Facebook has tweaked News Feed multiple times over the past few months to ensure that users have a more personal experience and that their News Feeds aren’t filled with posts they don’t care much about. It has also been making tweaks to curb the spread of false information on its network. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg had warned that the changes would result in a drop in usage and the company has officially confirmed that. The company revealed that overall usage in the United States has dropped by “roughly 50 million hours every day.”
One might think that Facebook would be troubled by this number because its aim is to get more people to use Facebook for longer periods of time because the more time they spend on its platform the more ads they see and that’s where Facebook makes money.
As Zuckerberg said that this will be the expected result of those News Feed changes, he has also argued that this is actually going to be beneficial for the company in the long run. He said that the time users spend on Facebook will just be more valuable and that “if we do the right thing, I believe that will be good for our community and our business over the long term too.”
Even though Facebook’s daily users have dropped from 185 million to 184 million in the United States and Canada this past quarter and stayed flat at 239 million for monthly users, Facebook usage has grown in all regions measured, but the growth is slower than it has been since 2015.
“In 2018, we’re focused on making sure Facebook isn’t just fun to use, but also good for people’s well-being and for society,” Zuckerberg said in a statement yesterday, adding that the company’s business and community will both be stronger over the long term as it focuses on meaningful connections.
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