A study published today indicates that US adults are making changes to the way they use Facebook.
Over a quarter of US adults have removed the app from their phone, and an even greater number of users have taken a break from using Facebook altogether.
A survey conducted by Pew Research Center found that Facebook users ages 18 and older have taken the following actions within the past year:
- 54% of users have adjusted their privacy settings
- 42% have taken a break from checking Facebook for several weeks or longer
- 26% have deleted the Facebook app from their phone
- 74% have done at least one of the above
This data becomes more telling when broken down into age groups.
For example, 44% of users ages 18 to 29 have deleted the Facebook app, compared to just 12% of users ages 65 and older.
A great number of younger adults are changing their privacy settings compared to older adults as well.
Although data is roughly the same across all age groups when it comes to users who have taken a break from using Facebook.
Pew Research Center conducted the survey between May 29 and June 11 in 2018.
The timeframe is notable because that was after information came out about Cambridge Analytica collecting data on tens of millions of Facebook users without their knowledge.
It’s possible the negative press surrounding Facebook prompted users to take a break and/or delete the app.
However, it appears to not have had a lasting effect on the number of daily active users in North America, which remains steady at 185 million.
