People from Canada, India and the United States, we have witnessed the dramatic use of social media, especially Facebook, in all our countries over the past ten years.
Facebook is undoubtedly the most popular and widespread of all the social media programs worldwide, with 1.32 billion monthly users, of which more than a billion are now using the service at least partly on mobile devices. (Albergotti, 2014) (Guynn, 2014)
In its latest quarterly report in July 2014, Facebook announced that the service had added an additional 40 million users in the second quarter, with one-fifth of the world's population now logging into the social network at least once a month. In addition, Facebook reported that more than 81 percent of its users are outside Canada and the United States.
Facebook definitely has had its share of criticism, with complaints about lack of privacy, secret experiments on users, and immoral and/or inappropriate content. In fact, in countries such as Argentina, India, Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the governments have either threatened to or actually have blocked Facebook usage for periods of time, accusing the service of “inciting hate and panic,” attacking government leaders, or ignoring religious values. (“Facebook blocked in”, 2014) (Lakshmi, 2102) As recently as last month (July 2014), a mob in Pakistan killed a woman and two young girls, in the aftermath of an allegedly “blasphemous” Facebook post. (Raza Hassan, 2014)
Meanwhile, in the United States, the media has charged that Facebook is losing its “cool factor” among the younger demographic, with more than three million young teenagers quitting the platform over the past three years. In fact, Facebook’s penetration among U.S. college-aged adults (age 18 to 24) decreased by three percentage points from 91.5% to 88.6 percent in Nov. 2013 from Feb. 2013, while usage by older 55+ individuals increased. (Saul, 2014)
Still despite such disparagement, use of Facebook continues to expand worldwide. Daily active users increased 19 % percent over last year. Facebook grew revenue 61% and the company more than doubled second-quarter profits as of June 2014.
Moreover, in the past year, the number of users accessing Facebook on smartphones and tablets, has dramatically increased. Daily mobile users were up 39% year over year; and monthly mobile active users increased 14 % over 2013. Currently, 62% of the company’s advertising revenue comes from ads on mobile devices. (Goel, 2014)
REFERENCES
Albergotti, R. (2014, July 23). Facebook answers critics with mobile-ad surge. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/articles/facebook-results-keep-surging-on-mobile-ad-growth-1406146246
Facebook blocked in Saudi Arabia. (2010, November 13). The News 24. Retrieved from http://www.news24.com/SciTech/News/Facebook-blocked-in-Saudi-Arabia-20101113
Guynn, J. (2014, July 23). Facebook revenue jumps 61% on mobile ad strength. The USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2014/07/23/facebook-earnings/13045633/
Goel, V. (2014, July 23). Facebook’s profit propelled by mobile. The New York TimesRetrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/technology/facebooks-profit-soars-past-expectations-fueled-by-mobile-ads.html?_r=0
Lakshmi, R. (2012, August 20). India blocks more than 250 Web sites for inciting hate, panic. The Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/india-blocks-more-than-250-web-sites-for-inciting-hate-panic/2012/08/20/aee0b846-eadf-11e1-866f-60a00f604425_story.html
India leads worldwide social networking growth. (2013, November 19). Retrieved from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/India-Leads-Worldwide-Social-Networking-Growth/1010396
Raza Hassan, S. (2014, May 14). Pakistan mob kills woman, girls, over 'blasphemous' Facebook post. The MSN. Retrieved from http://news.msn.com/world/pakistan-mob-kills-woman-girls-over-blasphemous-facebook-post
Saul, D. (2014, January 14). 3 Million Teens leave Facebook In 3 years: The 2014 Facebook demographic report. Retrieved From http://istrategylabs.com/2014/01/3-million-teens-leave-facebook-in-3-years-the-2014-facebook-demographic-report/
Social networking popular across globe. (2012, December 12). Retrieved from http://www.pewglobal.org/2012/12/12/social-networking-popular-across-globe/
Smith, C. (2013, November 16). 7 Statistics about Facebook users that reveal why it's such a powerful marketing platform. The Business Insider. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/a-primer-on-facebook-demographics-2013-10
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