Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site has reported a drop in user number for the first time since its launch. Millions of users from around the globe decided to cancel their accounts in the last month, but why?
According to international mass-media, people have realized that the safety of their personal data is much more important than online social networking, and Facebook cannot guarantee that users’ confidential data is protected.
Despite its popularity, Facebook has dealt with more scandals than any other social networking site.
Facebook changes rules without users’ consent
Many European organizations have begun a series of investigations against Facebook after it has been revealed that the company has integrated a facial recognition system without letting users know about its implementation.
”Facebook has changed its Confidential Data Policy Statement without users’ consent and I do not think that Facebook’s action does conform to European and German data protection law” , said Peter Schaar, the European Commissioner for Data Protection, cited by Financial Times.
Online social networking is boring
Online social networking is boring and users feel that this type of interaction has no end, Graham Jones, a psychologist specialized in social networking issues stated. Facebook lost 6 million US users last month alone, their number dropped from 155.2 million users to 149.4 million,
recent reports claim.
Also, Facebook lost 1.52 million users in Canada, from an initial number of 16.6 million users. Users from the UK, Norway and Russia have also cancelled their accounts at a rate of 100,000 unique users per country.
The total number of Facebook users is still growing because people from developing countries such as Mexico or Brazil are only now discovering the opportunities the social networking site offer thanks to the expansion of Internet connections.
This change has revealed that the markets where Facebook first entered have now matured which means that Facebook’s popularity will soon plummet.
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