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YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    Decline In Users Hints At 'Facebook Fatigue'

    Facebook is said to have suffered a second successive slump in users in America and Britain, leading some to suggest people are tiring of the ubiquitous social media site.

    Worldwide, user numbers are nearing 700 million, according to Inside Facebook , which tracks its popularity - but it also says Brits and North Americans are turning off in droves.

    Facebook aims to attract one billion users - it currently has around 687 million - but has reportedly lost 100,000 British users overall in May.

    Commentators think this is because Britons - and six million in America, who also closed their accounts last month - are suffering from 'Facebook fatigue'.

    US user numbers slumped to 149.4 million in May, down from 155.2 million. 

    In Canada there was a drop of about 1.5 million, and numbers also decreased in Russia and Norway.

    It is the second month in a row that Facebook growth has stalled - the figures suggest that there could be a natural limit for the social networking site.

    In the first half of the year executives announced that there were 30 million accounts in the UK - about half the population.

    That number was an increase of about four million from last July and was the highest proportionally in Europe.

    However, the fact that it now has 100,000 fewer British users than a month ago should be a concern for founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg .

    There is speculation gathering that this could be due in part because the social networking site, which launched in 2004, has not recently added anything new to keep users entertained.

    In addition, many have concerns about privacy. 

    Last week, Facebook attempted to roll out a facial recognition system which caused an outcry.

    However, it is picking up new users in developing countries like Brazil and Mexico, for example.

    A bullish statement from the site said: "From time to time, we see stories about Facebook losing users in some regions.

    "Some of these reports use data extracted from our advertising tool, which provides broad estimates on the reach of Facebook ads and isn't designed to be a source for tracking the overall growth of Facebook.

    "We are very pleased with our growth and with the way people are engaged with Facebook.

    "More than 50% of our active users log on to Facebook in any given day."

     

    537 comments

    • cf  •  11 months ago
      to many game and app request full of rubbish
      • J 11 months ago
        brave move with the chelsea avatar
      • meredith m 11 months ago
        Indeed indeed agreed too much boring apps ( doesn't matter if he is a Chesski supporter or arsenal supporter )
      • Disillusioned in the UK 11 months ago
        Yep, you should definitely spend less time on Facebook and maybe go back to school to learn how to spell and compose a structured sentence. Don't worry though, you're not half as retarded as the 40 people who actually gave your grammatical car-crash the thumbs up.
    • Layla  •  11 months ago
      Its lost its appeal its boring now. All it is a gossip site and bullying site.
      • Juliette 11 months ago
        My 15yr old son was bullied on FB..But I made those guilty accountable,by contacting parents and the school.... soon stopped!!! Now he just has his close friends and family on his FB.
      • Nick 11 months ago
        There is bullying on many sites and not just Facebook! Sign of the Times it seems!
      • nailed 11 months ago
        i am 26 and got bullied - someone used my pic and name. next thing i got hate mail and even worse i saw my home address published on some of the racist forums. I complained and till date nothing has been done by FB. i cant close my account as i need to keep a means of complaining and even checking what else there is being said about my name!
        I hope FB closes down as I will personally visit them and give them a job of cleaning my name.
    • A Bear Behind ♀  •  11 months ago
      I deleted my short-lived Facebook profile over a year ago, thank goodness I got out when I did!
      I know people who are addicted and spend hours each evening on that website, it's just crazy. They need to get out more and interact in person.
      • A Yahoo! User 11 months ago
        LOL you are kidding right? Ever since TV became a common household item, social interaction declined to levels lower than north korea, people dont socialise because it takes up their TV time, the only way people socialise from TV is through alcohol now.

        Even when the weather is hot, people prefer to relax in the sun and dont talk, social networks and forums ONLY became popular because it brought back social interaction.

        Take Yahoo as an example, do you think if all of the people who posted here were in one room, we would openly comment the way we do here, NO! It isnt because of fear it is because we have the social skills of a baby, same applies to texting and talking in work, we will happily talk to people we work with daily but new people it is impossible.

        Fortunately Britain is the only place like this in Europe, every other country excel at interacting with others
      • Tony 11 months ago
        "Fortunately Britain is the only place like this in Europe, every other country excel at interacting with others."

        Dont talk such utter rubbish
      • Tony 11 months ago
        "Fortunately Britain is the only place like this in Europe, every other country excel at interacting with others."

        Dont talk such utter rubbish
    • IslandMan  •  11 months ago
      Farcebook is always using some new slimy trick to get more information. The reason ppl are switching off is because they value their privacy and want a REAL LIFE. Facebook = CIA database!
      • Redblood 11 months ago
        Correct...the smart ones are leaving because they've sussed out what its actually used for, gathering data on individuals by corrupt government agencies.
      • David 11 months ago
        Paranoid p-ricks!
      • anon 11 months ago
        David: Naive n-once!
    • steven  •  11 months ago
      People write so much dribble on facebook. It is an awful place to network. So boring.
      • A Bear Behind ♀ 11 months ago
        Dribble?? You mean drivel? :o)

        But yes, so true what you say.
      • Kenneth 11 months ago
        He might have meant dribble as relates to constant pictures of peoples babies

        Cute
        So cute etc

        Give me a break, all babies are basically the same
      • Paul 11 months ago
        That is the nature of the beast though. Some people will insist on showing an almost limitless number of baby photos where ever they happen to be. At least on FB you can just ignore them. Try that in person.

        However, it will be what you make of it really.
    • ghostatthetable  •  11 months ago
      Yahoo! mail is doing the same as FB re its format - my email was changed to the new design automatically, with much of what was good about Yahoo mail now gone and a whole load of social networking twaddle and ads in its place. If you change your options, most often this is changed again when you log out. My email looks like a funeral invitation with a black border, no matter how many times I change the theme via options. Nothing loads and all you get are messages advising you that there is a delay and to try again later. And this is supposed to be Yahoo!'s fastest email ever - not.
    • Dave M  •  11 months ago
      I've never been on it, something about the idea of giving every halfwit I've ever come across the means of finding me was unsettling.
    • Nathan-Lee  •  11 months ago
      I think people are finaly starting to wake up to what Facebook does and how it operates, changing the fundamental way the site works and altering security settings without members knowledge, has happened one too many time for a lot of users.
      Claiming ownership of anything thats uploaded onto the site!
      Just think about that for a second, because its no different than Nike or Addadis claiming they own any money you maek from your sporting acheievments!
      The increasing lack of user control has many people worried and for good reason, the recent Sony hacker atttack, showed just how much data these huge corporations hold, but the worst thing is on Facebook your freely giving this information away with no say what so ever in how its used and distrubted.
      You may think Facebook has given you a voice an outlet for you to share feeling with friends and likeminded people, but what you really have is an open door into your life that you may find is very hard to close
    • OK  •  11 months ago
      I have an account and have been thinking about deleting recently cos its just full of rubbish and intrusive on my privacy. I am going to delete it tonight. Lets continue the trend, Zuckerberg and the C.I.A etc are trying to control people. Smart phones also tracking your location, beware, beware!!!!!!!
    • Me and only me  •  11 months ago
      Facebook is intrusive and is a time thief. I much prefer to socialise with people I ACTUALLY know - who are my real friends, face to face.

      Facebook has has it's day and the underhand way in which it does things is despicable. I also don't like ads - they are incredibly boring and tiresome. I rarely use it now.
    • WOLF  •  11 months ago
      I closed mine a month ago, gossips, bullying, my life was getting sucked by fb, my relation status suddenly change and it was a massive wave of comments...it just change my social life into a nightmare, i good to have ur contacts, but I realised that at the end,from my 500+friends I just talked with 3...and the others were just gossiping around...now i feel free and not overlooked by the big brother.
    • Dave  •  11 months ago
      I've seen what people write on Facebook and the biggest lot of 'brown-stuff' ever. The conversations are sub-intellegent and it's all about bitching about adverseries without having to face them face-to-face to resolve their difficuties and differences. There are some good walls in there but it's mostly all about teenagers who have not fully matured yet.
    • Z  •  11 months ago
      I agree with Terry, a lot of my friends are closing theirs because of the underhand way they try to get private details from you and resetting their account information so you have to check it almost weekly to see that they're not gleaning more ways to sell your information on. The original idea was great, not so all the "security requests".
    • A Yahoo! User  •  11 months ago
      One of my friends has over 1000 so called friends on FB, but if you ever needed someone in real life or if ever you needed to turn to someone or needed anything , how many of these 1000+ would be there for him. Can anyone really have over 1000+ friends? How can you get to know over 1000 people? Would these 1000+ come to your funeral? and this guy asked me to lend him some money the other day. i said to him , why don't you ask all the people on your FB account , you could get a lot of money.

      I got about 5 people in real life that I can say are true true freinds and 1 person that has been there for me so much and is my best friend. and my partner. Then there are my work friends I would be happy to have a few more friends , but not over 1000? Thats way too much. They are not real friend, just virtual friends.
    • hazelo3c  •  11 months ago
      Too many games and quests on Facebook and lack of security.Its also very impersonal in my opinion.Twitter isnt much better.
      The thing that is missing on Facebook is a forum where folk can respond to each other on a common theme,not just post comments about nothing and nobody answers you in return...It ends up boring as heck.
      FACEBOOK TAKE NOTE!
    • mr.millions  •  11 months ago
      I've never been tempted to join -it seems full of computer type of people filling their friendship lists with anyone,just so everyone thinks they are popular. Ask one of your so called friends to meet up and I bet most run a mile...as for yahoo everytime they claim their service is going to be better it gets worse...
    • KAREN  •  11 months ago
      They make stupid/irritating/pointless changes to the facebook site all the time which just ends up annoying. I get sick of people who try and add me and I know will never once actually message me or anything. Just another 'friend' on their list.
    • A Yahoo! User  •  11 months ago
      This is the best debate I've ever read. It isn't just me who thinks fb is a waste of time. Yes you can keep in touch with people in other countries. what sort of great advantage is that? I live abroad and I keep in touch by email and phone and yes............ sometimes I even send a card or a letter. I detest fb, it is all about bitching bullying arguing and gossiping inanely about anything. How many times on Jeremy Kyle do the people say that the reason they thought something or other was because they read it on fb? If those are the users, I am glad I have never had a profile. I have lost touch with people in my life but normally for a bloody good reason, so I'm not losing any sleep about not being able to remember where they are or how many virtual friends they have. They are just unfortunately part of the past. I live here, now. And my busines is my business. And hey, I haven't got time!
    • A Yahoo! User  •  11 months ago
      Faecesbook.
    • chris  •  11 months ago
      Face book, Twitter and all that are just a load of @#$% for people with too much time on their hands...i'd say close em all down now and get back to meeting people face to face.