Is Facebook fading?

Possibly.

A Pew Research report suggests people are starting to disengage from Facebook – Coming and Going on Facebook.

A tidbit that struck me:

20% of the online adults who do not currently use Facebook say they once used the site but no longer do so.

If I read that right, one out of five people who go online and aren’t using Facebook used to be active. How’s that for a chill on your growth prospects? 

Here’s a couple of things that ought to be keeping Facebook’s management and investors awake at night:

The survey asked how important is Facebook to you now compared to a year ago? Responses:

• 12% – more important
• 59% – same
• 28% – less important

What do you expect your Facebook usage will be in the next year? Answers:

• 3% – spend more time there
• 69% – about the same
• 27% – spend less time there

Almost a third expect to use Facebook less.

That is even worse for people in the 18 to 29 demographic. For that group, 38% plan to spend less time. 38%!

Not good trends.

Just so you know, I am at risk of falling into confirmation bias, which means you pay attention to what reinforces your opinion.

I’ve dropped my use of Facebook dramatically over the last 12 to 18 months. For me, it is the level of drama. That is the fourth highest reason people are taking a break, according to the survey.

For the last year, the only posts on my Facebook page have been to copy a post from my blogs.

Several of my acquaintances call Facebook ‘poison.’ Some call it ‘toxic.’  I would have a hard time arguing with those opinions.

Previously mentioned this in my post in June 2012 – First signs of Facebook boredom.

Update – I’m wondering how long until I start seeing the same thing for Linked-in. The only things I put there are links to a few of my blog posts. When I read the comments from others, the only things I see other than new connections are cross-posts of blogs I’ve already read on my RSS feed and links to articles (many of which I’ve already read). Essentially no original content. The discussions are rather thin, at least for accounting related groups. On the other hand, maybe I just don’t ‘get’ Linked-in.