.
Well what did they expect? (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Well what did they expect? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, they sure do need to remove all those various terrible people from FB, who, by total coincidence, all happen to have the opposite political opinions from us cool, smart, superior geniuses.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
It's not an "opinion" when you are organizing your people to hang out at polls with guns to intimidate people or kidnap politicians. It's not an opinion when your conspiracy theories causes mentally ill people to believe and act on them.
Only one side in this is making trouble and calling it free speech and opinions.
Re: Well what did they expect? (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
It's not an "opinion" when you are organizing your people to hang out at polls with guns to intimidate people or kidnap politicians. It's not an opinion when your conspiracy theories causes mentally ill people to believe and act on them.
Only one side in this is making trouble and calling it free speech and opinions.
Kidnap politicians? Oh, you mean antifa? Those guys? Yes, the guys that tried to kidnap Witmer turned out to be Antifa. Leftists as they always are. Surprising how people still believe the left. They hated Trump and wanted to kidnap Republican governors too.
https://www.freep.com/story/ne... [freep.com]
Facebook should be eliminating the BTQ, antifa, BLM, Democrats, anyone on the left. They're the real crackpots and history shows us that.
Re: (Score:1)
Standing up for QAnon is a weird hill to die on, buddy.
Re: Well what did they expect? (Score:2)
Oh, I see I hurt your feewings
Too bad facts don't care about those...
https://www.latimes.com/scienc... [latimes.com]
Re:Well what did they expect? (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah, they sure do need to remove all those various terrible people from FB, who, by total coincidence, all happen to have the opposite political opinions from us cool, smart, superior geniuses.
The OP talked about misogynists etc. So you're saying misogyny is a right wing position? WTF dude.
Look, I am not politically right wing, but you seem to really, really despise the right.
Re:Well what did they expect? (Score:5, Informative)
Yeah, they sure do need to remove all those various terrible people from FB, who, by total coincidence, all happen to have the opposite political opinions from us cool, smart, superior geniuses.
It's not an opinion when it's disinformation and blatant lies. Everyone has a right to express their opinion, but, no one has the right to make crap, start spreading unfounded rumors, defaming others or fostering violence. No one has the right to parrot crap someone else made up for those purposes.
If we have to spout off on-line, we should put some thought, research and effort into it. Most people prefer to be challenged by a well-thought contrary opinion instead of being pissed off by one more example of blatant ignorance and stupidity.
While I'm not a prude, and recognize sometimes profanity is called for, mindless profanity is tiring, and boring. I worked for the railroad for 35 years, where profanity was often raised to the level of an art form. Every example of it I have seen on-line pales in comparison. Another time where, if you cannot do it effectively, with vigor and some imagination, it's probably not worth doing at all.
On-line, as in life, profanity is too often the safe haven of the ill-informed and the lazy. It also a very f....ing crappy alternative to informed, rational opinion.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah, they sure do need to remove all those various terrible people from FB, who, by total coincidence, all happen to have the opposite political opinions from us cool, smart, superior geniuses.
That's what happens during a misinformation campaign that is played by only one side. I often hear stories about this mythical "extreme left" but I've yet to see it. I mean every mention of Antifa and equally aligned groups who we have been told to hate seems to result in a misaccusation and the incident didn't actually involve these extremists at all.
Why do you suppose that is?
Re: Well what did they expect? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
If you are seeing toxic content on your facebook feed, its because either the algorithm thinks you want it, or your friends are posting it. It thinks you want it because you are commenting on it or clicking on it or reading it. Stop commenting/reading/clicking it. Other than that, you might just need new friends.
Re: (Score:2)
Even if they select from your liked channels and friend posts there is plenty of wiggle room to bias the feed - include this, skip that.
If there is one thing I would not allow FB, Twitter and Google to control is the feed ranking/filtering algorithm. There sh
Re: (Score:2)
Facebook doesn't care what you want. They care what leads to interaction/response and more time spent on the site. That means extreme opinions that lead to flame wars are a perfect fit.
Re: (Score:1)
Faceberg drives up suicide rates. This tells all you need to know about the intentions for the platform. If anyone thinks Zucc is benevolent you are too naive for this world.
Re: (Score:3, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Why are you using the platform if you disagree with their moderation? There is no shortage of other social media sites that agree with your views.
Re: (Score:1)
Stuff on the scale of Obamacare Deathcamps, QAnon, rightwing counter-BLM actions and Pizza/Climategate. You know things that, if they came from a single entity, would punishable unter inciting to riot/disturbing the peace laws. Mind you I'm not saying it doesnt exist. I'm saying that it doesnt have near as much reach and scope as the latest foxnews_promoted_fotm_lefttist_outrage.
I'm talking about stuff from western democracies btw.
GNAA etc didn't wreck Slashdot (Score:2)
Dice did.
Re: (Score:3)
Agreed, Dice turned Slashdot into a corporate site instead of a techie site. Slashdot never recovered.
Re: (Score:2)
It's got a hell of a lot better since Bizx took over. The new owners deserve a lot of credit for fixing the very long standing problems, particularly the sock puppet accounts and moderation abuse. It's not perfect but it's not the far right echo chamber it was some years back.
Re: (Score:2)
From where I'm sitting there is just about as much of that stuff as there has ever been. Recently there seems to be less n@z! spam, but there is just as much tramp 2020 bullshit. And sock puppets are still a major force.
Re: (Score:2)
It was always going to get worse close to the election but look at the moderation recently. It's not all just far right crap now, moderate and left leaning posts get positive scores again.
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Your showing your own bigotry, and in turn showing why Facebook is driving away so many users. By creating purity tests and classifying people that fail those tests as toxic you create more and more deplorables. It doesn't take long before the deplorables outnumber those who pass the purity tests.
That's the thing about purity tests and SJW's. You can never be good enough, that which passed yesterdays tests can readily fail tomorrows. Whether it's a tv show, artists, performer, book, or politicians really do
Re:Well what did they expect? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
The problem isn't the toxic comment threads on news articles or your toxic friends posts. The problem is news and promoted content. If I actually wanted the news, I would go to a news site. If I wanted to buy something, I would go to an online store. I go to facebook to see baby pictures and life updates from people I know. Facebook has less and less of that every day because its getting drowned out by ads and viral bullshit.
Re: (Score:2)
That's what they said about personal email. But grandma couldn't stop hitting that forward button. Now, that forward button has been gamified - it's like a slot machine. No payoff but you keep pushing the buttons.
The blame certainly rests partly with Facebook, but it seems that people aren't actually interested in sharing life updates and baby photos. It just isn't as exciting and has a much smaller impact.
Re: (Score:2)
Slashdotâ(TM)s problem isnâ(TM)t really those extreme groups or anything like that. The problem is the redesign of the site. It turned off a lot of users and it is still doing that. When I show the site to a potential new user, they always complain about the (default) comment design which is very confusing and frankly unusable.
Facebook in decline (Score:5, Interesting)
This is despite trying to force users of services like Instagram and Oculus users into becoming "Facebook" users.
Goodbye and good riddance.
Re: Facebook in decline (Score:2)
Re:Not really surprised... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: Not really surprised... (Score:3, Funny)
Re: Not really surprised... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
There are a couple of reasons it would be modded up. There are people who agree with the sentiment (Would probably be modded insightful on interesting) or crazy at it seems, it might just be sarcasm.
It's a bad situation when your both right (Score:3)
The fact is that parents response to you was correct and appropriate. That being said, you also have a valid point of responses like that driving people off platforms.
A lot of younger people are taught in school that opinions different from progressive ones are *ist. They are taught that anyone who express said opinion is *ist and should be avoided, even if they are family, like your uncle. Unfortunately people who have been trained in the safe spaces mentality learn to live in echo chambers and can't stand
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
You have just done the very exact thing that I have talked about. You have taken a difference of opinion and presumed that those who disagreed with you are *ist. You fail to realize your own intolerance, seeing the world as black and white. You are exactly the kind of person that needs to be removed from your echo chamber and exposed to opinions that don't agree with your own. I haven't yet denied the humanity of anyone that isn't a member of the green bay packers.
I'm going to give you the benefit of the do
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You haven't indicated that your willing to talk to people outside your echo chamber. You paint with broad brushes in attacking others, yet you cannot deny being a bigot as you know that it's true. It's not about me, this is all about you.
What I've done is challenge you to step outside your echo chamber and talk to real people. Find some conservatives that are minorities, best yet find female minorities and have some conversations with them. Does this make you uncomfortable? I think perhaps it does. You shou
Re: (Score:2)
The entirety of your comment is gaslighting DARVO nonsense.
Re: (Score:2)
Here we see the DARVO pattern in action [uoregon.edu]. Desperate to avoid facing the realities of conservative bigotry, the narcissistic abuser has only one recourse: to try to throw everything back on their target.
One other interesting thing about these conversations: one of the easiest ways to really know what's in the hearts of conservatives is to listen to them
Re: (Score:2)
You're both right here, or you might say you're both wrong, both are equally true.
It's a fact that you can block those people. It's also a fact that they rub a lot of people the wrong way.
Either way, since Google retired G+ to their business users' use only after using the rest of us as beta testers (shock, amazement!) there is no credible alternative to Fakebook. G+ was just getting good when they shitcanned it.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Those Boomers and Gen-Xers are people's parents. Kids don't want to be on the same platform as their lame parents.
Re:Not really surprised... (Score:5, Insightful)
The whole notion of Facebook "protecting" its users from *cough*misinformation*cough* is starting to rub those users the wrong way. People are beginning to notice the nannyism in the platform now.
Yep, people want that disinformation.
It validates them, it's the reason they log on in the morning.
Re: (Score:3)
I mean, I also don't want Facebook being the de facto authority on what is proper information and what is disinformation. I'd rather be presented with multiple sides on something where I can decide which one (if any) is right rather than have some giant faceless entity choose for me, leaving me helpless to trust they are unbiased in said decision.
Re: (Score:2)
Leave Facebook and Google it then, don't wait for Facebook to tell you how it is.
Re: (Score:2)
Way ahead of you; I left Facebook 8 or 9 years ago
Re: (Score:2)
Don't they usually post links to more information when something is flagged as misinformation? If you'd rather be presented with multiple sides, this is what you want. That's not what gets outright blocked.
Re:Not really surprised... (Score:4, Insightful)
The fundamental problem you're ignoring is that objective facts exist. Not everything is subject to opinion. If your opinion is contrary to objective facts you're not a free thinking literati, you're just wrong. If you make up "facts" with no legitimate evidence then they aren't facts.
It's an objective fact the Earth is a roughly spherical globe spinning on an axis in orbit of a giant ball of nuclear fusing hydrogen and helium. You can opine all day long that it's a flat plate but you're just wrong.
If you go on Facebook et al and say "I think the Earth is flat" people might tell you that you're wrong but Facebook (or whomever) is likely to take any action. You're wrong but the only real implication of your statement is that you're a gullible idiot. You're also clearly stating an opinion. There's little possibility of harm coming to you or anyone else because of your statement.
If you go on Facebook et al and say "COVID-19 is a hoax" not only are you objectively wrong but the implication of what you're saying endangers yourself an others. It's the literal equivalent of falsely yelling fire in a crowded theater. Whether you're an idiot or an asshole your claims are likely to harm people. Facebook should at least flag your post as misinformation.
Facebook and others are no obligation to amplify any statement made on their platforms. You're free to be wrong and stupid but not dangerous. Your freedom to be wrong and stupid ends at its impact on the wellbeing of others.
Re: (Score:2)
I'm not ignoring that. My complaint isn't about facts being objective.
Let's say I want to go on Facebook and say that Facebook does not pay it's employees enough. Facebook decides this isn't true and removes my post. Well this is not really an objective fact, its a matter of opinion. And I don't want Facebook deciding that some opinions are wrong and others are right.
"Facebook and others are no obligation to amplify any statement made on their platforms"
I am not arguing that they do have an obligation.
Re: (Score:2)
So you want to keep it as a virtual town square, but you don't want it to be protected from a flood of shared/reposted content? Those two goals are 100% opposed to each other. Original content (family news/photos) does not get equal or higher weight to shared posts (politically charged, biased posts) and that's why it's just a waste of time.
Cough all you want about misinformation, but most of these things can actually traced to intentional disinformation campaigns.
Go the way of Myspace and Yahoo (Score:5, Insightful)
Facebook needs to go the way of Myspace and Yahoo, and the world will be a better place for it.
Re: (Score:2)
Who will take over Facebook? :P
Re:Go the way of Myspace and Yahoo (Score:4, Insightful)
Facebook wasn't (initially) inherently bad; it became bad as more users joined. Same as Myspace, Yahoo, and IRC before it.
Whatever follows will also get ruined by people.
Re: (Score:2)
and Usenet
Re: (Score:2)
Don't forget Usenet.
Re: (Score:3)
Facebook wasn't (initially) inherently bad
It was created by cuckerberg to get people's personal information so that he could abuse it. How is that not inherently bad?
Re: (Score:2)
Facebook has been sick and twisted right from the beginning, in the image of its perverted founder.
Re: (Score:2)
Facebook needs to go the way of Myspace and Yahoo, and the world will be a better place for it.
I agree, but only after we replace it with a viable and widely used alternative. Where you see a shitty advertisement company bilking users for all their data, others see a one to many communications platform without equal (if for nothing other than network effects).
What you're saying is the equivalent to "Cars need to go the way of a horse and carriage" without posing the question of why people use cars in the first place and offering them an alternative.
Were they users or bots? (Score:5, Interesting)
I am very familiar with the bot detection industry. It's pretty good these days if you're willing to hire a major player. Sites from Slashdot to Facebook would have a lot less trolls, particularly on topics of interests to foreign governments, like presidential elections, if they really wanted to. It's not even that expensive.
Advertising companies just have no economic interest in being honest with their market. Google, Twitter, and Facebook have no interest in confirming that ad impression was from a real human being....or confirming that person posting political diatribes on a page about an election in Dallas was actually located in Texas vs somewhere a known bot farm somewhere in the former Soviet Union. It's depressing and disgusting, but I guess its the world we live in.
Re:Were they users or bots? (Score:4, Insightful)
Yeah...that's the downside of cleaning bots off your site. Your user count goes down.
Like the old MacWeek and other trade journals. All liars poker. If you wanted a subscription, you just claimed to control $1m+/yr purchasing decisions because that got you the subscription.
The publisher didn't care, never checked, and never wanted to check because it made the reach numbers they presented to advertisers look better. I'm sure that the advertisers knew the numbers had a large BS constant multiplied in, too. But it worked because they were reaching people who were interested, even if they didn't have the clout they claimed.
FB has plenty of bots, but they are also losing flesh and blood users, like the one sitting behind my keyboard. Deleted my acct mid September. Got tired of sitting by the ringside to see which of my friends would get into a fight next. As another friend said after I left, "they optimize for engagement, and argument is engagement"
From the losing-steam dept. (Score:2)
Facebook is not entertainment (Score:2)
People want to be entertained, and the apps that are making it are the ones that are helping people entertain themselves.
Re: (Score:1)
Losing? Or banning? (Score:2)
Did the users left? Or were they banned because they posted/shared things the Facebook don't like?
Supressing speech does that .. (Score:2, Troll)
Re: (Score:1)
or they'll leave because Facebook continues to violate privacy and sell personal info, even after getting in trouble for it repeatedly.
No wonder america has lost its way to china. (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
User growth declined? it's negative (Score:3)
Facebook is falling out of fashion (Score:1)
Instagram (Score:2)
My understanding is that kids are on Instagram & Tiktok nowadays.
Which makes no sense to me since both are supposed to be microblogs, for photos and selfie videos, resp.
FB replacements? (Score:2)
Checked the comments on this story, hoping for some recommendations on FB replacements. Maybe there isn't one?
Plain old email isn't broadcast enough. Another problem I have with emails these days is that my accounts are flooded with spam. Some of that is FB spam, about joining groups FB thinks I might be interested in. Inside FB there is anniversary spam: "You have been connected to Joe for 4 years now!!!"
One could maintain one's own website, as many of us used to do way back in the 1990s. But, lo
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Facebook's unhinged censorship doesn't help (Score:4, Insightful)
The way they memory-holed almost anything that could endanger Biden's ascent to power is awesome (not in a good way) to behold. FB has become the embodiment of the spirit of 1984.
Re: (Score:2)
Because a totalitarian government is the same thing as a privately owned social media platform.
Moved on? (Score:2)
I suspect some users have moved on to MeWe where free specch still exists and is respected, and censorship is null and void.
New user interface will get rid of more! (Score:1)
It couldn't POSSIBLY be it's increasingly broken.. (Score:2)
Between the interface change and the constant tweaking of the UI to deliver what the advertisers want you to see, as opposed to what users actually want to see, and the resultant constant cock-blocking of browser plugins like Social Fixer and Fluff-Busting Purity to compensate.
Then again, we users aren't Facebook's customers. . . .we're the PRODUCT. . . .
Good (Score:2)
Flash being turned off may being helping? (Score:2)
Is it possible that will Flash no longer being supported some games are going away and that's what was keeping some of these people involved?
If it wasn't for all those games, I could very likely move my wife onto a different communications platform along with all her friends, but they all love those little games.
Maybe they should quit arbitrarily blocking users (Score:2)
No wonder (Score:1)
No surprise -- they keep making it worse (Score:1)
Latest travesty: They decide that I've been reading/posting too long/much and tell me (paraphrase) that they've temporarily revoked my access because I might be a spammer. After maybe 15 minutes while I'm reading and responding to the posts in my Notifications list. If I'm barred with Firefox/linux I'm likewise barred with Chrome/linux.
FB is much better if you use Social Fixer with a robust set of filters; you can make it perhaps 10% as good as usenet, which is a fantastic improvement.
Fuck them sideways w