Study shows Facebook is approaching its MySpace moment with usage down 26%

Pundits have been predicting the death of Facebook from its inception in 2004, but so far the biggest social network in the world appears to have defied the gravity that ended down Friendster and MySpace.

It seems Facebook’s good fortune could not last forever however, as new research shows engagement is down a massive 26% since 2017.

The study by analysts Activate Inc shows that the number of hours Americans spend on the network decreased from 14 hours per month in 2017 to only 9 hours in 2019, with users instead opting to add additional smaller social networks like SnapChat or Instagram to their routine.

In fact, Activate found Americans now on average trafficked 5.8 networks, and that this could increase to 10 by 2023.

Facebook, of course, attempted to get ahead of this trend by purchasing properties such as Instagram, but the data shows that this has not made up for the loss in Facebook’s traffic.

Activate CEO and cofounder Michael Wolf said users were gravitating to smaller and more focused niche communities, and that Facebook appears to be responding to increasing its focus on Facebook Groups. It remains to be seen if this will be successful or if this will simply be an attempt to catch a falling knife.

Via FastCompany