Facebook sinking fast among US teens, losing to rival apps
‘Environment different from what it was just three years ago’
WASHINGTON: Facebook is rapidly losing ground against rival internet platforms in attracting and keeping US teenagers, a survey showed recently. The Pew Research Center report confirms a trend seen in other surveys, showing a sharp drop in Facebook’s share of what had long been a core age segment for the huge social network.
The survey found 51 percent of US teens ages 13 to 17 use Facebook, compared with 85 percent for YouTube, 72 percent for Instagram and 69 percent who are on Snapchat. The landscape has shifted since a 2014-15 Pew survey which found Facebook leading other social networks with 71 percent of the teen segment.
According to the survey, 95 percent of the teens survey said they used a smartphone and 45 percent were online “almost constantly,” with both figures showing increases from prior surveys. “The social media environment among teens is quite different from what it was just three years ago,” said Pew researcher Monica Anderson, the lead author of the report. “Back then, teens’ social media use mostly revolved around Facebook. Today, their habits revolve less around a single platform. At the same time we’ve seen this shift, teens are more digitally connected than ever.”
The survey showed a split over the impact of social media on the lives of the teens. Pew found 31 percent said social media has had a mostly positive impact, with 24 percent describing its effect as mostly negative. The remaining 45 percent said it was neither. Those who reported a positive impact cited the ability to stay connected, find news and people with similar interests. Others who found social media harmful cited the potential for online bullying, spreading of false information and addiction.
Facebook is the world’s biggest social network with some two billion regular users. But some surveys and analysts suggest it is losing appeal to younger users amid a rise in services like Snapchat and Facebook-owned Instagram. A report earlier this year by the research firm e-Marketer said Snapchat is drawing youths away from Facebook at a quicker clip than Facebook owned Instagram. According to e-Marketer, Facebook will lose two million US users under the age 24 this year, offsetting those losses with gains among older users. A report last year by investment firm Piper Jaffray showed Snapchat is the preferred social network for US teens, with 47 percent using the platform.
Facebook to change ‘trending’ topics Facebook on Friday said it is getting rid of a “trending” topics feature as it tests ways for publishers to deliver reliable breaking news. The Trending feature introduced four years ago listed stories buzzing on Facebook at any given time. “We’re exploring new ways to help people stay informed about timely, breaking news that matters to them, while making sure the news they see on Facebook is from trustworthy and quality sources,” Alex Hardiman, Facebook’s head of news products, said in a blog post.
He said the Trending feature would be removed “soon.” Facebook and other social media platforms have been criticized for their role in allowing disinformation to spread during the 2016 US election, in many cases with the help of automated “bots” or disguised Russian-based accounts. Trending was only available in a handful of countries, and accounted for a paltry fraction of clicks through to news publishers, according to Hardiman.
Facebook said it is working with 80 publishers in Australia, Europe, India, and the Americas on a “Breaking News” label to adorn posts in News Feed. The California-based social network is also testing a “Today” section dedicated to “breaking and important news” from local publishers, officials and organizations, according to Hardiman. A Facebook Watch zone for online video viewing will soon get a news section complete with live coverage, daily briefings, and “deep dives,” he added. “We are committed to ensuring the news that people see on Facebook is high quality, and we’re investing in ways to better draw attention to breaking news when it matters most,” Hardiman said.
Spanish consumer group to sue Elsewhere a Spanish consumer group said it will sue Facebook over the alleged misuse of the personal data of 26 million users of the social network in Spain. In a class-action lawsuit, the group OCU said it will seek “at least” 200 euros ($230) in compensation for each Facebook user. The claim will represent “all Facebook users in Spain”, not just those affected by the Cambridge Analytica data sharing scandal, in which the British consultancy obtained the data of millions of Facebook users for political purposes.
OCU said it believes “Facebook violated legislation regarding data protection”, because it did not tell users how it would use their data, nor ask for their authorization. It said it had acted in coordination with other consumer rights groups in Portugal, Belgium and Italy which will file similar lawsuits in their countries. The lawsuits are the latest faced by Facebook, which counts more than two billion users worldwide, over its handling of sensitive personal data that enable it to micro-target online advertising.
A French internet users group said Monday it had filed a class-action lawsuit against Facebook and four other tech firms-Apple, Google, Amazon and LinkedIn-for the alleged misuse of personal data. Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems has brought several cases against Facebook and other tech firms in several European countries, arguing they were acting illegally by forcing users to accept intrusive terms of service or lose access.
Facebook has admitted that up to 87 million users may have had their data hijacked by Cambridge Analytica, which worked for US President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign. Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg told a hearing at the European Parliament last week that his firm will make huge investments to protect users. He also said he was “sorry” for the Cambridge Analytica breaches, but also for its failure to crack down on election interference, “fake news” and other data misuses.
A split over the impact of social media