Reasons Why People Still Use Facebook

We all know Facebook is phenomenally successful, but why, in light of concerns over privacy, the selling off of user data, constant changes to the default settings, and experiments on unsuspecting members of the public, does anyone carry on using it?

We asked, you answered, and the results have been pulled together to form some fascinating conclusions outlined below.
Facebook Friends Frenzy

We asked you, Why Are You Still Using Facebook? The response was overwhelming, with well over 100 people chiming in with their reasons for continuing to use Facebook. There were many reasons given, but one was mentioned more often than the rest.

The main reason people still use Facebook is because everyone else uses it. This shouldn’t come as a great surprise to anyone, as it’s a fact that with 1.3 billion users, Facebook is where all your friends are likely to be.

However, it may be of some concern to Facebook that the biggest hold it has on its users is the size of its userbase. What happens if a better alternative comes along and people decamp en masse? This explains why Facebook has been so quick to acquire potential rivals such as Instagram and Whatsapp.

This was by no means the only reason our readership gave for still using Facebook. As promised by the title there are plenty more worth mentioning. These are just 10 of the reasons our readers gave for still using Facebook…

    Because Facebook works as an RSS reader for news.
    Because it’s required to log in to other websites.
    Because you can use it to build a professional profile.
    Because you can use it to share photos easily.
    Because Facebook offers free video messaging.
    Because it’s an easy way of organizing events.
    Because Facebook groups are better than bulletin boards.
    Because it’s the easiest method for remembering birthdays.
    Because it offers a simple way of spreading awful opinions.
    Because it’s better than Google+.

So, what have we learned? That people are still using Facebook despite the stunts the company continues to pull. Why? Because nothing else works quite as well as Facebook does, and what alternatives there are only have a fraction of the users Facebook boasts. Ergo, Facebook wins.

Facebook wins, but only for the time being. A new rival could emerge in time, and refuse to be acquired by Facebook. If enough people start using the new rival instead of Facebook then a tipping point will eventually occur. At that (currently) fictional moment in time, Facebook becomes the new MySpace. And that’s a fate we wouldn’t wish on anyone.

We chose this comment purely because it’s a reminder that Facebook isn’t all bad. While we asked this question from a negative perspective, this commenter informed us how Facebook has actually improved her life for the better. Which is rather nice to hear.

We Ask You is a weekly column in which you have your say about a particular subject. We ask you a question each week, with the results compiled and compressed into a follow-up article the following week. This column is nothing without your input, all of which is valued.