Facebook Declines in New Members and Active Users, Tumblr and Pinterest See Phenomenal Growth

Despite being the largest social network in the world, according to a new report from the Global Web Index, Facebook has shown signs of slowed user growth over the past six months. According to the report, 50% of Facebook users in the United States and the United Kingdom say they’re using the social network less frequently than they used to. This decline in usage rises to 64% among teens aged 16-19.

37% of Facebook members from the U.S. and U.K. who say they’re using the social network less frequently state “boredom” as one of their main reasons for disengaging with Facebook. This number rises to 50% among teens aged 16-19—a key demographic that Facebook needs to convert into loyal users if it wants to maintain its dominance.

Since Q1 2014, Facebook has experienced a dismal 6% in member growth, and 2% in active user growth. [See Figure 1]

Figure 1 (Source: Global Web Index)

According to Global Web Index, Tumblr and Pinterest are the fastest growing social platforms this year. Tumblr has experienced 120% growth in active users since Q1 2014, while Pinterest has experienced 111% growth in active users since Q1 2014. Just as noteworthy, Facebook-owned Instagram ranks third in active user growth since Q1 2014.

While Facebook’s dominance is hardly being jeopardized, it’s dismal growth in new members and active users is in stark contrast to the immense growth Tumblr and Pinterest are experiencing. The report also notes that Facebook’s users tend to be much older (a quarter of its active users are aged 45 years and older). These adults are more likely to be working, with little to no time for social networks on a regular basis.

On the other hand, sites like Tumblr and Instagram are largely dominated by younger users. In fact, more than 70% of their users are between the ages of 16-34. [See Figure 2] Amusingly, when asked why they’ve chosen to disengage from Facebook, 15% of teenagers said they needed more privacy from their parents.

Figure 2 (Source: Global Web Index

Data for the GWI study came from “more than 170,000 internet users across 32 markets – making it the largest on-going study into the digital consumer instigated to date.”

Should businesses and marketers focus less on Facebook and use a multi-channel approach to target different demographics and audiences? Let us know your opinions in the Comments below.

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