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> FB - nobody really seems to be posting anymore. Insta - two people actively posting on my feed Their actual engagement numbers across the general population

> FB - nobody really seems to be posting anymore. Insta - two people actively posting on my feed Their actual engagement numbers across the general population are quite good. This sounds more representative of your bubble using different platforms than the general state of the app.

peytoncasper 5y ago
I unfortunately don’t know how the numbers break down. However, I see a lot of people that use Facebook for groups. As a result, I wonder how much of their engagement is driven from people posting inside of various groups that might be private. It might lead to the situation that OP describes where most of the “forum” conversation has died down but it’s thriving in various segments.
- hanklazard 5y ago
  Single data point here. I haven’t actually used FB regularly for 5+ years. When I was single, there were a few dating apps that required it so I kept it around for that reason. Currently the only two features that are even remotely tempting on are groups and marketplace. The latter seems to have taken over the role of “classified section” for the internet from Craigslist so I feel like I’ll have no choice except to use it on occasion. But yeah, groups seem increasingly important to FB for locking people in to their site.
- dd36 5y ago
  Yes. IME, Facebook surfaces group postings over friend postings.
- truth_ 5y ago
  I haven't posted outside an FB group in 5 years. If it were not for those groups, I would have deleted my FB account. And I treat FB as a non-professional networking platform. You meet someone at a wedding or a funeral who you find tolerable? Add them to your FB. Thus, with people you are not intimate enough to share your cell number or talk over the phone, and you still want to keep in touch, you add them to your FB. That's how I see it.
TacticalCoder 5y ago
> Their actual engagement numbers across the general population are quite good. I got to see how teenagers were spending way too much time on their smartphone this summer: it was all tiktok and instagram, some twitch, and absolutely zero FB. To them FB is their parents' platform. Their parents are my friends and in my friends group nearly everybody stopped posting on FB. My father (74 y/o now) was at some point relentlessly posting on FB. He got tired of that and never uses the site anymore. I remember when FB was big, really big, among my friends and family. Now it's a complete wasteland. I don't dispute that their numbers "across the general population" are good but I just don't see where it's coming from. What's the age group still using FB? For what? Doing what? WhatsApp and Instagram, sure, people are using that a huge lot: I see that all around me. But FB? Who's still using FB? I just don't see it. Among my friends and family across several groups of age it's as good as dead. Once in a very rare while (once a year?) I log in to see if I got a private message. Then I check various long lost friends to see if they posted anything new and I see the same old picture they posted years and years ago: nothing new since. If anything people actively remove old pictures. I don't see people around me just abandoning FB: I see them abandoning it in drones and covering their tracks by deleting past posts / pictures. Now I'm not worried for FB the company: with WhatsApp and Instagram I'm sure they're doing fine. > This sounds more representative of your bubble using different platforms Sure but we're quite some to have our "bubbles" behaving the same way.
shp0ngle 5y ago
Facebook is now for old people; but I think that’s fine, honestly. The old people now are quite tech savvy, people that are now grandparents already have quite good grip on computers.
bredren 5y ago
Which engagement metrics are you using to make this claim? What does “general population” describe demographically on FB products?

peytoncasper 5y ago

I unfortunately don’t know how the numbers break down. However, I see a lot of people that use Facebook for groups. As a result, I wonder how much of their engagement is driven from people posting inside of various groups that might be private. It might lead to the situation that OP describes where most of the “forum” conversation has died down but it’s thriving in various segments.

hanklazard 5y ago
Single data point here. I haven’t actually used FB regularly for 5+ years. When I was single, there were a few dating apps that required it so I kept it around for that reason. Currently the only two features that are even remotely tempting on are groups and marketplace. The latter seems to have taken over the role of “classified section” for the internet from Craigslist so I feel like I’ll have no choice except to use it on occasion. But yeah, groups seem increasingly important to FB for locking people in to their site.
dd36 5y ago
Yes. IME, Facebook surfaces group postings over friend postings.
truth_ 5y ago
I haven't posted outside an FB group in 5 years. If it were not for those groups, I would have deleted my FB account. And I treat FB as a non-professional networking platform. You meet someone at a wedding or a funeral who you find tolerable? Add them to your FB. Thus, with people you are not intimate enough to share your cell number or talk over the phone, and you still want to keep in touch, you add them to your FB. That's how I see it.

TacticalCoder 5y ago

> Their actual engagement numbers across the general population are quite good. I got to see how teenagers were spending way too much time on their smartphone this summer: it was all tiktok and instagram, some twitch, and absolutely zero FB. To them FB is their parents' platform. Their parents are my friends and in my friends group nearly everybody stopped posting on FB. My father (74 y/o now) was at some point relentlessly posting on FB. He got tired of that and never uses the site anymore. I remember when FB was big, really big, among my friends and family. Now it's a complete wasteland. I don't dispute that their numbers "across the general population" are good but I just don't see where it's coming from. What's the age group still using FB? For what? Doing what? WhatsApp and Instagram, sure, people are using that a huge lot: I see that all around me. But FB? Who's still using FB? I just don't see it. Among my friends and family across several groups of age it's as good as dead. Once in a very rare while (once a year?) I log in to see if I got a private message. Then I check various long lost friends to see if they posted anything new and I see the same old picture they posted years and years ago: nothing new since. If anything people actively remove old pictures. I don't see people around me just abandoning FB: I see them abandoning it in drones and covering their tracks by deleting past posts / pictures. Now I'm not worried for FB the company: with WhatsApp and Instagram I'm sure they're doing fine. > This sounds more representative of your bubble using different platforms Sure but we're quite some to have our "bubbles" behaving the same way.

shp0ngle 5y ago

Facebook is now for old people; but I think that’s fine, honestly. The old people now are quite tech savvy, people that are now grandparents already have quite good grip on computers.

bredren 5y ago

Which engagement metrics are you using to make this claim? What does “general population” describe demographically on FB products?