524

Why is Facebook still so insanely popular? (midwest.social)

submitted 7 months ago by jeze64@midwest.social to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

302 comments fedilink hide all child comments

I read "it's dying" by people on Discord and Reddit all the time, but the numbers prove otherwise. It's been going up this entire time and sitting over 3 billion MONTHLY ACTIVE USERS!

I feel like the bubble around people on other platforms saying "who uses Facebook anymore lol" is kind of wild given the numbers. Keep in mind these are active users not just abandoned accounts.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] antonim@lemmy.dbzer0.com 35 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

This. In the west among the younger generations, sure, Facebook is outdated/dead. Among other generations, and across much of the world, it is still almost as essential as email.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook_Zero

A criticism also stated that Facebook is practicing digital colonialism because it is not introducing open internet but building a "little web that turns the user into a mostly passive consumer of mostly western corporate content”.

An article by Christopher Mims in Quartz in September 2012 stated that Facebook Zero played a very important role in Facebook's expansion in Africa over the 18 months following the release of Facebook Zero, noting that data charges could be a significant component of mobile usage cost and the waiving of these charges reduced a significant disincentive for people in Africa to use Facebook.

To me as a kid with a rudimentary phone and little pocket money, this was also how I got onto and used to access Facebook.

[-] jqubed@lemmy.world 12 points 7 months ago

Kind of reminds me of what AOL was trying to do in the ’90s. If it wasn’t for broadband Internet coming directly from telecom services they might’ve succeeded, too.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee -1 points 7 months ago

digital colonialism

Lmao

[-] subtext@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

What else would you call it? It’s them trying to be the face of the internet, the only internet these people know.

[-] Kusimulkku@lemm.ee 1 points 7 months ago

Something less dramatic and hilarious probably. Maybe manipulative business tactics.

this post was submitted on 25 Mar 2024

524 points (96.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

26753 readers

1403 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions

Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world

Rules: (interactive)

1) Be nice and; have fun

Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them

2) All posts must end with a '?'

This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?

3) No spam

Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.

4) NSFW is okay, within reason

Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].

5) This is not a support community.

It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.

Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.