What Happened: Everyone keeps saying Facebook is dead, but the numbers say otherwise.
- A new report from the Pew Research Center just dropped on November 20, and it reveals that Facebook is still the only actual social network (besides YouTube) that most American adults use.
- According to the survey, a massive 71% of U.S. adults say they use Facebook. Compare that to TikTok at 37%, WhatsApp at 32%, or X (Twitter) at just 27%. It’s not even close.
- Despite the constant jokes about it being uncool, Facebook remains deeply woven into daily life, especially for people aged 30 to 64, where more than half log in every single day.
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Why Is This Important: This flips the script on the whole “Facebook is for boomers” narrative. Sure, kids love TikTok, but Facebook has a massive strategic advantage: utility.
- It’s not just for one thing. It is your calendar for events, your garage sale (Marketplace), your photo album, your local community board, and your news source all in one.
- That “Swiss Army Knife” versatility is why it isn’t fading away like MySpace. While younger users are splitting their time across specialized apps like TikTok and Snapchat, Facebook remains the default “digital living room” for the broader population.
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Why Should I Care: If you ever wonder why you can’t seem to delete your account, this is why.
- It is likely the only place where you can find your aunt, your high school lab partner, and your local neighborhood watch group all at once.
- For regular users, it’s simply the easiest way to stay in the loop.
- For anyone trying to sell something or build a community, the data is clear: ignoring Facebook is basically ignoring the majority of the adult population. If you want to reach anyone over 30, you still have to be there.
What’s Next: Facebook can’t just coast on these numbers forever.
- It has to figure out how to keep people interested as trends shift toward short-form video and tighter privacy controls – areas where younger users are already defecting to other apps.
- Competitors will likely keep trying to chip away at specific niches, but for now, Facebook remains the unexpected champion of the internet – the utility bill of social media that we all keep paying attention to.
