To think facebook is dying out?

[Middleagednbored]

Been on it for years, have a couple of hundred friends on there. Over the past few years, I've noticed that only a handful post regularly now, the rest post rarely, if ever. I've realised some haven't posted for years! There are a few who until a year or so ago posted regularly and I liked keeping up with their lives but now seem to have stopped. I have definitely cut down on my posts too. A year ago, I would average twice a week, now it's twice a month if that. What's the point if no one is reading? I do actually like seeing the memories come up and how people I don't see much anymore are getting on but these days it's so boring. Mostly ads. I'm in a few groups (hobbies, interests, local community) which are useful but otherwise it's so dead!

Do we think Facebook will fizzle put altogether over the next few years? I don't do Instagram or twitter and don't understand tik tok etc (too old 🤣).

Constant bans make it difficult to use but I persevere!

I hope it does!

I was thinking about this yesterday as my feed was full of utter crap - recommended pages. Endless posts from things like "The Dull Man's Group" and other groups I haven't joined and have no interest in joining.
I liked a couple of pages relating to 70s and 80s memories and there were so many posts I unliked them as there was barely anything else on my feed.
I think my friends post way less than they used to. I moved abroad 10 years ago and it was great at the beginning for keeping in touch as people shared more photos and posts but these days those posts seem to be few and far between.
I don't know whether people have shifted to instagram or just stopped posting in general.
I'm not sure it is dying out but is going through a change in the way it is used - so people might continue to use it to connect with groups and interact with pages from businesses they are interested in rather than what it was originally used for - keeping in touch with friends and sharing things with them.

I was thinking about this yesterday as my feed was full of utter crap - recommended pages. Endless posts from things like "The Dull Man's Group" and other groups I haven't joined and have no interest in joining.

I am forever ticking the X on posts like that and ticking the "irrelevant" reason as to why I don't want posts like that on my feed.

I think Facebook are shooting themselves in the foot with all this irrelevant crap.

Yes, I also do that. It's really tedious and I'm getting fed up with it. So you're right that they are shooting themselves in the foot with it.

I think you’re right in that the “posting about yourself” aspect is dying out - but I find the groups aspect still very popular and use it a lot

My dad and his mates (60s) still use it, but he lives abroad and it's his lifeline in a way.

Apart from that I don't know anyone that does anymore. There's a general disaffection with it, and lots of SM.

Their monthly active users are growing quarter on quarter, still. So you're wrong basically.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/264810/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

It's clearly not dead, though. I use it daily and post in groups where photos and updates get thousands of likes and comments everyday.

Or the demographic is getting older ?

How do you suggest that works? There are a finite number of older people alive. Are you saying more and more older people, that weren't previously using Facebook, now use it?
Again there's data available on this. Doesn't skew that old.
(I'm in online advertising; we spend millions on FB ads a month across our various clients; most clients ad spend is growing YoY and in some cases quite significantly so - very much not dying out in my experience).
https://www.statista.com/statistics/376128/facebook-global-user-age-distribution/

From my (admittedly) anecdotal perspective FB is more popular among my dad's generation, and I can understand why.

No judgement here.

And how it is used is now different - more community groups and other groups.

I just find it tedious these days. Full of the same people either constantly posting photos of their dead distant relative that died twenty years ago or people completely obsessed with themselves/ self analyzing everything. I've hidden so many people now I don't have many left !!

Full of the same people either constantly posting photos of their dead distant relative that died twenty years ago

I don't understand these public proclamations of grief. Maybe it is because I am a private person.

One woman I know posts about missing her late husband on the anniversary of when he died and on his birthday.

He was a lazy, heavy drinking, lying, cheating arsehole and they split up years before he died. She now romanticises what she wanted him to be. Sadly her sons look like they are taking after their dad.

I am in some very active fb groups for crafts, house owners association, feminism, local buy and sell groups and I haven't noticed a decline in what friends and family post.

OP here! Thanks for all the replies. So in summary:

Many people have moved away from Facebook as they're sick of all the ads & rubbish and lack of actual friends updates.

Most people are more wary of oversharing personal information about their lives than they were a few years ago (I definitely am!) and have realised no one is interested if they are eating a sandwich or are at the gym so have stopped posting/are posting less.

People have moved to other platforms such as Instagram or Tik Tok, especially younger people who don't see Facebook as cool.

Many people now use it more for the groups, marketplace etc than keeping up with friends.

I for one will continue to post occasional updates to keep up with distant friends & family, enjoy seeing the memories and carry on using the groups & marketplace. A few friends use it to organise events & parties which is handy too.

Will see what happens.......

I still like, and use it, prefer it to anything else. Like Instagram too, not interested in TikTok

I would have left years ago if it wasn't for the discussion groups. I have decided to unfollow all my "friends", change privileges so that my wall is locked and only get notifications from selected groups. I don't use any other social media except LinkedIn, where I also tend to unfollow philosophers and braggers.
Facebook will likely not die; it will turn itself into something different based on what users want. For example, groups are obviously really popular, so Facebook will keep investing in them, and the same goes for the marketplace.

I don’t use it anymore. The ads got to me. Plus some people I loved seeing the posts of died and it’s not the same.

I use it daily. I have friends in other parts of the world who post regularly. It’s great to keep in touch and catch-up. I know we could do it elsewhere, but we don’t need to as we still update on FB. I am also in several really useful hobby groups on FB (photography, sewing and gardening). I have culled my FB ‘friends’ so, getting rid of all the random people that I appear to have acquired over the years, but who I don’t have any idea who they are 😮

I have noticed what you’re saying though. FB definitely isn’t ’en vogue’ these days.

I use it many for local groups that I'm in to keep in touch

I use it a lot but not in the same way I used too. I mainly use if for groups (based around hobbies and interests). I don’t post as much on my profile as I used too and I don’t think others do either. I still have a couple friends who post several times a day but it gets really boring.

I prefer Facebook. Don’t use TikTok as I can’t stand the crap on it and I use Instagram more for photos. Facebook is full of adverts though and I hate ads with a passion. I have a weekly spam sort and literally report every ad on Facebook as spam which clears it from my feed. I find if I tell them the ad is irrelevant 3 more pop up in its place. Takes a good 20 minutes but buys a good 2-3 weeks browsing without crap cluttering your feed.

I don’t use it. Just not interested in the dull shit people post on there, it doesn’t improve anything, there’s nothing to learn or gain.