Time Spent with Facebook Still Growing, but Not by Much

From eMarketer

This year, Americans will spend more than half of their social networking time on Facebook, according to eMarketer’s latest forecast of time spent with media. Going forward, however, growing competition from other social networks will make it increasingly challenging for Facebook to significantly grow engagement time.

In 2016, US adults will spend an average of 22 minutes a day on Facebook. By comparison, they will spend an average of 43 minutes a day on social networks in general. By 2018, US adults will be spending three more minutes each day on social networks, but just one additional minute on Facebook.

This Year, More Than Half of Americans Will Use Facebook

This year, for the first time, more than half of the US population will use Facebook, according to eMarketer’s latest social network usage forecast. In 2016, 50.3% of Americans of all ages will be on Facebook at least once a month, up from 49.3% in 2015.

Facebook will remain the dominant social network by a wide margin through at least 2020, the end of eMarketer’s forecast period.

This year, 162.9 million US internet users will log on to the site at least once a month. Facebook-owned Instagram, the second-most-used social network, will have 89.4 million US users this year, or 27.6% of the population. Twitter is a distant third, with 56.8 million users this year, representing 17.5% of the US population.

- See more at: eMarketer.com

The Evolving Role of News on Twitter and Facebook

The share of Americans for whom Twitter and Facebook serve as a source of news is continuing to rise. This rise comes primarily from more current users encountering news there rather than large increases in the user base overall, according to findings from a new survey. The report also finds that users turn to each of these prominent social networks to fulfill different types of information needs....

Although both social networks have the same portion of users getting news on these sites, there are significant differences in their potential news distribution strengths. The proportion of users who say they follow breaking news on Twitter, for example, is nearly twice as high as those who say they do so on Facebook (59% vs. 31%) – lending support, perhaps, to the view that Twitter’s great strength is providing as-it-happens coverage and commentary on live events.

These findings come at a time when the two social media platforms are increasing their emphasis on news.

See the press release and report from the Pew Research Center.

Facebook scam: In Farcing, Thieves Ask 'Would You Be My Friend?'

Consider this scenario: You're on Facebook (FB), and you receive two friend requests, both from people you don't know. With one person, you have no mutual friends, and with the other, you have some. Do you accept either request? Both? Just the one who shares your friends?

Scammers are banking on the likelihood you'll accept the request if you have mutual friends -- the more, the better -- even if you have no clue who the requester is. From there, they'll have access to everything you share with friends, and they'll start friending your friends and family to see what they share. All that good stuff helps them reach their ultimate goal: identity theft.

It's called farcing, and a researcher at the University of Buffalo published a study on it in an academic journal called Information Systems Frontier, saying these scams spread quickly and widely, as the scammer gathers friends and appears more legitimate.

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