Every few months, a report is published suggesting Facebook is in decline. A notable study from researchers at Princeton University published earlier this year declared the social network would lose 80 per cent of its users and die out "like the bubonic plague".
Another from YouGov branded Facebook and rival Twitter's popularity in decline in June, stating a lack of interest, concerns over privacy and advertising fatigue as key reasons.
Yet for all this doom-mongering, are any fewer of us using Mark Zuckerberg's decade-old platform? GlobalWebIndex has published a comprehensive report on social media use across 32 global markets, encompassingabout 170,000 internet users in the largest ongoing study into the life of the digital consumer.
Facebook was the only network to see a drop in active use among its 16-24-year-old users, of 0.5 per cent.
Since the start of 2013, sharing photos and messaging friends has fallen by about 20 per cent, according to the report.
While more than four-fifths (83 per cent) of online adults have Facebook accounts, only 47 per cent consider themselves active users, a decrease of about 100 million users between the beginning and end of 2014.
As it stands, this doesn't look great for Facebook. While it may have more global members (about 867 million), YouTube receives more traffic, with 85 per cent of online adults outside China regularly visiting the site.
YouTube's membership numbers may be lower at 656 million, but it beats Facebook's 76 per cent rate of regular visitation by a large margin.
What this suggests is that users are flocking to YouTube with a specific purpose in mind, while Facebookis having difficulty encouragingthe users it does have to activelyuse the platform.
This is partly attributable to the fact Facebook has the oldest user base of all the social platforms, with a quarter of its active users aged over 45. By contrast, more than 70 per cent of Tumblr and Instagram's users are aged from 16-34.
Generally, older Facebook members are less likely to be interacting on the platform than younger members, so it's hardly surprising engagement rates are slightly lower.
This doesn't mean that Facebook is dying a death - far from it. In the face of user fatigue, more people than ever continue to visit, to the tune of an increase of about 90 million each month.
The ways in which we're using Facebook have evolved - we're still using it, but we're more passive observers than active sharers these days. This also means that social behaviours online are increasingly diversifying - we're using multiple platforms for different reasons.
Instagram is becoming the go-to app for editing and sharing photos, which could explain a decline in pictures posted on Facebook.
Facebook is aiming to become a service provider, allowing its members to buy goods and exchange money alongside keeping up with old childhood enemies. Instagram and WhatsApp may be on the up, but let's not forget who owns both companies - Facebook.
It is diversifying the purposes of each of its platforms, extending its global reach and presence into our lives ever more deeply. Just don't expect it to die any time soon.
Logging off?
• 0.5% drop in active usage among 16-24-year-olds. • 20% fall in sharing photos and messaging since 2013. • 83% of online adults have accounts but only 47% are active users.
Social network dials up virtual reality
Facebook owns Oculus VR, the company behind the Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset. Photo / Getty Images
Facebook is reportedly working on a "virtual reality" video app that would allow users to view 360-degree videos on their smartphones.
Users will be able to "move around inside the video and view it from different angles" by turning and tilting their phones, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The app, which is reportedly still in the early stages of development, would work on both iOS and Android devices, the Journal said. But it is unclear when or if the app will launch.
Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly described virtual reality as the next big "computing platform" after mobile devices, and believes that it will one day become a part of daily life. Last year, the company paid US$2 billion ($3.2 billion) for Oculus VR, the company behind the Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset.
A 360-degree video app would offer a less immersive experience than a headset. However, it would help extend Facebook's presence in virtual reality beyond Oculus, and introduce the technology to a much larger audience.
