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Are people still using Facebook?

126 replies

DroppedOff · 11/02/2025 08:36

I came off it about five years ago. It was a relief at the time but I have lost touch with my cousins and a few people which is a shame. I was thinking I might reactivate my account. Are people using it as much these days?

OP posts:
FoxtonFoxton · 11/02/2025 10:17

Seems like everyone uses it for the same thing now from responses. Hobbies and groups. Very little life sharing.
I remember when FB first started and people would post multiple times a day about absolutely anything. I did too; what I was having for tea, if I was bored, what music I was listening to. Funny how times change.

Heartofglass12345 · 11/02/2025 10:17

Most of my family are, they vary in age. I'm still on it but don't post much anymore. I don't see anything wrong with it though.

Jajajagi · 11/02/2025 10:19

I use it to find out about local events, baby groups etc. I deleted my original account but have one for work as I am admin for a few pages, but deliberately have no friends on there. Recently it just seems to be a load of adverts and click bait articles so I've been using it less. Feels very spammy but maybe it's because I don't have any friends to fill my feed!

mihinobis · 11/02/2025 10:19

I think a lot of people are on it and still use it but they use it for different things. When it started it was great for keeping up with friends and etended family members. People shared photos and so on and we were able to keep in touch that way (I moved abroad). But these days it's just full of advertising and tons of suggested posts and things from pages I've liked and very little from friends. When I click on friends' profiles they haven't posted much so I think people just aren't bothering any more.
I'm into the outdoors and recently I've been bombarded with pictures of the great outdoors but the vast majority of them are AI generated. It's really annoying.
Some of the groups I am in are quite useful but there are often arguments going on there between various people. Facebook actually shows up the worst of humanity sometimes.

garlictwist · 11/02/2025 10:20

I used to be on it but came off it a few years ago as it was boring and didn't show me anything I was interested in. I am now not on any social media and don't feel like I miss out.

BitOutOfPractice · 11/02/2025 10:21

Im on it mainly for groups Im in.

LikeWhoUsesTypewritersAnyway · 11/02/2025 10:22

DroppedOff · 11/02/2025 08:36

I came off it about five years ago. It was a relief at the time but I have lost touch with my cousins and a few people which is a shame. I was thinking I might reactivate my account. Are people using it as much these days?

Yes lots of people do still use it, but as has been said, it seems to be pretty much largely over 40s. My 2 DD (late 20s) and all of their friends and peer group/age group don't use it anymore. Most teenagers don't either.

I stopped around 5 years ago. I don't use it much. It just seems to be a platform for people to brag about their lives, tell everyone how perfect their relationship is, how clever and how popular their children are, and to moan about their health. (Physical health and mental health.)

It's also a platform to make snide and sarcastic comments about people without naming them, to get attention, and for people to ask awwww, 'what's up hun?' 😆

LemonBlondie · 11/02/2025 10:22

Just to challenge the assertions that people in their 30s are too young to have been the first generation to use social media: in the earliest days of FB you had to be at university to join. People who were 18-21ish in 2005 would be in their late 30s now. Source: I am 38 and this was me!

Nowadays I consume content on Fabeook but don't post anything except in my various interest groups. It's useful for keeping up with local news etc.

cardibach · 11/02/2025 10:24

LemonBlondie · 11/02/2025 10:22

Just to challenge the assertions that people in their 30s are too young to have been the first generation to use social media: in the earliest days of FB you had to be at university to join. People who were 18-21ish in 2005 would be in their late 30s now. Source: I am 38 and this was me!

Nowadays I consume content on Fabeook but don't post anything except in my various interest groups. It's useful for keeping up with local news etc.

Yes, they were just old enough to use it. That doesn't mean older generations didn't get on it at the same time though.

Vroomfondleswaistcoat · 11/02/2025 10:25

I use it for work, for a few networking groups and to keep in touch with people I only see maybe once a year or less frequently. I use Messenger to contact the kids (all adult). But I don't post much personal stuff, maybe the odd picture of the dog... Every other post is advertising or some group that I've never shown interest in (why would I want to see posts from Litchfield? I've never even BEEN there) or trying to sell me a horse.

But it's a good way to keep in touch with people at a distance whom I'm not close enough to to give my number but still want to hear what they're up to.

Hotafternoon · 11/02/2025 10:25

I read stuff on it for local area, look at recommendations if I need some work on house doing but I never post anything or add my opinion to anything posted.

It's useful occasionally.

FoxtonFoxton · 11/02/2025 10:25

mihinobis · 11/02/2025 10:19

I think a lot of people are on it and still use it but they use it for different things. When it started it was great for keeping up with friends and etended family members. People shared photos and so on and we were able to keep in touch that way (I moved abroad). But these days it's just full of advertising and tons of suggested posts and things from pages I've liked and very little from friends. When I click on friends' profiles they haven't posted much so I think people just aren't bothering any more.
I'm into the outdoors and recently I've been bombarded with pictures of the great outdoors but the vast majority of them are AI generated. It's really annoying.
Some of the groups I am in are quite useful but there are often arguments going on there between various people. Facebook actually shows up the worst of humanity sometimes.

I found facebook groups horrible personally. The nastiness in the majority I was in (from horse groups to hiking to cooking) was really out of control. Definitely useful for information, but not nice. Our local village one was (is still apparently) awful. For a small, Cotswolds village it can be really nasty and petty. DH is on the village WhatsApp and shows me the odd thing and it's the same there. I'd rather live in peaceful ignorance of what's going on than read that shite daily. Used to make me feel anxious and a bit depressed!

Coffeeishot · 11/02/2025 10:27

Kids used Bebo in the early 00s didn't they ? I remember my dc being on bebo they are in there 30s

NoraLuka · 11/02/2025 10:27

I use it for the community groups and sometimes share lost dog posts etc. I hardly ever post photos, maybe once or twice a year. My feed is full of junk AI posts at the moment which I can’t seem to get rid of so I miss things I would have been interested in. My teenagers aren’t on it and don’t understand the point of it.

TheAmusedQuail · 11/02/2025 10:27

I use it mostly to keep up to date with friends who are all over the world. Instagram and WeChat don't do it as well. Or for work (I'm self employed).

But the algorithms are so bad on it now that it isn't good enough anymore to be a fun or enjoyable experience so I use it a lot less these days.

Garlicworth · 11/02/2025 10:30

PuppyMonkey · 11/02/2025 08:47

Hardly any of my friends post things these days, it’s all mostly barmy Spotted groups and adverts. If you go on your profile and click Feeds and then choose Friends, you’ll see only the posts from actual friends and they are pretty threadbare for me.

Same here. I got increasingly hacked off with the endless stream of ads, 'suggested' posts and groups I'm not even in. I only check it about once a month now and, when I do, it seems everyone else I know has also given up on it.

Instagram's as bad, and TikTok although I don't use that. I'm sad about it - social media was a brilliant way to keep in touch and reconnect with real people. Nothing serves the same function any more.

SnowFrogJelly · 11/02/2025 10:31

Useful for local info I find

LemonBlondie · 11/02/2025 10:39

cardibach · 11/02/2025 10:24

Yes, they were just old enough to use it. That doesn't mean older generations didn't get on it at the same time though.

I'm not disputing that, but there have been some comments implying that 30-somethings aren't old enough to have been early adopters when in fact they were the target market!

PheasantPluckers · 11/02/2025 10:43

It's good for the local community page, but none of my freinds or family have posted anything in years! I can't remember when I last did! I also clicked on a recipe that came up on my feed once, so get lots of those now, which I do look at.

LoopyLoopyLoo · 11/02/2025 10:48

It's changed. Your feed won't give you any posts of people you know but loads of targeted shit. So if you've looked at garden furniture elsewhere on your device your feed will be full of garden pages/posts from lots of spurious accounts and targeted advertising.
Out if my 300 odd friends i'll see the odd post from them now and again. Also your feed isn't in any kind of date order anymore. I see more egdn I think...oh I've not seen anything from Fred lately itsnonly then when o click on his page I see 20 posts he has masenjn thenlaatb2 weeks that never showed non my feed. You can't control your feed like in times gone by.

It is a way if kind of keeping in touch with certain people but it's a very different model to 5 and 10 years ago!

cardibach · 11/02/2025 10:52

LoopyLoopyLoo · 11/02/2025 10:48

It's changed. Your feed won't give you any posts of people you know but loads of targeted shit. So if you've looked at garden furniture elsewhere on your device your feed will be full of garden pages/posts from lots of spurious accounts and targeted advertising.
Out if my 300 odd friends i'll see the odd post from them now and again. Also your feed isn't in any kind of date order anymore. I see more egdn I think...oh I've not seen anything from Fred lately itsnonly then when o click on his page I see 20 posts he has masenjn thenlaatb2 weeks that never showed non my feed. You can't control your feed like in times gone by.

It is a way if kind of keeping in touch with certain people but it's a very different model to 5 and 10 years ago!

Use the friends feed. You get ads still, but just your friends’ posts and just in chronological order. There’s a groups feed too. I can’t get it on my iPad for some reason, but it’s on the phone version of the app.

Joystir59 · 11/02/2025 10:53

I use it still but also use Instagram alot

Verv · 11/02/2025 11:13

I use it and im gen X, been on since 2007 ish i think. I mainly use it for hobby related groups.

babiesinthesnowflakes · 11/02/2025 11:17

Like most people I know, I still use it for information about local events, giving things away, and a couple of hobby/interest groups. I haven’t posted anything personal in years though, although there are a few on my friends list who still do.

It’s funny to think that back in the day, it was totally normal to come back from holiday and put hundreds of your holiday photos on Facebook!

SoapySponge · 11/02/2025 11:24

I use it as a number of hobby groups & societies I belong to have pages on there.

I only know one person who still uses a personal page and he's 70+.

I have my own page but haven't posted on it in nearly a year.