Facebook Facts

10 Facts About Americans And Facebook

The Pew Research Center conducted surveys about Facebook in 2018. Here are some of the facts that they found.

1. Facebook is still immensely popular, ranking second only to You Tube in popularity. According to Pew, 68% of Americans now use the social media giant (You Tube is at 73%). The next closest is Instagram at 35%, then Pinterest at 29%. Twitter garners 24%.

2. Almost three-quarters of adults who use Facebook access the platform at least once a day (74%). 51% say that they visit several times a day.

3. Of Facebook users, women use the site more than men, 74% to 62%. Also, urban dwellers use it more than suburban or rural people do, and college educated people use it more than those with less education.

4. About half of America's teens use Facebook, but it is no longer #1. In fact, it's fourth, behind You Tube, Instagram, and Snapchat. Teen usage has dropped 20% in the last four years.

5. Also among teens, the higher the household income is, the less they use Facebook. About 70% earning less than $30,000 per year use it, while only 36% of households with an income above $75,000 use it.

6. Over 4-in-10 adults (43%) get at least some news from Facebook. The next closest is You Tube at 21%. Women use the social media site for news more than men, and whites more than non-whites.

7. Adult users are adjusting their usage. In the past 12 months, more than half (54%) have adjusted their privacy settings.

8. Many adults don't have a clear understanding of how the platform's news feed works. They do not understand why certain posts are included in their news feed while others are not. 20% say they don't understand this at all.

9. About three quarters of adults aren't aware that the platform lists their traits and interests for advertisers, although it's relatively easy to find out via the "Your ad preferences" link.

10. The fact that Facebook maintains a database of user's traits and interests makes many users uncomfortable. The platform has attracted scrutiny recently over concerns that it can keep user's personal information private.

The information in the Pew survey should be of interest to us as affiliate marketers who are using the platform in our businesses.

The Pew Research Center article was written by John Gramlich, a writer and editor of the Pew Research Center. My post is a summary of his writing.

I'm Grant.