Facebook Use Surges Ahead of Other Social Media

November 13, 2016 by Douglas A. McIntyre

No only is Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) the largest social network; it is also the one with the most usage and engagement, according to new data from Pew. This paints a somewhat different story than that told after Facebook’s recent earnings announcement

According to Pew:

… a national survey of 1,520 adults conducted March 7-April 4, 2016, finds that Facebook continues to be America’s most popular social networking platform by a substantial margin: Nearly eight-in-ten online Americans (79%) now use Facebook, more than double the share that uses Twitter (24%), Pinterest (31%), Instagram (32%) or LinkedIn (29%). On a total population basis (accounting for Americans who do not use the internet at all), that means that 68% of all U.S. adults are Facebook users, while 28% use Instagram, 26% use Pinterest, 25% use LinkedIn and 21% use Twitter.

The results are yet another poor piece of news for Twitter Inc. (NYSE: TWTR).

The research shows even more strength for Facebook, based on another measure:

Thanks in part to the growing number of older adults who are joining the site, Facebook use appears to be on the rise: The share of online adults who report using Facebook has increased by 7 percentage points compared with a Pew Research Center survey conducted at a similar point in 2015. In addition, the share of Facebook users who check in daily has increased slightly in the past year: 76% of Americans who use Facebook now report that they visit the site on a daily basis, up from 70% in 2015.

Reaction to the company’s Q3 numbers pushed the perception of the world’s largest social network in another direction. According to CNN Money:

Shares in Facebook are falling by about 7% premarket (Nov 3) after CFO David Wehner spooked investors yesterday by warning that sales growth was expected to slow in 2017. Sales hit a new record in the third quarter, but Wehner’s comments indicate the boom may be ending.

Slowing growth with more engagement?

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