[panarky]

The screens will not give Facebook users the option to hit "decline." Instead, they will guide users to either "accept and continue" or "manage data setting."

Also known as "Hobson's Choice": a free choice in which only one thing is offered.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobson%27s_choice

Naturally the vast majority will just click through and accept the defaults.

But what if a small number does not? Could Facebook see 6% or 4% or 2% attrition because of this?

2% attrition of 2.2 billion users is like the entire population of California and Oregon.

This many people leaving the network makes it a little less connected and a little less valuable for the 98% who remain.

That's a lot of people wandering about, discovering new alternatives to connect with their friends and family.

Facebook will be with us for a long time, but reducing their influence would be a big net positive.

[germainelol]

I think they're already losing their influence. As people mentioned already, many people have their accounts but simply don't use them anymore. I only use it for keeping in touch with some friends via Messenger these days, and where possible I try to just use WhatsApp/Telegram for that anyway. Some of the most active people I see on my news feed are actually my relatives in their 40s-50s+ or early teens. I guess these people are just discovering the world of social media, whereas the people that have grown up with Facebook don't see the use it in anymore.

Even outside of me and my friends, I mostly just hear of people using it to connect directly with people, like joining some Facebook groups for specific discussions.

[unabst]

But this is not the point. Once you have an account, you create a bucket, a magnet, and an entry in their database.

You exist.

They don't need you to participate. They need your email or your phone number that can link you to the rest of the matrix. With a mobile app, they get your phone number automatically.

Everything else you post is icing on the cake. They don't need your relationship status. They don't need your address. Maybe your phone number will link to one, but they don't need it to be accurate.

Now you're part of the data pool. You're one more audience member. You're fueling facebook and their profits.

You're being sold.

Not only that, non-participation grants a false sense of security. As does the data they ask for; as if the data you post is all that they know or that is being shared. As do all their privacy settings. As does deleting your account. Facebook might mark you as deleted, but your data has already been used, sold, and transferred to 3rd parties, none of whom are inclined to delete your data.

If the data hasn't changed, and you haven't changed, then deleting yourself from facebook doesn't change anything.

[namlem]

Except Facebook itself is a major ad delivery vector. Not actually going on FB means fewer ad impressions.

[nkkollaw]

I don't know if Facebook's influence hasn't been reduced already, and how many users it actually has.

I still have an account for instance, but I log in only once/mo. and keep it solely for the API keys.

My friends seem to be a little less active then 10 years ago, as well.

[matte_black]

Seems less active is not the same as not active.

In the height of Facebooks data scandal, daily deletions — people who deleted their accounts and quit Facebook — was at about 4000-5000 users a day.

It has now returned to normal levels, of about 1000 a day.

Facebook has 1.86 billion users. Look upon these numbers, and despair.

[product50]

Don't relate your experience to everyone else's. My friends are more active than ever on FB today for instance.

Also, FB revenue and users are increasing - which indicates they are not seeing any downturn like what you are talking about here.

[wolco]

More active? Really?

The number of facebook user accounts never goes down with new bots getting accounts constantly but people activty logging in and sharing, posting or caring is down.

[product50]

Yes - more active.

You are suffering from confirmation bias at this point. What data apart, apart from your anecdotal experience, do you have which shows that sharing and caring about FB post is down?

[nkkollaw]

You seem great at diagnosing why what we're saying doesn't make sense, but you don't have anything to back whatever your point is.

Since we don't have access to Facebook logs and can't know how many times people sign in and to what percentage are bots wandering around the site, we can only talk about our impressions.

[product50]

They have public data which clearly states that their monthly active users and earnings are trending positively.

[grogenaut]

What data, apart from your anecdotal data, shows that sharing and caring about FB post is up?

[product50]

FB earnings are up and their monthly active users are rising. That suggests that your single anecdotal experience of your friends not using fb is incorrect.

Also, OP was the first one to make the assertion that fb is losing users and thus the onus falls on him to prove vs. me trying to disprove it.

I know it is not the answer you want to hear but FB is doing well in terms of their user growth. Get over it.

[jsemrau]

>how many users it actually has.

I would assume a large percentage of this number are bots / automated content.

[textmode]

http://nymag.com/selectall/2018/04/jaron-lanier-interview-on...